The ball’s flying in, you swing, and the barrel-to-ball contact is perfect, but the exit velocity is pathetic. It can happen over and over again when your bat doesn’t have any pop.
Now, one particular bat doesn’t have more pop than the other. If that were the case, all the newbs and pros would’ve lined up to get that holy grail of bats. But that’s not the case. Still, certain factors can indicate the pop of a bat. And the better you are at realizing it, the better bat you can sniff out. Let me show you.
What Softball Bat Has the Most Pop?
So, what is this ‘pop’ that I keep talking about in this article? Basically, this particular softball jargon refers to the exit velocity of the ball when hit by the bat’s sweet spot.
These spots are the points or locations in a bat that are best suited for hitting pitched softballs. Along these points, the impact between the ball and the bat creates a minimal amount of vibrational sense or sting in the batter’s hands, and/or maximum speed for the batted ball.
Good pop comes from two primary factors – A) material and B) barrel type.
So, when you have great pop in a bat, a sweet hit even intensifies the exit velocity. And as I said, no single bat has the greatest pop. However, good composite softball bats have better pop than any other bat type (wood and aluminum). Besides, composite bats with two-barrels otherwise known as double-barrel bats also have a superior pop than single-wall bats.
Aluminum Or Composite or Wood? (The Pop Math)
Once upon a time, softball bats were made primarily of wood but technological advancements have brought in new materials such as aluminum and composites. I’ll get into details of each to explain why I believe composite bats have the most pop.
Option 1: Wood
Wooden bats are not common in softball after the rise of aluminum and composite. Anyways, softball enthusiasts who want to hear a whack rather than ping favor these kinds of bats more. So, wooden bats have decent pop but it’s not as good as composite.
Typically, wooden bats are made of ash, which is a soft and light material that makes the bats splinter very easily. Although bats made from maple or birch wood are denser and less susceptible to breaking, they do not provide larger sweet spots. When compared to metal bats, wooden bats are more suited to training where the players would learn to refine their techniques rather than hit home runs,
Option 2: Aluminum
On the other hand, aluminum bats are more durable as it is made by mixing two or more metals. These are typically less expensive and more reliable in cold temperatures. Although they are stronger than wooden bats and don’t break, they tend to dent or crack over time.
Lighter aluminum alloy bats that are thinner and stronger provide a larger hitting zone or sweet spot, compared to wooden bats. I will say that even though these bats are used by power-hitters, they have an average pop.
I remember, a couple of years back, during a training session, one of my players who had quite the knack of ‘hitting the ball out of the park’, couldn’t actually follow through his boasts as the aluminum bat he was using just wouldn’t give him pop that he wanted. Moreover, metal, or alloy, bats are as “hot” as they will ever be right out of the wrapper.
Option 3: Composite
Now to the holy grail of softball bats: Composite bats!
These are bats that are made from layered materials such as carbon fiber or Kevlar. They are firm, tough, and quite lightweight. The raw materials enable producers to integrate variable strength and rigidity into different parts of the bats.
The result is a bat with sturdier handles for higher control, and more fluid hitting areas for less shock and a better ‘trampoline effect.
Composite bats are known to have the largest hitting surface with a more pronounced sweet spot thus giving the most pop to the batters. Because the carbon fiber is easy to dispense, the bats have an assortment of swing weights, from balanced to end-loaded. This is the kind of bat I’ve been using for the last 3 years and I’ve never been better at my game!
But – you have to keep in mind that not all leagues allow composite bats. So, make sure the bat you have is legal.
Which Fast Pitch/Slow-Pitch Bats to Buy to Get the Most Pop?
Here comes the softball Santa for you with a couple of recommendations of fast-pitch and slow-pitch softball bats for you. I’ve used these bats myself and they’ve served me well. However, experience with a bat can be very subjective. So, whatever you get needs to align with your needs.
What Fast-Pitch Softball Bat Has the Most Pop?
Now when it comes to a fast pitch softball bat, I use the Easton GHOST ADVANCED -11 l -10 l – 9 l -8 l Fastpitch Softball Bat. It’s a second-generation double barrel bat.
Because of its lighter inner barrel and tougher outer barrel, the bat creates the lowest compression that helps with more barrel flex and better performance. The “Soft-knob” tech used to produce the item gave me more leverage and power while decreasing the vibration in my bottom hand.
This bat is the best so far from Easton as they doubled the amount of Nitrocell foam which allows the Ghost advanced to produce almost zero vibration. Finally, the best feature of all is the Launch Composite technology that provides the biggest sweet spot thus giving the bat the most pop.
This means, most of the time I can hit the ball with just that right spot in my bat, and off goes the ball flying high! The bat is certified to be used in ASA, USSSA (Fastpitch only), NSA, ISA, and ISF leagues.
The hottest bat in the game that is approved for ALL fields weighs 23 ounces with a 2.2MM cushioned grip. It’s a great bat right off the wrapper. I also bought this for my niece and she absolutely loves it! Lots of pop! And she went on to make all-district and her team took the state championship with this bat!
Which Slow Pitch Softball Bat Has the Most Pop?
On the other hand, DeMarini 2023 Juggy Slowpitch Softball Bat – 34″ is the one that I use when I play slow pitch. It’s a no-brainer pick for a free-swinging behemoth.
The 12” end-loaded barrel gives me a compact and end-loaded feel with massive power while the TR3 F.L.O. Composite handle is designed to minimize any and all vibrations that I might feel.
Plus, the stacked double-wall composite barrel is ideal for lower compression balls and allows for a soft compression that makes me feel game-ready.
It’s a two-piece composite bat designed to punish opposing pitchers with its end-loaded swing. When I bought this bat, it came hot out of the wrapper and I started dropping nukes! It has that big of a sweet spot that gives the most pop. My team went out and bought one for all of themselves.
With Everything Said and Done
I’m pretty sure you understand that pop has a lot to do with material and barrel design. And even if you don’t want to hear it, there’s no single superhero bat with the greatest pop. So, some bats have better pop because of barrel and material, and that’s all there is to it.
I hope all the information you got here has been helpful. Cheers!
