The 2008 Juggernaut is DeMarini’s new top ASA-approved bat and is meant to be a compliment to the company’s 1.20 BPF end-loaded Juice: it uses the same technology but is a completely different bat, offering a different balance, feel and sound.
It uses DeMarini’s patented “Half & Half” technology: the Juggernaut consists of two distinct pieces, a 13” barrel and thin handle fused together at the top of the taper. The two pieces use different materials, formulas and processes that allow for the best characteristics for each piece. While it is 100% composite, the barrel and handle are not similar: the barrel is designed to flex and rebound at impact, propelling the ball; the handle is stiffer, tuned to get the barrel through the hitting zone quickly and get the most performance out of the barrel.
The barrel features the same “Stacked” technology as the Juice, made up of three distinct walls (the Juice had four). Each wall is of a different thickness set up in a specific order. The barrel and handle are tuned to work at maximum efficiency. The result is an extremely heavy barrel that is primarily sweet spot. The “Flex Tuned” Evolution Composite handle flexes before and after impact, effectively increasing swing speed with no additional effort.
The Juggernaut has “Clutch,” a revolutionary 12-spoke end cap and knob designed to focus energy and return it back to the barrel. It features DeMarini’s bat rotation index on the barrel and Wilson’s “Positack” moisture-absorbing composite textured grip. Positack reduces vibration and hand fatigue for better feel and control.
It is available in 26-28 and 30 ounces. It is charcoal and white with red, gold, white and black graphics.
We hit the 27 oz. version.
The 2008 Juggernaut is the ASA-approved model of the 2007 Juice – sort of. It uses the same technologies: Stacked barrel, Carbon Reinforced handle, Half & Half construction. But other than at the molecular level, the two bats are different in most ways.
The weighting is remarkably different; where the Juice is noticeably end-loaded, the Juggernaut is balanced. DeMarini is able to do this by changing the makeup of the Stacked barrel; where the Juice has four walls, the Juggernaut features three. The barrel configuration changes a number of other things about the Juggernaut: the sound is different, the feel is greater, the swing is more controlled.
One thing that doesn’t change is, like all DeMarini slow pitch bats, the Juggernaut is designed for distance. Even without the end-load the bat is a ball-launcher. The Half & Half design with its light, stiff handle flexes before, during and after the swing. With the majority of the balanced weight still in the barrel, it still acts like a golf club by bringing the end around faster than you would with a single-piece bat, though with more control. The increased bat speed and flexibility equals more distance: not Juice-like distance, but impressive – especially for an ASA-approved bat.
We took two different types of hitters out – those that love DeMarini and those that hate DeMarini; we found that while the original DeMarini Ultimate Distance was universally loved, since the advent of the Half & Half F2, no one is indifferent to the bat - they either love it or hate it. So we had testers that were exited and testers that were reluctant to hit this bat.
The ones that already like DeMarini Half & Half were surprised by the Juggernaut as they were expecting an end-load like the previous models had. They found the balanced weight allowed them to swing a heavier bat than they normally would yet remain comfortable. They were expecting distance and got it, but also noticed more control than they expected with the ability to slap, cut or drive the ball into any field on any pitch. Many of the regular DeMarini swingers were pull hitters because that is what previous models encouraged with their whippy handles and heavy ends; the only opposite field hitting they did was on outside pitches. The Juggernaut opened more fields to most of the hitters just by its feel and live barrel.
The ones that didn’t like previous DeMarini Half & Half(ves) all said we could save a lot of time if they just told us up front they didn’t like the bat. But we made them pick it up, and you could see the surprise on their faces before hitting a single ball. “This feels pretty good” more than one of them said as they swung at open air. Hitting balls led to more pleasure. Guys who had been swinging other brands for years found the distance, control and consistency that they were used to with their own bats.
The Juggernaut performs right out of the wrapper. The two-piece construction works well with all compression balls, especially low COR and compression. The weighting makes it easy to handle for men or women and it is a good bat for all levels of player, though we think it would benefit lower-level players more than the high level player who gets incremental advantages from precisely end-loaded bats.
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