The Katana Dragonfly minus-11 is a high-performance bat that meets the ASA 2004 98 mph ball exit speed standard and is designed to give the youth player the best of both aluminum and composite technologies.
It uses “Multi-Transference Technology” or MT2 which melds a proprietary combination of aerospace and weapons grade composites together to form a tough, light shell for the bat.
The Dragonfly starts with a one-piece Toledo 9-Step heat-treated aluminum shell that runs the length of the bat. The proprietary 9-Step process allows for uniform barrel thickness resulting in a more consistent sweet spot. That shell is then covered with a weapons-grade fiber mesh. Toledo refers to this design literally as two complete bats overlaying each other – “a bat within a bat”.
Toledo adds an extra layer of “undisclosed” material between the two layers of the barrel – this step keeps the aluminum and fiber from sticking together and allows them to work independently, eliminating the need for break-in. This technology was not available in Toledo’s previous youth-sized composite, the Katana Sapphire.
Finally, an integrated polyurethane end cap and ergonomic designed “Power Control Knob” are added to the ends.
This combination works together to provide performance and durability: the inner shell allows for a longer bat life; the aerospace fibers help increase the sweet spot by transferring the energy of the bat/ball impact across the entire composite grid; the polyurethane cap allows the bat to flex naturally, further extending the effective sweet spot.
It has a long barrel with a traditional taper and comes with a “Toledo Vibration Dampening System” to combat sting. It has a standard handle and synthetic “Anti-Sting” grip. It is available in 34”/23 oz, 33”/22 oz, 32”/21 oz and 31”/20 oz. It is purple and black with metallic dragonfly graphics.
We hit the 32”/21 oz. version.
This bat is designed as a transition bat for girls moving up from novice levels with more technology, design features and weight than the low-end aluminum bottle bats but less than the high-end composite models. In fact, Toledo makes two other fastpitch bats that are considered high-end with the Jade and soon-to-be-released Panther. But for the niche the Dragonfly was designed to fill, it must be considered a success.
At minus-11 it is heavier than single-wall aluminum bats but lighter than 100% composite bats. With its aluminum inner wall and composite exterior shell it clearly outperforms the minus-12 bottle bats most girls begin their playing careers with.
One test group of 10-year-olds we had swing this bat had just finished their season swinging strictly aluminum minus-12 and -12.5 bats. To a girl they noticed a difference in how hard they were hitting the ball and also how far the average hit and the above average hit were going; again, not unbelievable distance, but significantly more than they were used to seeing. As a result of this session, at least three of the girls bought Dragonflies of their own to use as 12U players.
The Dragonfly has an exterior shell over the barrel instead of a complete second shell. This design means a slight end load which makes for a heavier bat that will come through the hitting zone quicker than a balanced one. Many of our girls balked at swinging a 21-ounce bat after having used 18s and 19s all year, but none of them had any trouble with this bat.
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