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Online now: 1 member: TABLE SETTER 11; 74 anonymousDiscussion: Batting Practice Balls-- Evil BP balls (orange/white) vs Tattoo NX3 Balls (green/yellow)
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| Dec. 14, 2017 Jon44 Men's 55 149 posts | Batting Practice Balls-- Evil BP balls (orange/white) vs Tattoo NX3 Balls (green/yellow) I am posting this to possibly help someone that was in my position about 2 months ago when considering which BP ball to buy or if they were even worth it to buy. I hit with a small group of senior players a couple times a week and we wanted to try BP balls to possibly extend the life of our bats (both balls advertise they accomplish this) and hit balls that stay decent for a longer period of time (water proof, more durable balls). Our setup is pretty basic-- we use a blue flame pitching device. I purchased 2 dozen Evil balls and 1 dozen NX3 balls. We hit about 10-15 feet behind the plate on symmetrical 300' softball fields. We live in high desert conditions (low humidity) and hit in temps between high 40's to 60 degrees this time of the year. Both balls work great with both blue flame device. The first impression of the NX3 ball is that it feels different. There are fake seams/solid 1 piece and it feels a bit heavier than the Evil ball. The evil ball feels like a normal ball with a cover and stitches, etc. Both balls hit great. They are fun to hit, they respond well (hit better than the stote but not as good as a rock). The multi-colored balls really give you good feedback. It seems like we hit more knuckleballs than with normal balls, but that could be because it's much easier to see when you do that because of the colors. With regards to durability of the ball, I like the solid 1 piece construction of the NX3. The evil ball gets chewed up a bit after hitting the fence or rocks. You notice the outer cover getting cut up, which is normal for a ball with a cover. We have hit the balls well over 1000 times each and the NX3 looks pretty much the same, while the evil balls have the cover holes/tears, although it still hits the same as when we first got them. The evil ball sounds better off the bat and both fly. With regards to extending the life of the bat, I am unsure about this. I broke a big cat last week hitting these balls and I am still nervous to pull out good bats during this time of the year. My feeling is that these are probably less stressful on bats, but the fact we are crazy enough to hit sub 50 degrees offsets that a bit (we are kind of asking for trouble hitting in these temperatures). If you think you can hit BP balls and never break your bat, you are wrong. For this reason I will not pull out my addidas 12" bats, which I use in tournaments. The real benefit I see is these balls hold up really well when hitting on wet fields. Normal balls get waterlogged and deteriorate after being hit a bunch. You don't have those problems with these balls, which is a big deal because it's often wet where we hit from fields getting watered a lot. Not hitting cold, waterlogged regular balls definitely saves bats. I am curious what others have experienced. Also, I hope this helps someone on the fence about whether buying these BP balls is worth it or not. Big thumbs up on both, especially if you hit on wet fields. |
| Dec. 14, 2017 softball4b Men's 70 1248 posts | I experience with Evil BP is outstanding, never hit the other. No pun intended, never hit wet balls with a game bat. I am not a structural engineer, but I believe regardless of whether you use a bat warmer or not, it is the temp of the balls and their weight that does the most damage to a bat. I never hit a game bat in BP unless it is one ot two balls to get a feel for how a bat I am swinging is progressing or if my ego needs stroking. |
| Dec. 14, 2017 softball4b Men's 70 1248 posts | SSUSA can we add grammar check to this board. I am starting to write the way I sound which is not good. )My experience( ]one or two[. |
| Dec. 14, 2017 DaveDowell Men's 70 4312 posts | Come on, Mike ... No spelling/grammar check is likely ... Jon44 impressively posted something just under 600 words error-free! ... You may need to "up" your typing game a bit! ... [grins] |
| Dec. 14, 2017 tattooball 774 posts | Nice review, the NX3 balls never absorb moisture so you don't have to worry about hitting wet balls. The blue and yellow NX3's are great for cold weather hitting. |
| Dec. 14, 2017 DOERBAUM Men's 55 86 posts | I HAVE A BUNCH OF NX3 BALLS, BOTH 44-375 AND THE B.P. MULTI COLOR BALLS. SOME ARE OVER 2 YEARS OLD AND WONT COME COMPLETELY CLEAN ANYMORE, BUT STILL HIT JUST LIKE THEY DID WHEN I BOUGHT THEM. FOR B.P. YOU CANT BEAT THE NX3. I ALSO HAVE A BUNCH OF OLD GAME BALLS OF ASSORTED TYPES, BUT ONLY HIT THEM IF I KNOW THAT THE FIELD IS GOING TO BE DRY. NX3S YOU CAN HIT IN A DOWNPOUR. AS TO BAT LONGEVITY, THE SPINNER AND THE 52 NX3 BALLS THAT I HAVE DON'T SEEM TO BEAT ON A BAT NEAR AS BAD AS A REGULAR 44-375 BALL. I GO THROUGH A LOT OF BATS IN A YEAR AND CANT IMAGINE WHAT THAT # WOULD BE IF I HIT REGULAR BALLS ALL THE TIME. I HIT 3-600 BALLS EVERY WEEK AND USE AN OLD WORTH EST IF I AM NOT BREAKING IN A NEW BAT. (50-100 SWINGS DEPENDING ON THE BRAND) EVILS ARE NICE BALLS, BUT FOR B.P. THE NX3 IS THE BEST OUT THERE BY FAR. |
| Dec. 14, 2017 Bobby Buggs 90 posts | Hummm lets see, Your bat broke and almost 10 years of user experience with the Evil bp ball would indicate it was not the cause. Deductive reasoning usually wins. |
| Dec. 14, 2017 Perl 212 posts | Both balls are great. My preference is the NX3 simply because of its durability. It’s definitely an ALL weather ball. Another benefit is when the balls get dirty we simply was them in soap and water and they look like new. While the Evil ball, IMO, flies further it’s also much harder which most likely does more damage to bats than the NX3. |
| Dec. 14, 2017 mad dog Men's 65 4191 posts | we use the NX3 now for our asa mens league and senior league now(supply your own ball asa park 52 ball only).....we have had no prol what so ever with the tattoo ball whatever one we choose....we have used the evil but they don't last.....the NX3 does......very good ball......i also think we should inter-grate it (52 ball) into our senior tourney's..... |
| Dec. 15, 2017 Marv19 Men's 60 498 posts | Mad Dog: Is that intergate as opposed to outergate :O) |
| Dec. 16, 2017 mad dog Men's 65 4191 posts | marv please reread.....inter-grate....not gate.....also it is what spell check gave me.... |
| Dec. 16, 2017 Marv19 Men's 60 498 posts | Probably looking for "integrate": combine (one thing) with another so that they become a whole: to unite or combine. |
| Dec. 17, 2017 mad dog Men's 65 4191 posts | yeah most likely....but they didn't give that option for some reason......must have a dumpster spell checker....LOL......didn't want me telling the truth....LOL.... |
