Composite Baseball Bats

Composite baseball bats are made using cutting edge techniques, and aim to improve the durability and performance of bats by combining the strengths of different materials including metal, wood, carbon and even Kevlar.

Metal Composites
Aluminum and titanium are the most commonly used metals in baseball bats and can be combined with a number of different materials to create strong, lightweight and high performance bats.  Graphite-fiber is commonly added to the composite to improve strength and durability, and carbon lining is also used to the same effect.  Leading aluminum composite baseball bats include basic alloys such as:

* Cu31/ 7050 - a mix of aluminum, zirconium, magnesium and copper
* C405/ 7055 - more zirconium than Cu31, meaning a stronger but more expensive alloy
* 7046 - basic cheap aluminum alloy used in low grade bats
* C555 - Premium aluminum alloy with trace amounts of scandium, applied for superior sports performance in baseball bats, hockey sticks and bicycles.

Wood Composites
Wood composites are gradually becoming more popular, as they can combine the strength and durability of dense hardwoods such as maple and hickory, with more lightweight and cost effective materials such as carbon, glass or Kevlar fibers, which are embedded in plastic resin layers.