Zombies Are Coming » Which is best: aluminum or wood bat?

Which is best: aluminum or wood bat?

The folks at Zombie Go Boom put together a video breaking down the debate between aluminum or wood bats.

Comments (32)

32 Responses to “Which is best: aluminum or wood bat?”

QAZZY 1-9th on 08 Jun 2011 at 9:33 pm #

There are some pretty sweet composite bats out there. Cold is no longer much of a problem for them. Only problem is you can’t drive a large spike through them for more lethality. Of you’ve ever watched Deadliest Warrior, a baseball bat is pretty effective on a gel analog body, not accounting for rotting of bones or flesh.
wheelgunner on 09 Jun 2011 at 12:25 am #

Sweet,sweet maple wood Louisville Slugger for me please.
McLuvin on 09 Jun 2011 at 10:36 am #

Those tests were a joke.
Angryvikingman on 09 Jun 2011 at 11:50 am #

Yeah, those tests were kinda crappy. If that retard with the bat could hit the damn “Head” consistantly he’d have found out for sure. I’m telling you, I’d rather have a wood bat than an aluminum one. Maybe I need to do some “testing” of my own.
Semper Cogitant on 09 Jun 2011 at 2:29 pm #

It would be interesting to see a real test of this. I don’t think that there would be much difference in the damage done, but serious difference might be shown in durability. What would each look like after the hundredth zed? Would one of the other be easier to use for a long time?

Also, I’ve become a fan of the cricket bat as blunt weapon against zombies, though here in the US they are not as readily available, where as baseball bats are everywhere.

I would also like to see the difference in damage dealt with the crick bat and the baseball bat too. The test might also include lengths of closet pole, re-bar, and old fashioned metal pipe, and maybe a golf club.

You might run out of ammo while foraging in a garage and have each of those things at hand and have to decide which. My bet would be the wooden bat (figuring the average American garage wouldn’t have a cricket bat.)
QAZZY 1-9th on 09 Jun 2011 at 3:21 pm #

I’m agreeing with Semper here (always knowledgeable?), a good piece of rebar is easy to find, and durable.

Everyone is forgetting about the good old crowbar. When did those ever break? (They do blend, but then again, what does, besides diamonds?) The ends are good for maximizing damage, and it also functions as a tool.
QAZZY 1-9th on 12 Jun 2011 at 8:09 am #

Semper, having read this blog for awhile, and only more recently commenting, I’ve read you are (or were) in the armed forces? Which branch.

I’ve also concluded that you guys know a lot of military guys that are crappy shooters. That’s odd, since for the Marine Corps, you have to be able to hit the 500 yard targets, 34/40 for MOS 0317.
wheelgunner on 12 Jun 2011 at 4:53 pm #

Hell, why not throw in a good old cast iron pipe wrench? If all I wanted was a club for smashing things, that’s what I’d pick up out the toolbox.
QAZZY 1-9th on 12 Jun 2011 at 7:08 pm #

Who doesn’t keep a compact crowbar in their toolbox? I keep a knife everywhere though.
wheelgunner on 13 Jun 2011 at 12:02 am #

I’m afraid that I am one of those who does not keep a crow bar in their tool box. I have far more effective means of tearing things apart, and nails only require a carpenters hammer to worry with. Never needed a crowbar for anything.
QAZZY 1-9th on 13 Jun 2011 at 5:09 am #

Opening large packages, as a lever, destroying things….
wheelgunner on 13 Jun 2011 at 11:51 am #

Have a series of hammers, axes, and saws. No iron bar need apply.
QAZZY 1-9th on 13 Jun 2011 at 4:28 pm #

Saws would have limited use as a weapon, if any. Axes that could fit in a toolbox wouldn’t be significantly more useful than a crowbar, since they do not possess the weight to split the crown, or the size to easily decapitate. A hammer could suffice though.
wheelgunner on 13 Jun 2011 at 7:11 pm #

You have missed my point entirely. And, I never said they all fit in my toolbox, just that I had more effective tools lieing around. Weaponary fuction was not discussed.
QAZZY 1-9th on 13 Jun 2011 at 9:48 pm #

The claw hammer, or better yet, the ball-peen is the first choice, but I would still want to keep a crowbar with me, if not as a bludgeon, then as a tool.
wheelgunner on 13 Jun 2011 at 10:19 pm #

Blacksmith’s hammer for me. I don’t have enough spare room in my kit to add one saddly, though I admit that they do have some use. Still prefer an ax though.
QAZZY 1-9th on 14 Jun 2011 at 5:14 am #

I need to test whether an ax will get stuck or not, and if I could extract it. What are good human head analogs? I have a long-handled ball peen, where I filed the ball peen to a rounded cone shape. Fiberglass handle.
wheelgunner on 14 Jun 2011 at 9:43 pm #

