Starting with the introduction of the full composite 2-piece Attack in 2013, Louisville Slugger has been trying to make sure they get heard in the world of high performance, composite barrel, SL/BB bats. The Prime 916 is the newest LS bat in that category, they seem to REALLY want to be heard this season, so let’s see if this bat has something to say.
First Impressions
Very nice looking bat. Black with red and neon green graphics (very cool neon green endcap and knob), this bat looks cool, simple, and like it means business. It seems like Louisville Slugger is going in the same direction as other premium bat makers, in that they’re going away from silly over-the-top graphics and towards a more functional look. Our hitters appreciated this, and thought it made for a ‘serious’ looking bat.
Material/Design
2-piece composite.
Weight/Size
Weight tested was a 31/26 (-5). Actual weight: 26.0 oz. Actual Swing Weight was very balanced. This bat swung easily, especially for our hitters who had been swinging a -5, and the adjustment was quick for those who had been swinging -8. It feels that while there’s a bit of mass in the barrel, it doesn’t swing anywhere close to an endloaded bat. The barrel gets pulled through the hitting zone very nicely, and overall is one of the smoothest swinging -5’s we’ve gotten to check out. This bat would work out well for both those with -5 experience, as well as those making the transition from larger drop weights.
Barrel/Profile
While not one of the super long barrel bats like the Maxum or the XL1, there is plenty of barrel available on the 916. It seems to have a bit of a 271 wood bat turn feel to it, I think this bat would really feel great to the hitter who works with wood and wants a gameday bat whose profile is not completely different.
Grip
Big win here, with black/white camo Lizard Skin, and a really nice wood bat/271 flared feel at the knob. The combination of these two things makes this bat VERY comfortable to swing, with no replacement grip necessary, no knob cuff/tape buildup necessary at the knob, with a very wood bat/271 feel to it. Very nicely done, LS.
Performance
Got to see this bat perform in the cage as well as on tournament day with very minimal break-in, and it is a very hot bat that performs very well. Since they’re so similar in design and material, the recent trend is hitters abandoning their -5 XL1’s in lieu of this bat. From what I’ve seen so far, it’s WAY easier to get this bat around, the performance is better, and the sound of a well struck ball off this bat is kinda evil. Since it’s a 2-piece full composite, it seems like a logical choice for hitters who like the concept of the XL1 but feel it’s too heavy, too endloaded, or not performing as well as they expected (Easton composites also happen to have a notoriously long break in period). I would say the performance of this bat rivals any of the top-of-the-line composite barrel bats out there, and with it’s easy swinging nature and dead-on accurate actual weighting, would work out great for a large number of hitters.
Durability
Some routine scratches and ball marks, with nothing else. Bat Connection piece is still solid, awesome grip is holding up perfectly, and bat just has the cool ‘been used a bit’ look to it. At least for now, whatever process LS used to put the finish on this bat seems to be doing a really good job of keeping those deeper (and somewhat annoying) scratches/gouges from appearing.
Overall
Straight up, I think LS has a winner here. A 2-piece composite barrel bat with a very balanced swing weight, that weighs in EXACTLY as listed, that has one of the best and most comfortable grips out there, that performs as well as anything we’ve seen recently, is pretty much all you could ask for. Like many modern 2-piece bats this one doesn’t have noticeable flex to it so you get the benefits of a 2-piece with the feel of a 1-piece, we really couldn’t find anything we didn’t like about this bat. Very cool when a bat company does their homework and gives players what they’re looking for and what works in a high end bat, props to LS for putting out something very worthwhile with the Prime 916.
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