Louisville has finally responded to Easton and Demarini’s multi-piece bat designs with the Louisville Slugger TPX Triton, a unique 3 piece bat. What I find amazing about this bat is the size of the barrel. This is the largest barrel I’ve ever seen on a baseball bat. My initial thought is this thing looks like an oak tree! The unique 3 piece design allows the barrel and the handle to be designed and built as individual units. They are then fused together via what is called the Bubble Transition Zone. Louisville claims this makes the bat function as a more advanced one piece bat (I’ll get to this claim in a second). The bat is made of 100% composite material and includes the standard Louisville stiff handle. The Adult -3 model retails for $399 and the Youth -12 at $249. Louisville has long promoted the benefits of the 1 piece design and stiff handle for baseball bats. The success of 2 piece bats from Easton and Demarini has finally forced them to manufacture a multi piece bat. Unfortunately, being stubborn, they won’t admit to the general public that their new multi piece bat is actually a multi piece bat! They claim it’s “really” a one piece bat that is fused together from 3 pieces. This is insane!!! Louisville’s entire marketing department should be fired immediately. Louisville has to either admit multi-piece bats have merit or stick to a true one piece design, we’re not fools. I’m skeptical to purchase a bat for $399 when the manufacturer is telling me little white lies. What’s next, saying they’ve developed a flex handle fused to act like a stiff handle?
Having said all this about their marketing, or lack there of, I will say that I do think the Louisville TPX Triton is a quality bat. That huge barrel makes it very appealing and it seems to hit very well. But I can not recommend it now due to some doubts about the design and its durability. At the present time I recommend the Easton IMX (Stealth or Synergy IMX) or Demarini CF3 in this category. We’ll keep an eye on the Triton and report back in the near future.
Louisville Slugger TPX Triton Baseball Bat Review
Louisville Slugger TPX Omaha Comp Review
Louisville is wise to offer a two tier composite baseball bat strategy, as the Omaha Comp should compete well against 100% alloy and hybrid bats. It is priced correctly at $299 for the Adult -3 and $149 for the Youth -11. It is my recommendation for second tier composite bats.
I have a strong hunch the Omaha Comp is the same bat as the Louisville Catalyst X-1. The Catalyst was Louisville’s only composite baseball bat until 2008 when it was discontinued following that model year. Both the Omaha Comp and Catalyst
was/is marketed with the identical statement of “features multiple
layers of aerospace grade graphite and S-glass fibers which are
embedded in a specially designed toughened epoxy resin.” I’d be shocked
if these are not the same bats.
In my opinion, this makes the Omaha Comp even more appealing because it has a proven track record. Unlike the Louisville Triton we know what this bat can do. My son played his sophomore year of High School ball in 2007 swinging a Catalyst X-1 and loved it.
So if you’re looking for a quality composite baseball bat that does not come with a premium price tag the Louisville Omaha Comp is the bat for you.