BBCOR: Stock $300, Full Custom $430
The Voodoo Insane is an endloaded two-piece hybrid. It was revamped last year with a much larger barrel and stiffer handle. These changes instantly made it one of the most intriguing end-loaded bats available on the market. The 2019 model returns as a very similar bat with a tweaked handle made of DeMarini’s new Paraflex+ composite.
The Look
The base color is white, with black as a secondary color.
One side of the barrel is black camo and the other is gray/white camo.
The handle is white with a black connection piece overlapping it.
The grip and knob are both black and are balanced out with a black endcap.
The Insane is also available on DeMarini’s custom builder here.
Knob/Handle/Grip
DeMarini didn’t include their new D-Tak grip on the Voodoo line. The Voodoo grip is a more traditional design that feels like synthetic leather. This material is firm, a bit sticky, and is speckled with a pattern of indented D’s for traction. These features made for a simple, high quality stock grip.
The handle had a medium circumference that fit in my hand well. This tapered into DeMarini’s RCK knob, which has an ergonomic design that fits well in your bottom hand. This design makes it one of the most comfortable knobs on the market.
Feel/Swing Weight
The Voodoo Insane is the most endloaded bat that DeMarini offers and might be the heaviest on the market. This is a big boy bat made to hit ding-dongs. Here’s DeMarini’s swing weight chart for comparison.
This high swing weight will make Voodoo Insane effective in the hands of stronger, more experienced hitters who can already put the barrel on the ball consistently. If you aren’t barreling up balls with a balanced bat, you’ll most likely miss even more with an endloaded one. Stronger hitters who can make solid contact will find that the added barrel mass helps drive the ball a little further. If you do want to make the switch to an endloaded bat, I encourage you to find a way to test it out beforehand to make sure you can handle the weight. If you can, the Insane won’t disappoint.
Performance
As someone who likes a heavier bat, the Insane was a joy to swing. Unlike the CF series, which simply changes the weight distribution while keeping the bat’s structure the same, the Voodoo Insane and Voodoo Balanced are completely different bats. The Voodoo Insane has a gigantic barrel that provides a very long hitting surface. This makes it very easy to put barrel mass behind every pitch that you hit. This barrel is attached to a stiff composite handle that kills most of the dreaded vibration in your hands. Between the long alloy barrel and stiff handle, the Voodoo Insane has a stiffer feel. I liked this stiffness because it felt like you were really blasting through the ball. On contact, the bat produces a sweet ping that I thought was just right. It’s definitely tougher to control than most metal bats, but if you put the barrel on the ball, it takes off.
Conclusion
The Voodoo Insane is a wonderful bat for experienced hitters. For this reason, you’ll see a lot of it in the college ranks this year. If you can handle the extra weight of the Insane you’ll send some baseballs to the moon. Good job, DeMarini.
what would the difference be comparing to the 2018 model?