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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.
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.
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.
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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.
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.
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.
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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