Hitting with the legendary EASTON Z2K (year 2000) | Is this the hottest bat ever made? 

WHATUP WHATUP!! Make sure your video quality is up all the way, go full-screen, crank the volume, and enjoy. Also stay tuned at the end for some bonus swings from the Cat 9 Composite!!

Fun Fact about Z2K: So, it was made with Scandium, Aluminum & Graphite. Scandium is a super rare metal these days and is only mined for in a small area in Madagascar & a small area in Sweden. Back then, Easton had access to Scandium and they got it for dirt cheap. Scandium mixed with aluminum & then lining it with Graphite made the energy transfer from the metal twice as fast and twice as much than it would be without the Scandium & graphite linings. Now, Scandium is extremely expensive and rare. Easton made an Anniversary Z2K back in 2020 or something but it is only for the Korean market.

I graduated HS in 2002, so I grew up in the Reflex, Redline, Z2K era. Playing 3B was a dangerous game when someone came to the plate with one of those!

I used to be a manager at a sporting goods store from 99-2002. And we had so many of these bats returned for dents and cracks! I think Easton was pushing the limits with what was even possible back then! Cool video for the nostalgic

Gotta take into consideration that the Z2K is still that hot after 22 years. Imagine what it was like then

Class of '01 here -- I think partly where these bats really shine as drop 5s is that you can go up in bat length. If you want to hit a ball 110mph/450 feet, get your hands on a 34/29 Redline. I'm not a huge guy (6'/185), but I could get away with it no problem. I remember using that bat in HS summer ball as a LHH, 320' down the right field line on our home field, and I have distinct memories of hitting a ball over second base on the adjoining field, another time clanging a ball way up the light pole in right-center, and lastly throwing the bat like an asshole like I'd popped out and then it just kept carrying for a homer. Anyway, in college it was drop 3s and I needed to drop down to a 33.

You are pretty spot on, I recall all the best hitters with Easton scandium bats who had the “spot”. Hardest ball ever hit my way was off a Redline, on a line blew threw the pocket of my glove and kept on going. I feel like bats now are like golf clubs now, peak performance has come and gone with regulations but all the new stuff is maximized from one end to the other.

I had a bat back in that era called the Easton "black magic" I swear it was literal magic. Used to get huge distance and you could barely feel the ball on the bat.

The easton reflex line from that era was insane as well! The reflex C-cores (orange, red, yellow, silver) were just as juiced as the Redlines. The C405 ultra alloy by alcoa had the juice. TPX bats used C405 as well! 2002 was the last year of the Z2K i believe. one year after i graduated high school. So glad i grew up during that era and got to experience those bats! I had a redline c-core and it was cracked from everyone using it and my old man tossed it and got me a Reflex which i still have to this day, but definitely wish i still had that cracked redline! Who knew! love the vids fellas!

Gotta remember too, you're swinging a Z2K that has likely seen a lot of swings which takes a toll on alloy bats after a while, and the fact that it beat the Zen is a testament to how ridiculously hot that bat is/was. AND that's with a 32", just crazy. This is one of the bats that the men's league used to use when I was growing up, yes, grown ass men using 2 3/4" -5's. It was absolutely ridiculous. Never forget watching a pitcher in that league get drilled in the face and getting his nose destroyed, he had no time to react before the ball hit him.

In middle school I had a -5 Redline Zcore. That bat was always my favorite. I put a little bit thicker and squishier grip on it which made it feel even better. None of my -3 conneXions or stealths were anywhere as hot as that Zcore.

Man playing baseball in the 90's was a blast. I remember in 1999 being 8-9 years old and smashing balls over the fence at the local little league field. I couldn't tell you what bat it was but it was a metal easton. If I could go back for 1 week back then I'd do it in a heartbeat.

So this was my issue when I got back into baseball and bought a 34 inch wood bat thinking it made sense because that's what I used to swing. I forgot I was swinging 34 inch -5s from the early 2000s. From what you showed in your other videos of how the extra length translates, I would love to see you and zack swing a 34 -5 from the late 90s early 2000s.

Class of 98 and we rocked 32/27 Easton Redline SC500 up and down the lineup for all 4 years I was there. The school had purchased two of them and they lasted through those 4 years. Soooo many bombs. The closest I've hit to anything like that is a 32/27 Easton XL1 (the orange bomber).

