2018 Monsta DNA Mutated – What can I say about this bat that wasn’t answered with the War on the Shore? Since my tester is USSSA only I could not test the bat and give any accurate readings. What I can say is that this 12 1/2 barrel bat is a absolute BEAST for hitting ASA balls. In this test I used the ASA .52/300 Tattoo spinner balls. First I did the usual tunnel testing and hit even a few off the T. Since I normally swing a Monsta Torch I was thrown off a bit by the .5 weight difference. Surprisingly the 27.5 did not feel as smooth as the 27 Militia I have. However, after a few swings I began to get a feel for it.
The bat comes in a nice bag without the handle tape applied. This is a nice touch as you can see your name and handle model, and if you don’t like stock tape you don’t have to cut it off. Monsta provides a unique configuration that allows you (the buyer) to specify the handle type. The 2500 (whippy), the 3500 (stiff) and the 4500 (super stiff) allow the bat to be comfort fitted for the player. I have two models that I’ve tested. One was configured as a 27.5 with a 2500 handle the other was a 27.5 with a 3500 handle.
After a scant 50 swings the bat began to feel much better. By 100 swings I was really starting to drive the ball. So we moved outside to do some real distance testing. The bats were really starting to loosen up at this point as the FIB (floating inner barrel) was now starting to slide better. Another 100 swings and I was digging it. This bat is different from the Torch…not in construction so much as the weighting changes the “feel” of the bat. It does however, REALLY smash the 52/300 ball. In the outdoor test we switched to hitting the .52/300 NX3 Tattoo ball (with some standard .52/300 Tattoos thrown in for comparison).
Final Thought: This bat is MADE to hit this ball a country mile. With my Torch prefer the 3500 handle but with the DNA Mutated I found the 2500 handle more to my liking. Overall this bat is one of the best made PERIOD for hitting the 52 core balls.
2018 Easton Ghost – I’m not sure what they’ve put in the water over at Easton, but this is the year of Easton, because they’ve come out swinging. The new ASA Ghost is no exception. If you’ve swung the Easton Fire Flex then you’ve got a good idea what this bat feels like. With a 13 1/2″ barrel the sweet spot is massive. The bat itself is not marked as having an endload and for the life of me, I didn’t notice if it was missing (a quick web search indicates that it’s balanced). The ball flat out JUMPS off this bat.
The first time I unwrapped this bat at a League night I hit back to back dingers. I loved the thin handle tape, which provided good grip without added thickness.
In the tunnels I had no problem judging the bat to be a launcher. This bat felt great and with each swing I was more impressed with what Easton has accomplished. To get a solid ASA bat is not as easy as you’d think. The fact is that Demarini with the Linear compression technology changed the bat game a few years back follow by Monsta and the FIB and now Easton has done it with the dual barrel technology. Easton uses a double wall technology to achieve a better flex and the lowest allowable (750 PSI) compression rating.
When we moved outside I noticed that I could easily hit gaps as well as blow the ball out. The lack of an end load did affect my ability to pull the ball some, as I didn’t hit many to Left Field.
Final Thought : For those (like me) that play different associations this bat provided me with a quick transition from USSSA to ASA with little effort. The bat’s big sweet spot, light swing weight, and double wall technology make it a true hammer. A must have for any serious ASA ball player.
2018 ASA Worth Legit Ryan Harvey XL – This bat is the ASA version of Ryan Havey’s Worth Legit. I loved this bat. The XL refers to having a .5 oz end load. Again with no ASA dial for my tester I could not determine compression and/or loss of compression after testing. Like the USSSA model this bat is a 13 1/2 barrel. It boasts a massive sweet spot and felt almost identical to my USSSA model.
The 52/300 ASA Spinner balls came off the bat well in the initial testing the tunnel. The first 100 balls took nothing to get used to. The 27 oz model I tested was slightly used when I got my hands on it (the owner claimed 25 cuts) and the more I swung it the more I really liked the feel. This is definitely a bat that a casual ball player can swing. In typical Worth fashion the bat has a nice mid load feel (although it claims to be XL for max load) and swings very clean and it’s easy smash the ball.
Once we went outside and continued hitting it was more of the same. The bat has plenty of pop and you can hit the ball out with it, but the handle felt a bit to stiff for me. It was a great bat for spraying the ball around as the stiffness of the handle made it easy to judge where the bat head was going to wind up.
Final Thought : Overall this is a great bat for ASA and an excellent choice for the casual ball player as it doesn’t require hours to get comfortable with it.
Softball Nation 365 