| MIKEN | ||
| Web Link: MikenSports.com
Click on link to your right to jump to a review |
HHD | Velocit-E Balanced |
| Viper 12 | Velocit-E Ultra Maxload | |
| Viper 14 | Velocit-E Ultra Balanced | |
| Velocit-E Maxload | Velocit-E Ultra II | |
| Model | ||||
| HHD PHOTO | ||||
| Why It Exists | ||||
| One of the earliest composite bats made. This is the bat Miken entered the arena with. | ||||
| What People Say | ||||
| Mostly that it's a dog. The best thing that can be said is that it's a fine batting practice bat because it's damn near Indestructible. Occasionally you see them "juiced" on eBay. I'd assume you should avoid them like the plague. | ||||
| My Impressions | ||||
| Haven't tried one yet. | ||||
|
Personal
Usage |
Overall |
Low
Comp |
Cold |
Fair
Price |
| A couple of practices | 2 | 2 | 4 | $50 |
| Model | ||||
| Viper 12 PHOTO | ||||
| Why it exists | ||||
| Miken's
second attempt at a composite bat. Again all weather warranty at a price
competitive with the aluminum bats. 12 inch short barrel version. |
||||
| What people say | ||||
| It's better than the HHD, but still a bat from a period when aluminum was the dominant bat. Nearly as durable as the HHD, this is actually an ideal batting practice bat because it's small sweetspot combined with zero fear of cracking equals perfect training tool. | ||||
| My impressions | ||||
| I'd have to agree. Nothing special performance wise, but not a total dog. The sweetspot is TINY, but if you catch it you'll see decent distance. | ||||
| Personal
Usage |
Overall |
Low
Comp |
Cold |
Fair
Price |
| A couple of practices | 4 | 4 | 7 | $70 |
| Model | ||||
| Viper 14 PHOTO | ||||
| Why it exists | ||||
| Miken's
second attempt at a composite bat. Again all weather warranty at a price
competitive with the aluminum bats. 14 inch long barrel version. |
||||
| What people say | ||||
| It's better than the HHD, but still a bat from a period when aluminum was the dominant bat. Nearly as durable as the HHD, this is actually an ideal batting practice bat because it's small sweetspot combined with zero fear of cracking equals perfect training tool. | ||||
| My impressions | ||||
| I liked the 14 a lot better than the 12. The main flaw with the Viper is a small sweetspot and the short barrel seems to make it worse. The 14 I had was pretty decent. | ||||
|
Personal
Usage |
Overall |
Low
Comp |
Cold |
Fair
Price |
| A couple of practices | 6 | 6 | 8 | $80 |
| Model | ||||
| Velocit-E Maxload PHOTO | ||||
| Why it exists | ||||
| Miken refined the composite bat making process to the point of finally making one that could match or even out perform the top metal bats on the market. | ||||
| What people say | ||||
| Almost a 60/40 split of love and hate with no in between. People basically hit with them and fall in love or never want to hit with one again. | ||||
| My impressions | ||||
| As far as I'm concerned, this is the best bat on he market not named Ultra or Synergy. The sweetspot is small and located on the outside of the bat. Because of its odd location, many people just can't get used to it and reject the bat. Of course, | ||||
|
Personal
Usage |
Overall |
Low
Comp |
Cold |
Fair
Price |
| One
and a half Seasons |
9 | 9 | 8 | $160 |
| Model | ||||
| Velocit-E Balanced PHOTO | ||||
| Why It Exists | ||||
| Same bat released at the same time in a balanced version. | ||||
| What People Say | ||||
| Pretty much similar reactions as you see for the Maxload. | ||||
| My Impressions | ||||
| I experienced a large gap between the Maxload and Balanced versions. While the Maxload seemed like an elite bat, the Balanced was fairly ordinary in my hands. I found this odd because I'd often seen reports of this happening with the Ultra, but not nearly as often with the Velocit-E. For whatever reason, I experienced the opposite. | ||||
|
Personal
Usage |
Overall |
Low
Comp |
Cold |
Fair
Price |
| Numerous
Batting Practices |
7 | 7 | 6 | $140 |
| Model | ||||
| Velocit-E Ultra Maxload PHOTO | ||||
| Why it exists and what distinguishes the bat | ||||
| The biggest thing to happen since the '97 Demarini, the Ultra really changed everything. Flat out the best performing bat ever made. Finally a bat did from the hype promised. So, of course, they banned it. | ||||
| What people say | ||||
| You rarely see anything negative about the performance. This bat is the benchmark now. | ||||
| My impressions | ||||
| It's a great bat. I don't buy the "adds 50 feet on to your hits" thing, but a huge sweetspot with an extra 20 - 30 feet over a top aluminum bat seems to be a fair assessment to me. | ||||
|
Personal
Usage |
Overall |
Low
Comp |
Cold |
Fair
Price |
| One and a half Seasons | 10 | 10 | 7 | $150 |
| Model | ||||
| Velocit-E Ultra Balanced PHOTO | ||||
| Why it exists and what distinguishes the bat | ||||
| Same bat released at the same time in a balanced version. | ||||
| What people say | ||||
| You typically seem more interest in the Maxload claiming that it hits further, but often it's just that they never hit the Balanced. | ||||
| My impressions | ||||
| I really didn't notice much difference. I would assume the Maxload would deliver slightly more distance (especially for pull hitters), but personally I consistently received the same distance. | ||||
|
Personal
Usage |
Overall |
Low
Comp |
Cold |
Fair
Price |
| A couple of batting practice | 10 | 10 | 7 | $140 |
| Model | ||||
| Velocit-E Ultra II PHOTO | ||||
| Why it exists and what distinguishes the bat | ||||
| This is the compliant version of the Ultra released after all the softball associations banned it. Supposedly, it was made under close scrutiny by the ASA. | ||||
| What people say | ||||
| The best legal bat on the market period. | ||||
| My impressions | ||||
| Maybe it was just getting used to Mikens, but I've actually been hitting better with the Ultra II than the Ultra Maxload. The bat is the same material, only it is now very balanced. Think ESTCW vs. SSEST Max. | ||||
| Personal
Usage |
Overall |
Low
Comp |
Cold |
Fair
Price |
| Two seasons | 10 | 10 | 7 | $270 |
| HHD | Velocit-E Balanced | Back to BatWhores.com | |
| Viper 12 | Velocit-E Ultra Maxload | ||
| Viper 14 | Velocit-E Ultra Balanced | ||
| Velocit-E Maxload | Velocit-E Ultra II |