If you can find an original Louisville TPX Air Attack or Air Attack2 those bats are stupid hot as well

You got to find the old Worth Cryo Copperhead C405.

Yeah, I graduated high school in 99 and we had these bats.... It was absolutely NUTS! Reclines, Z2K.... Nothing like it.

I absolutely loved that bat as a teen in the late 90s, early 00s. I was always more of a contact hitter than power, but hits flew off my bats with just swinging for contact.

I played HS baseball in 97-2001 and college from 02-04 and hit a Easton redline and loved it also had an orange Easton Reflex both super hot bats didn't realize how good we had it with bats back then

I think i brought this up before, but when it comes to the older bats, most of the tech has already broken down over years of temperature variance in garages and usage. Easton bats were alloy but were reinforced with composite, so technically they are composite bats. A composite is when 2 or more different materials make up an object. Most likely, the composite inside has already broken up. The composite inside was pressure fitted to create stress that would increase the trampoline effect. TPX did a similar function with the air attacks, where a 30 psi bladder was placed into the barrel. The z2k was never used in college, the last bats to be used in college were the Air Attack 2, OG Green Omaha, and Redline C-Core. NCAA went to besr in 1999. I don't have the means to make a video on it, but i know the full history of the pre besr era. It's absolutely wild what went down in the 90s, more than most people know If you would like to talk about it, I'd be down to have a talk because of it weren't for the late 90s bats, there would be no usssa, so technically, the CF Zen is more closely related to the z2k than the bbcors

Yooooo 2001 grad here. Hit .567 my senior year with the Redline that thing was a warstick. Brought back some good memories thx guys keep up the great work 💪

anyone gonna notice how big will is getting? dude is lowkey built asf now

I grew up in the era where "big barrels" became a thing. The Redline and first ZCore were also lethal.

Dude no way, I found one of these bats in my brother in laws backyard about a week ago and had no idea what it was worth or how good it is 😂

I’ve been buying these old bats you review and using them in my Sunday adult league. We used besr/bbcor in d2 when I was playing in college. Man that reflex was no joke and now I want this one

I had the black/yellow Easton stealth and the silver/red stealth in 06-07. Those were some good bats

This video was incredible! So great to see a new vs old clash of 🔥 bats.

OH MY GOD! You finally did what I've been begging for, ever since y'all started! This is THE reason bat regulation became a thing. These were illegal the next year as a result. Also, this is still the best sounding bat of all time too IMO. Pretty wild a 22 year old bat is as hot as a broken in CF.

Great videos. I graduated in 2003 and played HS in both Florida and Virginia. My freshman year was under the -5. If you can find them demarini had two alloy -5 a black with gold lettering double barrel which was quickly unavailable (as when mine broke under warranty they sent me two of the following single barrel models) as well as a black with red lettering single barrel ( I believe called monstro) both incredibly hot bats. My teammates had the grey (hottest and weakest) original redline. The Z2k followed up. all of these were 1998-2000 as after the 1999-2000 season we switched to the -3 and smaller barrel. (I always felt the barrel change was the biggest change from 2000 to 2001

I remember playing in the Wild West -5 days. I swung at air attack series. Huge gimmick I know, but those things were crazy hot. Can’t beat that aluminum ping.

I love the oldie vs new bat comparisons!

Just found this channel and LOVE it. I was the "Bat" guy in my leagues for years. Tried every single Neg -5 ever made during the Z2K era. No way any bat is hotter than that. Redlines (both black and silver) were legit too. Sc500 bats with the 2 3/4 Barrel were insane. I didn't even know they existed and then someone brought it to a HR Derby. Started using them where they were legal, scoured Craigslist, prob had 10. These bats a NOT stronger than a Redline. Broke and dented every single one and no one was throwing over 85. We used to joke the barrel was the same size as the red plastic bats we had as kids. . Those Z2K on EBAY most of them are dented and still go for 500+ . Where the hell could you use those Cat 9 and Green Zen? Why did they have a 2 3/4? If you rolled or used a mallet the Blue or Orange Stealth it would add a lot, but 2 5/8 won't compete. Thanks for these videos jerks, been watching for 2 hours and my wife is getting pissed.

I look forward to these videos all the time bro. Bat bros don’t ever stop keep it and keep killin it as always!! 🤘🏼🤘🏼 And hey bat bro Will is lookin yolked dude! Haha y’all are the goats! 🤘🏼🤘🏼🤘🏼

This is my favorite ASMR channel. Brings me inner peace.

