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By Bat Digest | Last Updated November 17, 2022
With the Easton MAKO and MAKO Torq getting all the publicity these days, the industry may be missing a new concept bat in Easton’s 2015 Power Brigade lineup. The new S3z for 2015 incorporates what Easton learned in the all-aluminum S3 from years past and combined that with some industry tricks to create a long-barreled one-piece aluminum stick with a patented composite internal sleeve.
Those BBCOR hitters looking for a full piece aluminum bat with a brand bat may want to take the S3z for a spin. We think it clearly an improvement over the BBCOR S3 from years past. Any one-piece aluminum hitter who prefers a light swing weight should probably have this big barreled aluminum bat from Easton on the shortlist.
We recommend the 2015 Easton S3z for hitters who: Prefer aluminum barrels; Like one-piece aluminum bats; Are looking for the latest innovation but don’t want to spend the latest innovation prices; Prefer a balanced to light swing weight; Also need a BBCOR bat.
Like the 2015 Easton S3, the S3z has is a full one-piece aluminum outer shell. The aluminum alloy is Easton’s 2015 new HyperLite aluminum–which is used in all their high-end aluminum speed series bats this year (S2, S3, S2z, and S3z).
Unlike the 2015 Easton S3 and any of its previous iterations, the S3z incorporates an internal composite sleeve. This thin sleeve gives added strength to the thin-walled aluminum which, in turn, allows the bat to have an extended barrel without a decrease in durability nor an increase in swing weight. Easton is referring to this technology as Z-Core internal technology. The Z-core name, if that sounds familiar, is a shout out to the greatest bat ever made.
We thought the 2014 S3 from Easton often suffered from too small of a sweet spot and a bat that was nearly too light to create any mustard on hits. The added barrel length in the S3z and its attention to a more balanced swing (instead of a handle load) are definitely improvements.
The bat, to some extent, reminds us of the original Exogrid bat from Louisville Slugger. I am sure Easton (or Slugger) wouldn’t accept that comparison, but an internal composite sleeve on a full aluminum shell has been done before. And, for what it’s worth, the Exogrid was a very good, if not a bit heavy, bat. The S3z, with its new HyperLite aluminum alloy blend, does have addressed sometimes ‘too heavy’ complaint the ExoGrid suffered from.
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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