The StringKing Bat line consists of two BBCOR and two USA bats. Both come in "Pro" and a "Pro Metal" versions. The Pro Metal uses a higher grade alloy than the other, but both perform well and have top-end performance. For the price, they are likely the best value buys on the market today. Few know about the bat's and their distribution is small, but those who have hit with them are big fans for their price point, performance, and durability.
Models Overview
Our hitters like the stiff feel and reasonably balanced bat. They also had plenty of comments on the graphics, or the lack thereof. They generally liked the grip, the feel off the good hits, and the barrel size.
Construction & Technology
StringKing uses a higher grade alloy for their Metal Pro bats and a slight downgrade for their Metal bats. Both are single-piece aluminum with balanced swing weights. The knobs, endcaps and grips are all pretty straight forward. StringKing's claim to fame is that they meet the BBCOR standard as well as anyone else and are 1/4 the costs.
Performance Comparison
The StringKing Metal and Metal Pro are the first iterations of their model line. Meaning, there is no previous version of the bat.
Comparable Bats
Single-piece aluminum bats are plentiful. However, very few price out under $150. Your most likely similar price point is in the Rawlings 5150. But, the StringKing feels better than that bat. Other bats like the VELO, Omaha, Solo, Fuze and Alpha (to name a few) are similar in a single-piece bat with a tendency towards a balanced swing.
Expert Recommendations
We recommend the StringKing Metal for single-piece bat lovers who want a fantastic value buy. We didn't find much feel or performance difference between the Metal and Pro Metal. But, we'd guess, there was likely some long term durability differences between the two--although we noticed none over our several hundred hits.
