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By Bat Digest | Last Updated November 17, 2022
We used several different hitters in our four-hour head-to-head test to derive insight for our 2017 DeMarini CF Insane review. Big hitters, tall hitters, base hitters, small hitters. We found, on the whole, the bat contains show-stopping power when used by the right type of player—which tended to be a more advanced player on the stronger side. The CF Insane’s two-piece design (derived by DeMarini from years of experience in the two-piece composite space) felt as buttery as we ever remember any of the previous years’ iterations. Or any bat on the market for that matter. Big and advanced hitters who don’t struggle for bat speed and prefer smooth feeling swings, even on mishits, will be insanely in love.
Advanced players with good to great mechanics and a reasonable amount of power should really appreciate the more end-loaded feel of the DeMarini CF Insane. We wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the bat to anyone in that category assuming they are capable and willing to afford it. (Amazon Price Check).
The bat, while claiming an end load, is still not heavy like many single-piece aluminum or hybrid bats—but it is clearly more weighted in the end cap than the CF Zen. The 2017 CF Insane is a top-shelf bat worthy of any serious, elite player’s bag.
There is only one other end-loaded two-piece composite bat on the market. That is the Easton MAKO XL. Both bats (the CF Insane and the MAKO XL) are top-shelf performance bats made by companies with years of experience in the two-piece composite space. Both perform at peak levels at many different pitch speeds and along the length of the barrel.
Easton owners would claim their bat has a larger physical barrel, but DeMarini owners would claim their barrel has more production along its length. The fact is, both bats are great and it would be unreasonable to think one somehow remarkably out rakes the other. Both are used at elite levels of baseball, both have massive sweet spots and smooth sailing composite barrels finely tuned.
The CF Insane does boast the ability to customize the bat. For that, it gains at least some points.
New to the world of baseball bats is DeMarini’s surprise release of an end-loaded two-piece composite bat they’ve named the 2017 CF Insane. The bat, built on the same chassis as the CF8 from 2016, will feature:
Most notably, the bat will feature an end load, which to date, DeMarini has yet to produce in the two-piece composite baseball space. (They have done this in fastpitch before). In essence, DeMarini took the heavier swing weight often left for the bats in their lineup called the Insane (which were aluminum alloys in the baseball space) and combined it with the success they’ve seen in the two-piece composite construction. The end result is a new addition to the market of end-loaded two-piece composite bats.
Of note, the CF Insane’s endload will not be heavier than the 2017 Voodoo or 2017 One which will be released later this year.
At release, and for the foreseeable future, the 2017 CF Insane will come in only a BBCOR size. This means, only a drop 3 and only lengths from about 31 to 34 inches. This bat isn’t meant for the light of heart (or of muscle) — it is reserved for the big boys.
Those looking for the youth league, big barrel, or senior league sizes in a more manageable bat should check out the 2017 DeMarini CF Zen.
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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