Which type of bat knob is best? | Wood Baseball Bat Reviews

what up what up will here with the baseball bat bros and today folks we have every type of knob you could ever put on a wood baseball bat we're gonna find out which knob is best today let's get it all right folks today we have seven dovetail birch wood bats all the exact same length and pretty much the exact same density for all you wood bat nerds out there all 33 and a half inches 30 and a half ounces and seven different knobs on these guys we've lined them up from kind of like most normal to the most kind of out there and weirdest knobs here so let's run through them i don't even know what to call some of these but first of all we just have a standard knob we're going to call this the standard we have the no knob or often referred to as the comfort knob that's like what's on our bbi 13 hd we have the big like barry bonds knob that most people call the bell knob we have a pretty emergingly popular one here the axe handle so we'll call this the axe knob this one look at that this is just like i don't know what to call this the non-existent knob the where the knob at but this bat was made famous by jeff mcneill so i guess we'll call this the mcneil knob and then last we have a couple different variations of the pro xr knob so this is the standard regular pro xr knob and then this is kind of like a really minimal version of the pro xr knob so we'll call this like the funky pro xr the pro xr 2.0 or something like that but that is seven different knobs and guys again i've said it a few times i think the handle and the knob of a bat is the single most underrated thing in creating leverage and generating bat speed and power in your swing so today myself and jt are gonna hit on field let you know what we prefer most out of these seven knobs and then we're also going to exit be able to test all these at the end of this thing and let's find out which knob is king here we go all right folks starting out with the standard knob we're out here at lake bridge high school anywhere from 3 30 to 3 45 all around fences are like 25 feet high though still a bit of a poke to get it out of here and we're at sea level the ball doesn't fly very well boys so here we go seven different bats will and jt let's get it oh yeah go ball short hop the ball's gonna be flying so yep very close to home very familiar this is the bat everyone grew up using right here oh yeah buddy hammered dude this might win just because like i've learned my entire life to swing a handle in a knob like this yeah oh yeah come on camera stay with us bud did it hit the phone yeah it smoked the phone come on bud you're good let's go still recording hammered great wood by the way dovetail i think they have like their own forest they have like their own wood mill so they make a good bat that's besides the point we're focusing on this part today oh jc a little off the end oh yeah off the end out in front come on ah short hop all right standard knob okay so we're gonna rank these just like we did in the what hundred dollar bat is best video as we go jt and i are both just gonna rank these one through seven so by default these standard knobs in first place to start out it feels pretty good just regular standard regular first place all right moving on to my early favorite the comfort knob aka the no knob as we like to call it it just tapers purely right into the knob right there a very popular type of knob in the big leagues here so the no knob let's go hammered oh yeah wow see you oh bonnie that go that way yeah you can't see it no oh get out ball come on oh yeah clear over baby yes sir great swing yup birch man gotta love it plenty of flex one hop dang that's smoked get out come on baseball all right yeah that's my baby this is the knob on my custom turn model the bbi 13 hd sorry standard knob but you're getting one up in the first round here that's good yeah that's the first place comfort knob all right getting a little more out there now some funkier options the bell knob made famous by barry bonds probably a lot more people but you have a lot more wood down here right so you actually have to make a little bit smaller barrel to get this type of density down to the same way so a little bit less barrel but some counterweight here will choke up a little bit that's how you're supposed to do this thing the bell knob yeah dude tons of bat control so i think i'll have better back control here but a little less a little less power we'll see boy oh wow it goes all right easy to control all right gapper a little bit on the hands it honestly doesn't have as much juice you think so i don't think i don't think it is i agree i agree that is kind of tough to get used to that is a different feel bro yeah there we go that balls touched but like i can go get that so easily we are finding those are one heart yeah come on no not quite not quite see i don't think i quite have the power with this on consistent barrel this doesn't travel crazy correct yeah oh yeah like that was like i'm hitting well i'm getting i'm getting barrel well i do like how the barrel is like smaller and easier to get through i feel like that just has more brute force coming through the zone so it's just yeah that's a little more out there guys i don't feel like it's really adding very much to my swing some guys i i get it you really really like this but for me this is going in the three hole in the cellar so far i'm putting this in last right now okay so third place all right and briefly the scoring system here so we have seven bats uh out of my preferences one through seven first place is gonna get seven points seventh place is gonna get one point same thing for jt's preferences and then exit v low we're gonna do that same thing the bat because the highest exit velo is gonna get seven points we'll tally all the numbers up at the end and we'll see who's the winner boys all right moving on though what do we call this i'm excited for that the non-existent knob the jeff mcneil old school i don't know bro we gotta load this thing up with pine tar because this bat is all handled it feels so incredibly light bro it feels like 26 ounces