For real… 5 stars does not seem like enough stars for the Ghost. Let me start by saying I didn't write this review lightly — I play in two types of leagues: a recreational Sunday league where we keep it casual, a competitive co-ed and a women's league where I genuinely care about my performance at the plate. At 32 years old, I've swung a lot of bats. Nothing comes close to the Ghost. This is my second Easton Ghost, and buying it again was honestly the easiest decision I've ever made as a softball player. My first Ghost served me beautifully for about two solid seasons at peak performance before I felt it starting to wind down. Breaking it in: Now, this is my experience in how I work a bat in, and my experience is using the Ghost. I want to be honest with you here because this is the #1 thing people get wrong with composite bats. The Ghost does NOT come out of the wrapper ready to punish. It needs a proper break-in. I go down to the cages and I rotate the barrel a quarter turn every 10 hits or so. I put in roughly 150–200 hits on it before I felt it fully open up. My husband helps me with soft toss, tee work, and light front toss, gradually increasing. Be patient. Around hit 100, I go into the cage and begin taking fast pitches. You feel it around 150-175. It’s that pop, the trampoline effect on a fully broken-in Ghost is unlike anything I've experienced. Worth every swing to get there. Peak performance window: Once broken in, this bat absolutely sings for a long time. My first Ghost peaked somewhere around the 250-hit mark and I'd say stayed in that elite performance window for a full season and a half of competitive use — probably 350–450 at-bats total before I noticed any drop-off. That's exceptional for a composite, and I babied it in cold weather (never swinging under 60°F) and stored it properly. If you take care of it, it takes care of you. The feel: The double-barrel design absorbs vibration so well that even on mis-hits, my hands barely feel it. The sweet spot is enormous. I'm a contact hitter who also has some power. The drop -10 is perfect for me. Anyway, that’s my review – how I break it in, how long it lasts, and why I like it. One last thing, and I don’t worry about this too much. When you buy a bat at the store, you get to pick exactly what you want. On Amazon, you kinda get what you get… but at a better price. That said, I took some close up pics when I got it out of the box. There are a few “warehouse” and shipping blemishes where the bat rubs in the box. I included a couple pics of those marks. It doesn’t affect the integrity of the bat, and soon enough you’ll have ball marks and field marks on the bat. Just know, it will come with some of those.