What is the quick review?
New the 2023 Easton Lineup is fascinating on a Hybrid bat called the Easton Encore Hybrid. The 2023 Easton Encore Hybrid is a two-piece beat with an alloy handle and a thinned alloy barrel with composite backing. This is not a ring inside the barrel; it is a composite backing on a thinned-out alloy barrel. This allows for a bigger sweet spot, larger barrel profile, and lighter swing weight.
What models and sizes are available?
A bat can rarely pique our interest. We've seen it all in the almost ten years we've hit and reviewed every bat imaginable. But the composite backing on an alloy barrel found in the Encore Hybrid is an exciting take on the market dominated by hybrids like the Goods and Select PWR. This might be the highlight of the class for 2023, and it is most certainly the most exciting bat from Easton that we've seen for 2023.
How is it built?
The 2023 Easton Encore uses a new Compcore Tech ringless R5 barrel---think of the ALX but with thinned walls and backed by some composite. It uses the CXN connection updated with a few tweaks Easton refers to as "Purelynk," the Power Boost "Soft Knob" that we love, and the new Pro-Stiff Carbon Handle.
How does it compare?
Easton's last Hybrid in the BBCOR space is the Hybrid Fuze. This new 2023 Easton Encore Hybrid has new construction from almost top to bottom. The barrel design is different, the handle is new, and the connection piece comes from their entirely composite lines. We don't often see entirely new bats in the space; most are just remakes or tweaks from previous years. But, this 2023 Encore Hybrid is legitimately a new bat.
Bottom line
The 2023 Easton Encore Hybrid -3 BBCOR Baseball Bat pulls in all the best features of Easton's cutting-edge bat engineering, resulting in a 2-piece hybrid bat that will earn you a reputation as an offensive force every time you step in the box.
We built the barrel of this bat with CompCore Technology, pulling together cutting-edge elements of alloy and composite barrel design. To create the CompCore barrel, the ringless R5 alloy of the Encore Hybrid is thinned out by about 30% and then reinforced with Thermo Composite Technology across the length of the hitting surface. This creates an ultra-thin barrel wall, a bigger sweet spot, and maximum "trampoline effect" upon contact. The PureLynk CXN joint connects the handle directly to the barrel, maximizing the energy transfer and stiff feel of the Pro-Stiff carbon handle.
All these features add up to a bat that captures as much energy as you can generate and efficiently transfers it to the baseball — but all you have to do is swing it hard and watch it fly.
You'll not only see the difference that the Easton Encore Hybrid makes but also hear it. The unique, cutting-edge barrel design creates a one-of-a-kind sound off the bat that's sure to echo in a pitcher's ears as you're rounding the bases.
We topped this bat off with Flow-Tack grip, our most excellent bat grip, to give you the ultimate combination of cushion and tack swing after swing. The 2023 Easton Encore Hybrid -3 BBCOR bat is the pinnacle of innovation in both alloy and composite bat design. Get yours today and get an instant boost to your offense!