honestly it's cause yeah there's way more wood in the handle than it's typically like in the handle of a bat so in order to make this bat 30 and a half ounces to drop three with the same type of density wood here they have to make the barrel a lot smaller and a lot of wood is just taken up in the handle here so no idea what to expect here bro the jeff mcneil where the knob at let's go oh that's weird that's so weird okay popped it up that was sort of far though i don't know how to swing it oh that feels good come on this is another one with just a ton of weight in the hands not barrel yeah i don't think it's gonna happen so much juice oh that was hammered that was so loud too isn't it surprisingly like fun yeah i like it it's comfortable go ball kind of off the hand the mind of a shot let's go oh very top of the wall the where the knob at term was coined by gus bus cue the gust bus hack oh that's gone come on we're not seeing that one again dude this isn't gonna get last place i thought for sure this would get last place and i don't think it's gonna happen that was interesting dude i think dude i'm putting it above the bell knob like it doesn't beat a regular knob like so i'm putting this in third place in between the standard knob and the bell knob we'll move on to the axe and the pro xr now so what you got i liked it a lot i know i'm all the same bro i love that thing since the standard knob gave me a little pain in my hands second place yeah let's go all right moving on to one of the more notable and recognizable and popular alternative types of knobs here the axe bat handle in the wood bat space at least i'm actually a good fan of this again i don't like similar to the bell knob i don't think i'm necessarily going to get more bat speed or more torque out of this but it keeps the barrel in his own for a very long time i typically hit very very well with an ax handle so let's try it out hey who knows maybe i'm going yahtzee with the axe back here let's go oh that was pissed bro it feels good man this is the standard axe handle by the way oh oh come on hammer dude wow this is going well i felt kind of good i don't know though yeah oh dude i'm hitting really good i'm hitting really good ah short hop i feel like i can get good whip with this yeah you're seeing a thing better than me i think you wow this is not flying there today that's what i'm saying dude i don't think that gets the distance or like the v low we'll see i'll take a hack here but it gets a ton of bad take a hack here we'll see all right george springer activate whoa that was a tank bro oh wow austin golf course fence come on no okay no i i thought i really got that wow all right so with that said we're going to axe that man i can get so much barrels that i feel like that i was the exact same way that's why i was so confused okay that or the regular handle standard this okay but that weird like honest wagner wearing a knob at bat yeah um i feel i can get a little more pop with that but more barrel with that more barrel with this i want a time all right i might do a swing off at the end come on wow he went off wow all right dude i have to take one hack with the standard knob here really quick oh it's so much thinner in the hand though popped up i might go dude oh wow off delightful see ya alright so it's kind of tough because with an axe bat i think i hit better with this i think i hit harder for right now my personal preference on the axe bat versus the standard handle is tied like i do i'm going to give it to whatever one gets me better exit dealers so whatever wins that's fair yeah whatever wins between these two and exit below is going to get the points for exit vlo and it's gonna get the points for my vote so right now these are tied at number two for me and guys one thing to note here pretty much like out of all these handles pretty much every hammock bone break ever the break of this little hook of the hammock bone in your palm right here which is very very common in collagen professional baseball happens with a standard type of knob and all these alternate knobs are partially created because of like that that injury that keeps happening jt had it happen so and even if you don't break your hammock bone i grew up with freaking blood blisters on this thing all the time so that's why i really like these alternate options the pro xr though i'm a big fan of let's move on to that all right first up we have the regular standard pro xr handle here a type of bat that did very well in our wood bat madness tournament so here we go i personally have been a big fan of this one yeah oh wow i like this one man hammered wall ball pete alonso that's what he says yeah wow oh i'm digging this just peppering balls boom that's hit pretty good dude get out oh yeah later oh that's so loud dude dude i think the pro xr kind of combines it all i don't think it's going to beat my baby the no knob but i get like the bat control and staying in the zone but i also can torque it really well that feels pretty good pretty good pretty good i'm putting it behind jeff mcneil honest wagner let's go so it gets do you like and the where the knob at better i do but you like that better than a standard knob yeah the standard knob is second to last for you that's a trip it just still kind of hurts oh oh there's a bird right there oh man pepperoni balls with this okay the pro xr i'm putting this in the two hole below the no knob below the comfort knob but ahead of the axe bat and the standard one right now i frick dude i really am a big fan of that all right and last up we have what we call this the funky pro xr a very minimal version of the pro xr it's almost a hybrid of the no knob and the pro xr so there's a closer view of it and with these pro xr knobs you're always facing the label of the bat towards the pitcher at least with all the ones i've hit with all right i've never hit with this one ever go for it funky pro xr oh that's pretty good is this the move bro feels pretty good i don't know if i like it more than just the regular pro xr though dude if anything there's just not enough to like hold on to like it almost feels like my hand's going to