Not sure who was using drop -5 in High School, but in Texas it was drop -3, 34/31, 33/30, and 32/29 (Late 90's, Early 2000's). The drop -5 was more for maybe Connie Mack, Pony Colt, American Legion Baseball, getting up to High School... I was an Easton guy, ConneXtion bats were my go to, The Orange, Yellow/Gold/Lime Green, the Silver one were all Fire. Doubt You can Really find them anymore, Great Vid!!!

Great video on the z2k! I like the TPX Omaha 2000 BESR. Which I have to this day but it is cracked. What I do have is a 1995 Easton c-core 34in in good condition used by the university of Texas. I would like to see you make a video on it.

YES!!!!! FINALLY...SOME NUKE STICKS!!! Love you guys! Thanks for giving us the real GOODS.

Growing up during the 90's and being 33 this year. The redline and triple 7 were beast bat's for me in Australia 🇦🇺. But I love the string king for the bbcor though.

you guys gotta do a cf8 -5 vs makobeast -5 definitely two of the best and hottest bats of the 2010s

Having swung both Z Cores and Redlines, when they were released the Z core wins. I still think the Orange “Reflex” Easton’s that came out around 95/96 were the most juiced. They had many returned to dealer with dents so I have a feeling that changed the materials a bit. Z cores and Redlines would crack rather than dent, and they never felt quite as juiced.

I graduated in 1999 and played shortstop all 4 years. Pro: a hot one hopper gives more time to throw out a runner. Con: 100 mph grounders that hit the grass lip before the infield dirt is scary af.

Man this takes me back. We'd all be down in the dugout huddled around the kid who had one while he fired the specs off like a used car salesman. "Oh, yeah. Z2k, young son. This baby is sweet. Monster Barrel WITH the Total-Peen Finish. Graphite Reinforced SC500 Scandium Alloy shell. 33 inches of BOOM in this thing here, bubba. Mmmmhmmm, this bad boy only hits dingers. Minimum 430ft, all day. Yep, I'm pretty much guaranteed the batting title this year." Then that kid would go .129 with 4 walks and 72 strikeouts on the year. The problem? You guessed it. Bat is trash. And that, my friends, was how you got discount Z2Ks in the early 2000s.

The silver redline c core is the true goat

You guys should do the old Easton Black magic Versus the newer Easton Black magic bat, that would be a pretty interesting matchup

Man, that was one of my favorite bats of all time. I remember taking the plastic off and hitting a HR on my first AB with the Z2K. Redline was a badass bat too.

We swung these in highschool. Graduated 2001. Absolute murderous stick! And i was a pitcher. Got a little dicey with ur face stickin out there sometimes lol

I graduated in 2002 and we had the zcore titanium. It was gold. Thats the last one i remember using.

I was always a Connexion bat kid myself, at least till I hit it on the handle of that 2-piece barrel on an inside fastball. 😬🤣

I'd like to see the Easton orange XL1 in the Velo test. Hottest bat and very durable.

I played during this Era...Redline was hand down my favorite bat. In 2003 we had to switch to wood which WAS A Big change. The Redline and Louisville Omaha were my absolute favorite. I definitely preferred the Redline over the z2K as did most of my teammates. They were JUICED.

Hey Will can you please do some on field hitting with the new 2022 USSSA Meta I’m thinking of getting it and I was wondering what you think and I LOVE watching you guys and I just think you guys are helping so much people with picking bats for them

You gotta try the Easton ghost x whiteout -5 from 2018 I think it beats every bat

Had one of the Z2K growing up. A friend used it after a year of use or so and it shattered in two pieces. That was and still is the only time I have ever seen a non wooden bat break completely in two. The barrel piece made it about 10 feet past the pitchers mound and it was a weak ground ball hit.

I played in some amateur adult leagues in 2000-2004 in the San Diego area and we allowed aluminum bats. It was wild playing 3rd base. I had a liner hit so hard at me it hit me in the right shoulder before I could even get my glove up. I had the craziest bruise from that. On the other side of it hitting with a 34" Redline I hit one that I think is still circling around the planet.

