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By Bat Digest | Last Updated November 17, 2022
Marucci’s 2018 F5 is a value bat built with the person who likes the idea of the CAT series of bats but doesn’t quite like the price. The bat uses a similar alloy when compared to the CAT, but doesn’t use the same anti-vibration know. Everything we know about the 2018 Marucci F5 is below.
If you love the Marucci line of bats and like the feel of a single piece aluminum bat, then the F5 is a legit option for players not ready to spend the money it takes to acquire a CAT 7. Do note, however, the F5 only comes in a drop 10 2 3/4 for both Junior Big Barrel and Big Barrel Leagues, as well as a BBCOR option. In other words, even if you do want this bat it is possible they won’t make it in your size. Check before you start to salivate.
We think you’ll like the F5 because it is a (1) Value Purchase, (2) big barrel for an aluminum bat, (3) Light Swing, (4) Loud Ping and (5) Durabile
You might not like the bat because it rings your hands on mishits, is not the biggest barrel and there are a lot of other single piece alloy bats in the bat space
Not the biggest barrel.
| 3 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 |
| MOI | Tech | Drb | Flx | Prof | ReSl | PlaRa | ExVe | Relv | Dmnd |
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| 3 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 |
| MOI | Tech | Drb | Flx | Prof | ReSl | PlaRa | ExVe | Relv | Dmnd |
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| 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
| MOI | Tech | Drb | Flx | Prof | ReSl | PlaRa | ExVe | Relv | Dmnd |
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Marucci F5 Comparable Bats
There are several single piece aluminum bats on the market. Not counting the Marucci F5, four bats use variable wall thickness to lower the swing weight. They are:
Rawlings VELO
Boombah Cannon
Axe Hyperwhip
Marucci CAT 7
Mizuno Generations
(Thanks goes out to one of our faithful readers for making sure we got the Generations on this list. It is far and away the most comparable bat to the F5 in the market today.)
Each of these bats are “hot out of the wrapper”. None, save the Mizuno Generations, however, is as inexpensive as the F5. If you’d like to read more about those bats we refer you to those specific reviews for details.
2015 was the first year of the F5. This year has some slight upgrades, but it is the same bat and feel. They did upgrade some of it to a black version for 2020, but it is the same bat with some different graphics that comply with the new NCAA regulation on non-white bats.
As we mention above, the 2018 Marucci F5 is made from a single piece of aluminum. This aluminum has added materials within the metal so you will often see it referred to as an alloy bat.
The most unique feature of the F5 is something you can only see if you cut the bat in half lengthwise. The barrel’s differing thickness allows for better trampoline effect off the dead sweet spot. It also removes volume from the barrel and allows for a lighter swinging bat.
The F5 is one of the lightest swinging single piece bats on the market. And at this price point, we think it is the lightest.
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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