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2021 Louisville Slugger Solo Review

By Bat Digest | Last Updated November 17, 2022


The 2021 Louisville Slugger Solo is a light swinging single piece aluminum bat made for the performance BBCOR and USSSA space. There is no 2021 version for USA. The major changes are the re-engineered barrel design of the 31 through 34-inch BBCOR and new end cap to help bring down swing weight in the USSSA versions.


Price Check

2021 Solo Models


Our hitters like the light swing, big barrel, and solid performance of the 2021 Louisville Slugger Solo. In BBCOR, smaller players looking for as much bat speed as possible but are also comfortable enough with their skills to prefer single piece bats liked the Solo a lot. For USSSA, the drop 5 was preferred more than the other versions for bigger hitters. Most smaller players preferred the lighter swing of two-piece composite bats like the Meta or CF, but did just fine when it comes to exit speeds with the Solo.

BBCOR
USSSA –10
USSSA –8
USSSA –5

General Recomendations

We recommend the Solo for the hitters who prefer single piece bats with a light swing. The bat is in the bottom 10% for swing weight. Meaning, for its given length, the bat swings light because the distribution of the weight is in the handle. It works well for hitters who need as much bat speed as possible and is comfortable with the feedback associated with a single piece bat.

We think previous versions of the bat are as good as this 2021 iteration. We think the 31 through 34-inch  BBCOR might be the most noticeable differences year over year, but not sure if that will justify any considerable price differences between the two.

Model Recommendations

WTLBBS621

BBCOR Review

Solo BBCOR Ratings (key)
2 3 4 4 2 3 4 5 5 4
MOI Tech Drb Flx Prof ReSl PlaRa ExVe Relv Dmnd

OVERALL/10
The 2021 Louisville Slugger Solo is a light swinging BBCOR bat with a surprisingly large barrel and top-end performance. Hitters who want and need as much bat speed as possible should really like the BBCOR Solo if they are fine with the occasional hand ring. The 29-inch Solo is the lightest swinging BBCOR bat on the market for 2021 and serves that very undersized kid who is required to swing BBCOR very well.
Sizing: 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34-inch
Release Date: September 15, 2020
Serial: WTLBBS621
Bat Type: Single Piece Alloy
Barrel Size: 2 5/8
See other BBCOR Bats
WBL2471010

USSSA Drop 10 Review

Solo USSSA Drop 10 Ratings (key)
2 3 4 4 2 3 3 4 4 3
MOI Tech Drb Flx Prof ReSl PlaRa ExVe Relv Dmnd

OVERALL/10
The 2021 Louisville Slugger Solo USSSA Drop 10 swings light, has a great barrel profile, and hits the ball about as well as any USSSA bat we tested. Our smaller hitters don't prefer single piece bats---instead, they like two-piece bats with a little more give in the connection and less ring on the hands. But, the hitter looking for a legit entry-level performance bat in the USSSA space, needs as much bat speed help as possible, and is good with some hand ring now and then will hit the ball as well with the Solo drop 10 as they could any bat.
Sizing: 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31-inch
Release Date: September 15, 2020
Serial: WBL2471010
Bat Type: Single Piece Alloy
Barrel Size: 2 3/4
See other Drop 10 USSSA Bats
WBL2485010

USSSA Drop 8 Review

Solo USSSA Drop 8 Ratings (key)
2 3 4 4 2 3 3 4 4 3
MOI Tech Drb Flx Prof ReSl PlaRa ExVe Relv Dmnd

OVERALL/10
Louisville Slugger's Solo in a USSSA Drop 8 swings lighter than the drop 8 USSSA average, but not by much. This is a single-piece bat with a stiff feel and good-sized barrel. Hitters swinging a 31 or 32-inch drop 10 might find a lot of value in dropping an inch and going for the drop 8 instead. That added weight takes away some of the hand-sting and the heavier drop only adds power. Overall, the bat is a fantastic bat for the right type of hitter.
Sizing: 29, 30, 31, 32-inch
Release Date: September 15, 2020
Serial: WBL2485010
Bat Type: Single Piece Alloy
Barrel Size: 2 3/4
See other Drop 8 USSSA Bats
WBL2473010

USSSA Drop 5 Review

Solo USSSA Drop 5 Ratings (key)
2 3 4 4 2 3 3 4 3 3
MOI Tech Drb Flx Prof ReSl PlaRa ExVe Relv Dmnd

OVERALL/10
The drop 5 USSSA 2021 Louisville Slugger Solo works well for the hitter forced to use a drop 5 but still needs a light swing. The other light swinging option in a drop 5 (VELO) swings even lighter than the Solo. But, for many, the VELO is almost too light. The drop 5 Solo USSSA swings light but reasonably so. Hitters who like a stiff feel on a single piece bat, need a light swinging drop 5, or are about to size out of their drop 8 Solo should consider the drop 5. If you're swinging a drop 8 Solo in a 32-inch, we think a drop 5 in a 30 or 31 is worth considering too.
Sizing: 30, 31, 32-inch
Release Date: September 15, 2020
Serial: WBL2473010
Bat Type: Single Piece Alloy
Barrel Size: 2 5/8
See other Drop 5 USSSA Bats

Comparable Bats

Light swinging single piece aluminum bats are plentiful. Comparable bats are like the Voodoo One, The Goods Single Piece, Easton’s Fuze, and Alpha and the Rawlings VELO. If we had to choose the most comparable across all lines, we’d say it was the Rawlings VELO.

Previous Models

The major change from the 2020 Solo to the 2021 Solo is the retooled alloy on the 31 through 34″ BBCOR versions of the 2021 Solo. The bat lost a bit of luster in its bigger sizes as its swing weight was still moderately balanced instead of light. But, this new alloy helps bring down the swing weight and keeps it a true light swinging bat across all sizes. In USSSA, the new end cap doesn’t make much of a difference, as far as we see it. It likely helps Slugger keep the swing weight down a bit, but nothing our hitters noticed.

Construction

The 2021 Louisville Slugger Solo is a single-piece bat with thin alloy walls to help bring down the swing weight. The bat is stiff, has a decent barrel profile, and uses a grip stock straight from Louisville Slugger.

Overall Ratings

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.

Download our data.