The redline and air attack 2 were super nasty in high school ballin late 90s early 2000s

Saw 13 year old kids hitting oppo dingers over 300' with the Easton XL1 yellow/black...we used to call it the "cheater bat"...that thing and the orange Easton XL1 have the most pop I've ever seen....

I graduated high school in 2002, this was my bat. Hit some game day bombs. I channel my metal bat days on the golf course with these aging bones.

Will bringing back the high school years here, this bat was amazing!

That sound of the Easton brings me back

My dad actually has this bat he said he had 3-4 because back then of you broke it they would just send a new one no matter what he said it was one of the best bats he ever had and also he said his busy had a redline and he said it was slightly better for power great bat. Thank you so much for reviewing this bat good luck in the future keep doing what your doing.

Great video guys I’m subscribed and I have been watching for a while hope you are doing well keep up the great vids⚾️😀😍

I have a 2009 Voodoo Black absolutely loved that thing..so balanced and ball used to just fly off the bat

I played before that bat. My favorite was the original z core and the c core that came before it. Those bats were a beast. All the old school Easton bats are by far the best bats. Forgot about the redline. I have one that's dented to hell and back. One side is damn near flat. Never mind I forgot the original was a red line. It's been so long. I forget what the bat was that has all the dents in it. It was a Easton but it was a few years after the original z core came out. Looked it up, it was the connexion.

This was my last -5 bat before it switched to the -3. You should try and find a Redline or Zcore. Also see if you could get your hands on Louisville TPX they had out to contend with the Z2K I think it was the Omaha.

At 06:26 there's a Z cloud over center field. Seems the weightlifting is helping you with the high ball. Good job.

My personal weapon from the early 2000s was the Easton Sc900 Stealth CNT BST7 I used a 34/31 but focused on opo gap hits. These bats were so hot!

See a lot of old Eastons but havent seen ya'll review an old Connexion. Those were beasts.

I swong that bat all year in 2000 in the Junior ranks back in Quebec (17-22 year olds) ... Had let me tell you that this was absolute BP heavy weaponery !! The clear cut choice for all my teammates at the time. Regularly over 350+ feet in distance. Unfortunetly only lasted 2-3 weeks before we needed to activate the Easton warranty services !! ;)

Love to see the reflex c-core. I saw you swing the reflex extended. I swung both in High School. The extended had a bigger sweet spot, but the c-core was the best in 1998-99.

We had some crazy bats back in the day. I swung my first aluminum bat and composite bat, in 1975. Through most of the 2000’s the bats have been looking for single digit, or even less, percentage gains. In my adult softball playing, starting around 1985, there were some huge gains in performance, even double digit. At that time only big guys were hitting home runs but by the early 90’s, 130lb guys could hit some. That’s about when they had to put the brakes on. Big guys started showing up to coed games with those crazy demarini and others. Way too dangerous. Crazy to think I spent over $300 on a bat over 30 years ago. The best bat I ever used was a green TPX I believe. A friend played for their travel team and they made him custom bats. It was a 32/34 end loaded. I hit one line drive out that the 3rd baseman had a chance at and another went 425 ft with a red dot. It was insane. I came down with a muscle disease and haven’t played in 20 years so I have no idea how the new bats compare to the bats from the 80’s & 90’s.

You guys point out the biggest difference several times in the video, it's not necessarily that the bats we had were hotter than the hottest USSSA bats now, but the bats we had in high school are 100x hotter than the BBCOR garbage that these dudes have to swing now. Playing 3B in the 90s and early 00s was fucking dangerous (and i loved it) but the single biggest difference was the size of the dudes that got to swing those old bats vs the 13 and 14 year olds that swing the -5 CF now.

I’m sorry but the green cfzen -5 can’t be beat.

That bat sounds AMAZING

Haven't even watched this yet, but this is literally why I followed. Waiting for this moment.

The Easton Redline was the first bat I hit a homerun with. That bat is so hot! That would be a great video!!

My cousin went through 2 Redlines while just taking batting practice.

Hey Will, I showed my mom your video about the green zen. So she got it. 1 day after I got it, we went to the park and my dad pitched to me. My 25th hit I hit my first hr (over the fence)

I was 10 years old when these were around, at the height of my little league days on minor B and minor A fields. Playing infield was like getting shot at with a baseball cannon lol. And you didn't have to do much to go yard

Safeco park for the velo test.. I like it. Side note.. I had the redline and z2k in my high school days.

