TWmccoy
3DX Connoisseur
The only people I've ever known to really like oldschool Eastons are guys that truly swing hard. I've never seen a wrist-flicker do well with a pre-'17.
The key is "well broken in". So many people gave up on the older Eastons waaay too early. It was always common to see them on clearance the year they came out, then command a premium on the used market a year or two later.
I started swinging Eastons heavily in 2012. I probably own 35 of them right now, almost all of them 2016 or older. I really like the stiff feel. Also, I played a lot of softball in the years when we used only hard balls. I didn't want bats breaking all the time.
IMO Easton hit their "pre Fireflex" peak in 2013-14. Those two years had some good bats that combined great performance with awesome durability. '15 and '16 weren't bad either. The TCT composite wasn't quite as durable as IMX, but it performed well.