slide off of it and i i really like just the normal one going yeah that was a bomb that feels feels a little weird but it performs pretty good that's so loud dude wow great wood though sheffield end of the bat come on all right i liked it i didn't love it i couldn't really grasp down as much on this one it's kind of hard to explain this one just felt a little funky whereas the regular pro xr just felt a lot more natural really easier to hold on to i feel like i could swing it a lot harder we'll see how it does in exit velo testing but right now i've got this in fifth i i like the axe bat and the standard knob more than this so let's check out my final rankings here where you got the funky pro xr funky broker it feels like it's flipping a tiny bit like yeah i didn't love that a little something loose just because of the instability in the knob a little bit i'm gonna put it behind the standard but in front of the bell knob no no no no no reason to like the bell knob is because i got so much control yeah so much barrel i'm putting this last oh okay damn funky pro xr in the cellar so for second place we got to duke it out between the where the knob at the mcneil knob and the axe back you'll take a few hacks with those i do all right that felt pretty good get going yo that's i i didn't get that fully that was pretty good all right honest one more i gotta get that pretty well i mean there's a very good big leaguer who that was a one hop great plane great swing that's a nice one oh this is kind of hard feels pretty good you hit both of those well but i think i know my number two everybody wants jeff mcneal wow i had in three i really like this expat three all right man let's go look at your rankings starting out the standard regular knob barrel 92.1 [Music] [Applause] oh i'm getting off the middle too 94.1 there we go [Applause] oh yeah all right the no knob slash comfort knob slash bone saber knob not to be confused with the where the knob at no knob this is like what i would put on my back so let's try this thing out 94.1 is the score to oh be the bat 90.4 oh i like where this is heading [Applause] that's gonna be good whoa 96.4 give me 350. 96.1 357 baby wow that's our high baby 97.8 dude the knob makes such a difference i can't believe like this isn't a bigger topic this video isn't going to get that many views but it needs to bro i'm telling you all right moving on to kind of a more balanced smaller barrel here the bell knob jt and i both kind of didn't like this one that just it almost felt like it got in the way more than anything but we'll see i could actually see myself popping off a couple big numbers here i just i just don't like it the weight distribution is so different there we go that seed that's going to be hot 96.6 wow you just look super uncomfortable i feel uncomfortable i guess i'll choke up more we just don't get along i guess there we go come on 93.3 we'll take it [Applause] there we go i have to just like kind of drag the barrel 88.5 yeah where'd the knob at it's also super weird similar to better knob but it's different i feel like i can actually swing this thing [Applause] decent i don't know if this one's gonna do super well actually 91.6 oh come on come on dang it dude 91.5 come on 92.5 356. get out ball 94.2 respectable showing not quite there it's easy to control though very light swinging bat can't really torque it quite as much as those skinnier handles all right folks the axe bat i'm excited for this one a lot of the times when we're doing exit executable showdowns the axe bat actually doesn't do that well because again i think it's a little bit better for staying in zones and maybe not quite as good for actually like throwing the barrel and getting back speed and power but we'll find out man i hit some nukes with this thing on field i'm excited dude i think i'm going to do well 94.6 wow i have more in the tank bro i don't know what it is with axe bats with the wood bat it's different it's different bro come on it's pretty good there dude this one feels good 91.5 boom come on 91 ah oh pretty good respectable bro 95.2 there another good showing not quite up there with our leaders the regular knob and the no knob all right folks moving on we got the standard pro xr knob here i think i'll do pretty well with this man 89.7 in on the hands this one feels good my bad 89.5 my basket's good here that's moving on 94.8 let's go 95.70 93.2 all right good showing all right the funky pro xr wasn't a huge fan of this one maybe surprises us here let's see not a lot to hold on to man it almost feels like i'm going to throw the bat kinda that's touched 94.5 forget it dude i'm not hitting well with this one at all 88.7 all right and just to show you guys it's not because of fatigue final swings here with our winner and exit velo oh get off me ah 94.8 oh buddy 96.8 all right boys jt hack oh come on 96.5 dang it we gotta channel our inner eric sam let's go erickson this one's for you if i had my smelling salts i'd rip them right now but i don't come on ball 98.5 396. ah [Music] all right folks with exit velo testing out of the way let's count up our standings and crown us a wood bat knob champion here so in last place here with a measly four points we have the bell knob this is a pretty unique one guys jt and i didn't really enjoy it uh lately honestly you don't see a ton of these in professional baseball anymore it seems to be decreasing in popularity didn't do very well on the exit velo tester either um only four points clear last place for the bell knob here and then in sixth place another one that just didn't do very well we have the funky pro xr right here so we ran into a couple balls each with this funky variation the slim down pro xr knob here but honestly i think it just came down to the fact that it didn't really fit that well in the hand it was hard to like get a good grasp on it it didn't really feel like the pro xr and it didn't really feel like a no knob like tapered knob i thought it might have been the best of both worlds but it really didn't do much of either for us this was jt's last preference i didn't necessarily love it and it didn't do very good example