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By Bat Digest | Last Updated November 17, 2022
The Easton Power Brigade line is back in 2015 with the usual suspects. The Speed (S), XL, and MAKO lines will once again grace the plates of little leagues, high school and colleges around the country. Of course the big news is the MAKO TORQ with its spinning handle, but here we focus on the Easton S3.
The 2015 Easton S3, like the 2014 version, will be a one piece aluminum bat with a balanced to light swing weight. Different than the 2014 S3, however, the S3 will be contain Easton’s new and improved HyperLite Alloy. This alloy is also found on the barrel of their top shelf 2015 Easton S2.
The 2014 Easton S3 had mixed reviews. The light swinging aluminum stick was helpful for those who needed a very, very light swinging bat, but it missed a lot of folks expectations when the sweet spot in the bat was hard to find.
Those in the single-piece aluminum bat market will find that this segment is very crowded with several very good options. We can say with confidence that the 2015 S3, unlike last year’s model, should be one to consider. It’s larger barrel profile and balanced to light swing weight, as well as Easton’s market saturation, should convince a lot to pull the trigger.
We recommend the 2015 Easton S3 for those hitters who: Prefer the price points of a one-piece aluminum bat; would like a higher-end one-piece aluminum bat; prefer aluminum barrels; are on a budget; are working on making contact; need a balanced to light swing weight; not interested or capable of hitting bombs.
We would NOT recommend the 2015 Easton S1 for those hitters who: Prefer heavier swing weights; Willing to spend a little more for increased performance; Want to accentuate their bomb-dropping skills; Prefer two-piece bats; Want a composite barrel; need a BBCOR or drop 5 bat.
Those looking for the least expensive ‘high end’ bat from the arguable leader in the metal bat space should be looking at the 2015 S3.
The overall rating uses seven different weighted metrics to determine our overall score. Half of total rating comes from the player and our exit speed tests (Player Rating: 25%, Performance: 25%).The other categories are Relevance (20%), Demand (10%), Durability (10%), Resell Score (5%), and Tech Specs (5%).
*: When a bat is denoted by a star (*) it is a preliminary rating. Expect it to be updated as we learn more about the bat and gather more data.
(PlaRa) Player Rating: We measure player rating from user reviews. Those users include our own hitters that we test at the lab as well as reviews we find online.
(ExVe) Performance: Performance measures the exit speeds and distances we capture in our hitting lab with HitTrax using these bats.
(Relv) Relevance: We measure the number of sizes and the MOI of the bat. Bats with a wider range of options get a better score.
(Dmnd) Demand: Demand is measured by consumer sentiment and the buzz around the bat.
(Drb) Durability: A bat’s durability is measured by user reviews as well as feedback from manufacturers.
(ReSl) Resell Score: Based on the price the bats go for used. Higher prices mean greater user demand which means, generally, a better bat. A resell value closer to its original price means a higher score.
(Tech) Tech Specs: We rate the bat on its technological advancements from previous years and compared to the industry at large. This is our chance to reward companies who are trying to innovate.
MOI
MOI or Mass Moment of Inertia is a measurement of bat swing weight. This quantifies how difficult it is to swing a bat. The industry often refers to this as things like End Load or Balanced but those words have been overused to the point of meaninglessness. We measure the actual swing weights of each bat we test using the industry-standard pendulum period, balance point, and scale weight. You can read more about that here.
Price
The price is the original MSRP price of the bat.
Type
The types of bats are single-piece alloy (SPA), two-piece composite (TPC), single-piece composite (SPC), hybrid (Hyb.), and wood (Wood). Hybrid bats are made of composite handles and alloy barrles.
Date
The estimated date the bat began distribution.
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