Twist, yank, and Spartan kick.
QAZZY 1-9th on 15 Jun 2011 at 5:12 am #

I have wanted to grind down an axe head into a smaller spike shape, more ideal for killing zombies. The spike would be an isosceles triangle, maybe 9 inches and 2 pounds. I would then temper it, and find a nice handle for it.
wheelgunner on 18 Jun 2011 at 10:36 pm #

Get a spike hawk, or learn to use the ax. The spike WILL get stuck, is easier to miss and have it bounce off, and the ax has utilitarian uses.
wheelgunner on 18 Jun 2011 at 10:37 pm #

Plus, that is a lot of work just to ruin an ax.
QAZZY 1-9th on 19 Jun 2011 at 6:38 am #

It’s a cheap axe, and it’s for experimentation, something we won’t be able to do much of on Z-Day. Better now than then.

I tried it, but instead of grinding it down, I had someone cut it, so I just tempered and sharpened it. I used clay around the blade, and more near the back, like a guy forging a katana, to make it harder up front (still needs to be verified), and softer in the back. It’s lighter weight and smaller point makes attacking and extracting easier. I’ve split things that are probably tougher than a human skull, nevermind a rotting one.

I think as Semper Cognitant mentioned earlier, a golf club is a viable temporary melee weapon. It’s designed to be light, while providing the maximum force at the head in a swing. It won’t last too long, but not many non-purpose-designed weapons will.
Reaver on 01 Jul 2011 at 9:51 pm #

I wouldn’t try a golf club. unless you make contact directly at the head of the club, the handle will either bend or snap. plus you should consider that the human head has a LOT more inertia than a golf ball.
C on 02 Jul 2011 at 11:16 pm #

24 oz. Ball Peen with a 16″ handle and a 3′ pry bar with a hook end slightly under a 90L (so you can smack it in underneath something and still have hand room to pry at it).
Angryvikingman on 03 Jul 2011 at 9:01 am #

Not a lot of sword makers forge weld 2 pieces of steel together for a sword. And the clay placed on the blade is for difrerential tempering. The edge gets hard and the spine stays soft. Its also what causes the sword to cuve up into a traditional katana shape when quenched much the same way as described in the Nova article. Although, Like I said, not many sword makers do it that way.
KanuckleHead on 03 Jul 2011 at 3:18 pm #

I should have double checked my facts. Angryvikingman is correct about the clay paste on the blade. That’s what I get for writing from memory. Note to self: Verify before submit.

A test better than the one shown in the video would be to take each bat and swing it at a tree for a couple hours see how your muscles hold up in the long run as well as how well each bat holds up against continuous, heavy use.
Angryvikingman on 03 Jul 2011 at 3:57 pm #

Thats another reason why I am against using a crowbar as a main weapon. Too heavy and tiring to swing. Far more so than a bat.
McLuvin on 04 Jul 2011 at 10:37 pm #

A bat will be a good last ditch weapon. As for swinging it for any length of time, you shouldn’t need to. If you get stuck in a massive crowd of zombies with nothing but a bat you won’t last long enough to get tired. If you use it to handle one or two at a time fatigue won’t be an issue. The bat is a good weight and balance for a bludgeon.
wheelgunner on 07 Jul 2011 at 9:57 pm #

Well, it is designed to be weildable and effective. Those things have some serious science that goes into them these days, for whatever you think that that’s worth.
the j on 20 Jul 2011 at 7:20 pm #

i would, at that point, very much enjoy anything that causes blunt force trama
Z_Creator on 06 Dec 2011 at 7:16 pm #

I have an axe, a sledgehammer, a crowbar, an aluminum bat and a chainsaw in a shed

What could be more helpful????
Deraxel on 29 Dec 2011 at 3:06 am #

Personal experience with bats (I’ve played baseball up until college) have led me to believe an aluminum bat would be the best bet. Wooden bats shatter and although i personally never broke one (I pitched more than batted) I’ve seen quite a few break but i’ve never seen an aluminum one break. If i had to use a bat as a weapon i would go aluminum and adult sized one to boot. I would say an average person or even me (I’m a 6’6 250lbs) would take 2-3 head shots to finish a zombie off. Angry viking seems to have a hardon for a childs bat for some reason and i’d only use it as a last resort right before using a knife. I’d say a normal person would probably take 4-6 head shots to finish a zombie off not to mention the decreased range you suffer using one. I personally would stick to steel weapons if i had the choice.

All this assumes no rot has taken place and you have to actually destroy the brain stem not just a small portion of the brain. Basically what i’m saying is you need to do more damage than fracture or just shatter the skull.