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By Bat Digest | Last Updated November 17, 2022
After well over a week of solid hitting, we are willing to make some determinations on the Warstic set of BBCOR bats. Our data gathering comprised at least four hours collectively in the cage, a few emails back and forth with the Warstic team and at least two conversations with major bat vendors to measure their take. That information, combined with our now thousands of hours of reviewing, hitting, and evaluating BBCOR baseball bats goes into this Warstic Hawk2 BBCOR review.
The best place to check the BBCOR Warhawk 2 and Gunner bats from Warstic are directly on their site. Amazon has at least one model of a Warstic bat, although it is the wood version. You can find that here.
The Warstic line of single-piece aluminum bats is built for players who accept that the BBCOR standard levels the playing field for boutique vendors. Instead of a focus on max performance, the preference should be on max inspiration. If that fits your style, we would highly recommend the Warstic BBCOR line of bats. The Hawk 2 is one of the most beautiful bats on the market.
We should also note, the one-piece design of the HAWK2 with a focus on an end-loaded, although not too heavy, swing weight is also something to consider. We would buy the Warstic if we:
In terms of design quality and focus on the finesse and artistry, we dare say nothing compares. It could be argued the 2021 Marucci CAT 9, with its remarkably splendid, flashy red design is in the same category. Indeed, it does have many things in common. Namely, a single piece aluminum design with a focus on feel as much as performance. It is not surprising both bats are designed by companies that make a living making stunning wood bats. However, the CAT 9 is slightly more balanced swinging bat whereas the Warstic Hawk2, which tend to be more endloaded.
The BBCOR Warstic Hawk2 bat is a single-piece aluminum bat with an end load. It swings a lot like a premium quality wood bat in the sense of weight distribution, tapered handle and ball carry. On a side note, it also carries what we consider the best-looking logo in the industry.
Every bat company we have spoken with claims their bat is the best. Their approach is expected (and what they should be doing after all), but that doesn’t mean it is not a stale tale. Warstic is not necessarily an exception to this. After all, they do claim their bat performs at peak BBCOR levels. But, unlike every bat company we have spoken with, their emphasis isn’t on max performance. Instead, their focus is on finding a unique bat that fits a player’s design needs with a clear acceptance that they, like others, meet BBCOR standards.
That is easy to say in an email to the major bat review site on the internet, no doubt. But that’s why we take a good look at the bats. We dare say we’ve seen more baseball bat designs than anyone on the planet. Warstic, hands down, is the most classy. And classy doesn’t quite capture the essence. Their design inspires a sort of artistry and finesse we have yet to see elsewhere.
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.