Axe Bat

[jkates 316]

Do any of your kids use the Axe Bat? What do you think? Pros? Cons? Which one do they use (BBCOR, USABat, USSSA)? 

My son (9 years old, 10 in April) grabbed an Axe Bat this fall and fell in love with it. He says it feels better in his hand. I don't notice a major difference in his swing mechanics but he is making better contact lately. This could simply be his development, his comfort, his confidence, the fact that he's hitting more this winter than last, or some combination. I'm not one who thinks that a different bat cures a swing problem. 

Anyway, I think I'm about to pull the trigger on the 2020 Axe Avenge (-10) USSSA bat and was curious if any on here had opinions based on their kids' swinging one.

[NeverMarryAStripper 21867]

Don't discount the mental aspect.  If the bat feels better to him he may just be more relaxed at the plate.

[Pato del Muerto 52484]

My only experience is one kid bought one midway through last season and didn’t hit any better. 

to piggyback on the above, it’s the batter  not the bat, but if the bat makes the batter feel more confident then good. 

[Dennis Taylor 18807]

God I don't miss that shit! 

Huge placebo effect with bats...the one with the blue flames hits better than the other one, etc. Also, if it's cold enough and your kid hits hard, it's gonna get dented anyways. 

Year-round baseball for that young is just crazy.  

[jkates 316]

God I don't miss that shit! 
Huge placebo effect with bats...the one with the blue flames hits better than the other one, etc. Also, if it's cold enough and your kid hits hard, it's gonna get dented anyways. 
Year-round baseball for that young is just crazy.  

I wish you only missed year round baseball instead of the point. I'm asking about a bat with a different handle than any other. I'm not worried about blue flames or weather.


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[jkates 316]

Don't discount the mental aspect.  If the bat feels better to him he may just be more relaxed at the plate.

No doubt. The axe handle feels weird to me but I'm an old. He is comfortable with it.


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[Dennis Taylor 18807]

6 minutes ago, jkates said:

I wish you only missed year round baseball instead of the point. I'm asking about a bat with a different handle than any other. I'm not worried about blue flames or weather.


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One day you will see that it is you that is missing the point, young grasshopper 

[gsoda3 3245]

is he hitting more line drives?  i used one a few times and felt like it made me swing on an even plane.  or maybe it made me more aware of it.  which is what i wasn't going for. 

[Iceman 2690]

Probably a cheating device since it is used by Astros...

/rolleyes.

[VolenteHawk 495]

We’ve had various kids try them on the team I coach in Austin (USSSA, 2 3/4”, -10), never saw much difference and none have stayed with it.

We ended the fall season over half Cat 8/Posey.

 

[jkates 316]

12 hours ago, gsoda3 said:

is he hitting more line drives?  i used one a few times and felt like it made me swing on an even plane.  or maybe it made me more aware of it.  which is what i wasn't going for. 

He does seem to be making better contact, though not necessarily line drives. How much of that is attributable to the bat handle, I don't know. He bats lefthanded. His misses often resulted in flares or pop ups to SS/3B. He seems to have much fewer of those now. 

I assumed that handle design might help reduce rollover ground balls. Haven't had a chance to see that yet as he hasn't played games with it. We've just been doing tee work, flips, front toss, BP.

[jkates 316]

3 hours ago, VolenteHawk said:

We’ve had various kids try them on the team I coach in Austin (USSSA, 2 3/4”, -10), never saw much difference and none have stayed with it.

We ended the fall season over half Cat 8/Posey.

 

Cat 8/Posey - smooth looking bats. The best hitter on my son's team uses one.

I have a buddy who believes the Axe Bat has a lighter swing weight and the Cat 8 a heavier swing weight. He gives his stronger kids the Posey but won't let his little kids use it. My son falls on the smaller side. This buddy is the one who put the Axe Bat in my son's hands. 

[F250 28761]

11 minutes ago, jkates said:

Cat 8/Posey - smooth looking bats. The best hitter on my son's team uses one.

I have a buddy who believes the Axe Bat has a lighter swing weight and the Cat 8 a heavier swing weight. He gives his stronger kids the Posey but won't let his little kids use it. My son falls on the smaller side. This buddy is the one who put the Axe Bat in my son's hands. 

As I recall, the Axe Bat might help kids who struggle with end loaded bats by making the swing feel lighter. I am not sure how much validity there is to this claim but that is what some people say. Personally, I think if a kid struggles with the end weight it is best to use a balanced bat and just work on mechanics. However the Cat 8 and Posey are both balanced bats so there really shouldn't be an issue with a heavy swing that the Axe Bat would assist in overcoming.

 

18 hours ago, NeverMarryAStripper said:

Don't discount the mental aspect.  If the bat feels better to him he may just be more relaxed at the plate.

This.

[pepper brooks 580]

They are pretty good training bats, and in theory should help with kids who "roll" their hand too soon.  My son often trains with one, but doesn't use them in games as they have yet to make one with the same "pop" as the CF Zen's he hits bombs with but cracks every 2 months.  

Edited January 8, 2020 by pepper brooks