adjusting all right now moving on more towards the middle of the pack here in fifth place we have man i wish it would have done better but we have where the knob at the jeff mcneil signature knob here so jt really really really liked this one and it honestly hung with exit velo testing it got fifth like barely but guys honestly this is a pretty unique and out there design i don't think your average player would really fall in love with it right away but if you really like a giant thick handle this might be for you guys the only problem is again when you take this much wood and put it in the handle you have to take a lot of mass out of the barrel in order to get your bat down to 30-31 ounces it honestly really exceeded my expectations it did a lot better than i thought it would but it just wasn't enough to put it over the edge and beat the more mainstream type of knobs all right then here's where it got interesting we actually have a tie for fourth place between the axe handle and the standard handle so just about everything about this matchup was a tie i mean the preferences were neck and neck and the exit below testing was absolutely neck and neck the standard knob literally won by less than half of a mile an hour but guys realistically i would honestly take player on field preference over exit vehicle testing any day of the week as long as it's like a super narrow margin like that so i'm actually gonna give third place to the axe handle here and stick the standard knob back in fourth place this one had a hard time with jt because you know that type of knob freaking broke his handmate bone right and this is like a pretty aggressive like no taper a lot of metal bats with the standard knob do have like a bit more easy of a taper and they're not as abrupt as something like this but the axe handle on the wood bat today guys once again really impressed with a heavy wood bat the axe handle really seems to do wonders for us and then it's second place here we got a pretty dang similar bat to what the polar bear home run derby champion slung the pro xr standard knob here so we've reviewed the pro xr a few times now and we always just seem to really enjoy it it's a great great design pete alonso was swinging the hell out of this thing at the home run derby if you guys haven't seen that yet make sure to check it out he was swinging a dovetail birch as well so this is a very close bat to what he swung guys this pro xr i feel like feels like a regular knob but this is gonna get out of your way so you're not gonna have to deal with any injuries it functions a lot like this but just feels a bit better and smoother in the hand in my opinion for a guy that's dealt with like irritation in the palm of his hand and for jt a guy who's dealt with hammy bone injuries and then today's champion for the best knob on a wood bat i'm not surprised guys it's on my custom turn model we have the ultra tapered no knob or the comfort knob here so dovetail's version of this bat with the no knob is the mma the mike mustachas this thing's just goaded man we got the best exit velos out of anything honestly by quite a lot it's super super comfortable to swing i've never had any problem by hand irritation with this it's not too far off from a regular knob honestly and it just feels great and performs fantastic easy dub for the no knob today fortunately in the wood bat space this is actually a pretty common type of handle and knob a lot of companies carry it a few examples and variations here so this is the marucci lindy 12. they have kind of you know there's a little bit of a knob there but not much at all it's almost a pure no knob and then this is an aggressive like absolutely no knob at all this is our custom turn model with american bass smith the bb i 13 hd and that's just an absolute no knob right there but fellas if we're talking metal bats like bb core what most of you guys watching this video probably swing is actually quite a bit of a different story so this exact type of knob like the no knob we call it the bone saber knob sometimes because war stick with the bone saber actually has a patent on that type of knob in the metal bat space so no metal bat manufacturers can actually use this type of knob on their back however a ton of them do make a pretty nicely tapered variation of this like aggressive standard untapered knob here so here are a couple examples of bb core bats that actually have a really good nice easy taper like you can see they absolutely have a knob but they have a really smooth paper to when you're holding the bat you honestly don't notice it a ton the d marine the goods here the demarini bats all have it and then in bb core the easton bats pretty much all have it as well these are really really comfortable bats to swing and then of course you're gonna have the war stick bone saber which is gonna have something a lot more like this and then on the other hand in bb core you have some bats with like zero taper at all that i personally think is pretty dang uncomfortable like most of the rawlings bats don't really have much of a taper and then like a lot of these cheaper bats just completely abrupt right there that'll really dig in the palm of your hand that's the reason for like a lot of handmade bone injuries right there however you're not out of luck if you have a bat like this if you just have some athletic tape you can do a decent little like do-it-yourself taper just by doing thin layers of tape around the bottom of the knob here this is a dirty south swag right here that was digging into my palm pretty bad so there you guys have it the no knob takes the dub today the pro xr axe and the standard knob also with a pretty good showing but guys if you can swing something like this i personally really really enjoy it if you guys liked the video today we'd appreciate if you drop a like and subscribe to the channel and if you guys want to help support the bat bros further you can always check out our merch over at baseballbatbros.com or you can check out becoming a youtube member of the bat bros check out the join button below this video here you can learn more but we'll see y'all next time peace out