That was a great one. Love your guys stuff, and now more than ever since my son is playing high school ball and travel. Those CF’s are sick. I got my boy the Victus Vandal due to your reviews ( + the fact a Voodoo one couldn’t be found at that time). Anyhow, I hope you guys will do a video with what we called the Easton Black Magic back in the late 80’s, early 90’s.

mine was a 34.5 / 29.5 z2k... greatest bat ever. i think if you had a longer z2k like i had, you would find the sweet spot a bit larger and max exit velocity the highest of any bat

Dude Will has gotten jacked. Holy crap!

cf4 and b1 combat were my favorite bats that I ever used and swung. Crazy pop

Being 33 years old. This shit brings back memories of playing ball back in the day

I love you guys so much!!!!!! You guys should do an illegal bat home run derby, or battle of the goats.

A black magic video would be awesome one of these days, I have memories of swinging this and it being lethal.

we use to break 3-4 demarini's every practice (we were sponsored by them in college). the guys loved the pop but they were soft as could be. these were -3 bats. guys were glad that we had new ones coming in weekly.

And if you don’t mind Will can you show us how to properly brake in a composite bat thx

Try the Louisville slugger Old school black and silver warrior and the platinum! Those were my go tos in highschool back in 2006

Maaaaaaaannnnn that bat and the zcore red line are LEGENDARY!!! But the red line in my opinion is quite possibly the goat of all bats

I graduated in 2000 and the bz-33-z sc500 z-core was the undisputed king. I do not remember the Z2K, but it looks pretty similar.

I am glad that you called out the Redline Z-Core as that is the actual pinnacle from back in the day. We broke 3 of them my senior year and we just kept buying more. The Redline Z-Core is definitely tuned up over the normal Z-Core from 99 or the rebranded Z2k from 00 but its really not a ton from what I remember. If I had to guess you might be able to squeeze another MPH out of it on the top end. The big thing that I remember from the Redline though is that I felt that it was more forgiving(i.e retained its velocity on bad strikes). I actually think that might be why it was more prone to cracking especially at the end of the bat. If you keep the strikes away from the end of the bat it was fine from our experience. Oh and you talk about this bat in the hands of High Schoolers but the really crazy shit took place in Omaha during the college world series. People now complain about how big TD Ameritrade Park is in Omaha. Well back in the Rosenblatt days the dimensions where exactly the same and those guys made that stadium look like a little league field. The 99 World series was the last one with pretty much unrestricted bats. Aug 1st of 1999 College baseball put the first restrictions in place. Really the only change at that time was to go from -5 to -3 and to restrict the diameter to 2 5/8. In 99 everyone was swinging -5, 2 3/4 inch diameter bats and it was insane. Heck I have multiple friends that have named there kids Easton because of those bats.

Saw a Z2K actually penetrate a metal fence on a line drive. Homie hit it so hard it forced the ball through the little hole gaps in the fence. Nobody could find the ball for 10 mins until they realized it busted the fence. Talk about a hell of a ground rule double

Awesome video man. I’ve bought a lot of bats off your videos lol. Thanks for the info

I don't know why, but I love watching these bat videos.

I graduated in 1999 and we had to use -3 bats this -5 would have only been legal in LL here in Texas. That being said the redline reflex -3 in 98-99 were SUPER hot and thin! We snapped 3 in on season. So we never used them in practice just games. Lol

i used this bat in the 8th grade. furthest HR ive ever hit. on google maps at the sportsplex in gulf shores Al, it measures over 600 ft to the pool that it went into. idk about bounces or whatever, didnt see it. all i know is, a lady got a pool net and got it out and brought it back to me. in '03 i used a C 555 limited edition. that was a nice bat too. very loud ping to it. then 1/2 way through the season we got a triple 7

Had this bat in my 16 year old season. The previous season we had the Z-Core Redline and we must have broke at least half a dozen of them. The Z2K we didn't break even one of them. They definitely upped the durability for the Z2K. At 16 years old we were clearing 350 easy and some of the bigger guys were clearing 400 easy. You're also not wrong withe astronomical prices. 2 years ago I sold my 34/29 Z2K on eBay for $900.

11:41 what a beautiful sound

I wish you could swing a Redline 2 3/4” barrel -5. Those were splitting vertically in college so they came out with the Z2K. I actually kept mine.