Published by Kyle Hodge, Lead Product & Testing Engineer
After years of industry evolution, through thick and thin, it’s been proven time and again that one-piece alloy BBCOR bats are here to stay.
Offering low swings weights, extremely high barrel performance, and responsiveness that many players prefer, there are many good reasons to stick with a one-piece alloy construction, despite the tangible upgrades in tech offered by two-piece models.
Enter: Axe Bat’s newest one-piece alloy BBCOR model, the 2023 Axe Strato. Our highest performing, lightest swinging, most advanced one-piece model to-date. Today, we’ll dive into what takes this new model to the next level.
What’s covered below:
- Barrel Construction of the Strato
- What’s New?
- Comparison to the Axe Bat BBCOR Line
Barrel Construction of the Strato
The Strato will come equipped with the following components:
- Precision Variable Blastwall Aluminum Alloy Barrel
- Every millimeter machined to precision tolerance – our armor alloy will deliver peak performance hit after hit – more on this below.
- Carbon Fiber Composite HyperWhip Endcap
- Our strongest and lightest – allowing us to save every available gram, delivering the fastest swinging possible.
- Your Choice of “Standard” or “Flared” Axe Handles
- Equipped with our “Endogrid” vibration cancelling technology – adding an extra layer of comfort and dampening beneath the bottom hand.
What’s New?
As covered in our previous blog detailing the design of the 2023 Avenge Pro Hybrid, every barrel utilizing our Precision Variable Blastwall, including the Strato, is first modeled via computer aided design (CAD) software to not only create product drawings and specifications for manufacturing, but more importantly, to simulate both weight and moment of inertia (“swing weight”) calculations before a bat barrel is ever created. The result is a lighter swinging, higher performing barrel, with every thousandth of wall thickness meticulously designed and precisely machined.
In the specific case of the Axe Strato barrel, our Precision Variable Blastwall technology incorporates the precise placement of three separate radial grooves in the heart of the barrel, expanding the sweet-spot and decreasing weight, along with 10+ other specified thickness regions throughout the length of bat. The alternation of thick-to-thin grooves allows us to minimize MOI, while still maintaining the stiffness necessary for maximum performance and durability. A render of the raw barrel shell can be seen in the image above.
Through countless wall thickness iterations, via CAD and physically manufactured prototypes, and optimization of MOI, the optimal barrel design was output to both maximize performance, as seen in the BBCOR data below, and covered in our previous post regarding bat performance standards, and minimize unnecessary weight.
Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, the Avenge Pro Hybrid is offered in both our tried-and-true standard Axe handle, and brand-new Flared Axe handle, giving you the familiarity of a more traditional circular flared handle, while maintaining the Axe handle features that we find to be most crucial to a powerful, tuned-in swing – the best of both worlds.
In addition to our two unique handle offerings, both handles offer our Endogrid technology, placing a layer of shock absorbing elastomer directly beneath the bottom hand, reducing vibration and increasing comfort. In a landscape and category that can be barren of impactful vibration dampening methods – the combination of our refined handle shape and Endogrid technology results in player comfort not often seen elsewhere.
Comparison to the Axe Bat BBCOR Line
With two new 2023 BBCOR models launching in November, it was a priority to ensure both bat designs still featured constructions that were still accessible, and swingable by all categories of BBCOR player. And make no mistake, the 2023 Strato is the lightest aluminum alloy BBCOR model we’ve ever created. In comparison to the 2023 Avenge Pro Hybrid, which still features a moderate, power-balanced swing weight, players who prioritize a light swing weight should look no further than the Strato. With a 33” moment of inertia (“MOI”) of 9050, this bat will swing approximately as fast as any aluminum bat available today. A depiction of the swing weight, shown via MOI values, can be seen below:
In addition to the light swing weight, players who prefer a stiffer, more responsive, tuned-in barrel will tend to gravitate towards this one-piece alloy construction. In the end, this will be the optimal choice for players who prioritize bat speed, bat control, and thus ultimately, the ability to reach more pitches – and drive those pitches with industry leading performance.
Still have a question regarding what bat may be best suited for you? Feel free to reach out via chat or email to an Axe Bat customer service representative!