The 2024 Vicuts Vibe is a youth baseball bat built like the Marucci CAT line of bats. Marucci, a sister company of Vicuts, has long been admired for their sting-dampening technology in their knob. Vicuts, now a part of the family, can use that proprietary knowledge in their single-piece bats. Think of the Vibe as an upgraded version of the Victus Vandal from 2022 but with the knob tech of the Marucci CAT. In other words, there's a real chance the Vibe, at a $199 price point, could end up being the best value USSSA and USA bat for 2024. (There is no BBCOR version of the bat that we know of, and we don't expect one, at least for 2024. For that, check the Vicuts Lev3 Vandal).
Models Overview
If you want a single-piece alloy bat with a light swing and a great-sized barrel with some tech to help dampen sting, the Victus Vibe should be at the top of your list. There is no bat, save the CAT X, that does what it does. And at a less expensive entry point, it's a win—most at this age like a two-piece composite's feel and barrel size. But there are enough who don't care about bad hits feeling good and want to be a savvy consumers, so the 2024 Victus Vibe could make a lot of sense. Those looking to do severe damage and have the body size to do it should also closely examine the drop 5 Vibe, our favorite of the bunch.
Construction & Technology
The 2024 Victus Vibe is a single-piece bat with a ringless barrel design and sting-dampening stopper-type technology in the knob. The bat only comes in a USA and a USSSA version. Expect the drop 10 to swing light and drop 5 to focus on the big hitter type in the USSSA space.
Performance Comparison
2024 is the first iteration of the Vicuts Vibe. That said, it seems to replace the Vicuts Vandal from 2022. However, the Vandal did not have the sting-dampening tech in the knob so you can consider the Vibe more like the CAT 9 from Marucci and the Vandal from Vicuts had a baby and called it he Vibe.
Comparable Bats
Not many companies are pushing in the USSSA market's single-piece space. They put their focus and energy on a two-piece composite. As such, you won't find a lot of single-piece alloy bats with considerable publicity. Marucci is the only company that takes the single-piece alloy USSSA space seriously. Still, they're sister companies of Victus, so it's hard to think anyone else sees the value. That said, bats like Easton's ALX, Rawlings Clout, Warstic's Boneaber, and Demarini's The Goods One are comparable bats.
Expert Recommendations
Generally, those who like a single-piece bat with its stiff feel and reasonable feed back in the hands should like the Vicuts Vibe. The bat uses some tech in the knob to help dampen the sting on mishits. We've hit with this proprietary knob for years and agree that it does work over single-piece bats without that tech. If you're in the market for a great value buy int he USSSA space and still want a performance bat that performs at the limit, this is your guy. Some like the bigger barrel and perceive longer sweet spots of two-piece composite bats, but if that's not your cup of tea, then the 2024 Vicuts Vibe is worth a serious look.
