Wood Bats
- Thread starter CTGlove
- Start date
Hiltz
Built for comfort
Performance-wise, the Corndog is no better than a regular wood bat. Where it beats solid wood is in the durability department. Wood bats generally break at the taper/handle and rarely in the barrel. The composite handle on the Corndog will tolerate balls off the end and taper much better.
If you go the solid wood route, don't cheap out. All those $30-$50 Easton and LS bats are made from wood that never would've been used in a baseball bat. Crooked, twisted grain is the norm. Phoenix, Viper, MaxBat are all good bets. Not sure about their availability outside of Canada but a lot of guys up here (myself included) use B45 yellow birch bats.
If you go the solid wood route, don't cheap out. All those $30-$50 Easton and LS bats are made from wood that never would've been used in a baseball bat. Crooked, twisted grain is the norm. Phoenix, Viper, MaxBat are all good bets. Not sure about their availability outside of Canada but a lot of guys up here (myself included) use B45 yellow birch bats.
Interesting. The balls seem to fly off the Corndog more than other bats. Maybe not.
blakcherry329
Well-Known Member
Could be the added flex you get with a two piece.
I played a few wood bat tournaments in Da Boogie Down and we had some generic wood bats. I didn't even recognize the name of the manufacturer. However, the Clinchers were flying pretty well. I was shocked at how good the bat felt. A little end-loaded and nice sized sweet spot.
I think wood bats, much like single walls, have a clear winner and the rest are basically the same. (i.e. Corn Dog and White Steel).
Hiltz
Built for comfort
That depends more on what the other bats are. If they're sporting goods store cheapies, no doubt; they use garbage wood and the Corndog uses some nice, solid maple. Also the Corndog is pretty consistent in its weight. I've seen garbage wood softball bats range from 23-32 ounces, that's enough to seriously throw people off.
In an apples to apples comparison with a high-end wood bat in a comparable weight you won't see any difference in performance.
TWmccoy
3DX Connoisseur
The ball is more important when using wood bats rather than the bat itself. C+ or other .52s will fly respectably. Classic Ms or .44 375s will fly much worse.
The really cheap Louisville wood bats will hit decently, but the wood is poor quality, and will eventually flake apart or crack.
The best wood softball bat I've tried is the Worth Toxic. Bamboo/maple hybrid. Good durability and performance.
The really cheap Louisville wood bats will hit decently, but the wood is poor quality, and will eventually flake apart or crack.
The best wood softball bat I've tried is the Worth Toxic. Bamboo/maple hybrid. Good durability and performance.
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Hiltz
Built for comfort
This is something that gets overlooked. Since a wood bat has no "trampoline" effect, performance is 90% determined by the ball.
I play in two leagues, one uses .52/275 Worth Hot Dots and the other uses .40/400 Gray Dots. With the .52/275's I'm hitting homeruns almost as often as I did when it was a composite bat league. In the .40/400 league I have 2 homeruns in 3.5 seasons.
TWmccoy
3DX Connoisseur
Gray Dots with wood bats has to just be miserable. You get NO spring off the bat with those dead balls. I've hit classic M ZNs with wood bats, and it's the same thing. Very, very hard to hit them 300'. Practically impossible, in fact.
With .52s you can go 300' with relative ease with wood bats.
Since the wood bat itself isn't providing much pop, the ball has to do some of the work. That's why .52s fly well while other balls don't.
Hiltz
Built for comfort
The Gray Dots serve a purpose; all the local fields were built before composites existed and have ~260' fences. Even on such small fields, homeruns are rare and are only hit by the guys that should be hitting them.
TWmccoy
3DX Connoisseur
Fair enough. On really small fields I guess that could still be a fun game. 300' fields with Gray Dots and wood bats would just suck.
Sometimes for BP I use 11" women's balls and wood bats. It's a nice combo. They'll fly out of 300' fields, but it takes a pretty decent poke.
blakcherry329
Well-Known Member
I think it's a better game when balls aren't flying out of the yard, left and right. Gives the pitcher a little more influence over the game, imo.