I get calls almost every day asking if we can take rings out of BBCOR / USA and aluminum bats.  The quick answer is yes, we can, but the more appropriate response if you get me on the phone would be "are you sure you want to?"

For clarification purposes, not all BBCOR / USA and aluminum bats have rings.  Other bat doctors tout how they pull rings out of all these bats and all they are doing is leading you on to believe there are rings when there is not.  For BBCOR composite bats, only 1 bat has an actual ring that I will discuss below.  For aluminum bats, there are a select few that have rings, but not all have these so called "rings".  

Rings are in essence 1 of 2 things..........structural support and / or performance limiting.  There is a big difference between the 2, of which you should understand before making a purchase  

Structural Rings -- 

I get messages all the time if I remove the aluminum collar from Demarini BBCOR bats.  The answer is i do not and here is why.  The aluminum ring in this particular model bat is a not only performance limiting, but structural.  The ring itself just doesnt come out like i have seen videos of it just falling out of a bat.  The collar is embedded up into the shell itself within a few layers of composite.  You either 1) machine the ring out in pieces or 2) cut down the barrel leading up to the bottom of the ring from where it can be pried out with a bar in 1 piece. Either way, there is going to be a very pronounced grove where the ring used to be.  And what i mean by that is there will be a hole in your bat almost to the outer shell.  From my experience, the bat almost ALWAYS breaks in half where the ring used to be or cracks in a matter of swings.  Other good examples of structural rings / collars are in the Rawlings Quatro BBCOR and new Quatro USA -12.  Those are 100% structural.  Bottom line, it is not worth removing unless you have money to burn because i can assure you, the bat will break way before you expect it to

Performance Limiting Rings / Collars --

There are quite a few newer BBCOR and USA baseball bats that utilize "ring / collar" technology to limit wall flex, but is not a structural component of the bat.  These are the bats where it is safe to remove the ring or collar without compromising the bat in a matter of swings.  A perfect example of this is the re-tool Zen.  The re-tool is simply the banned 2017 Zen with a collar embedded in the sweet spot to limit the barrel flex.  Machine that out and its an easy 40ft of distance.  Quite a few other bats utilize this technology as well, which can lead to crazy distance gains if removed

Aluminum bat ring removal --

Few things you should know about this before you go down that road.  Yes, it works, however, be aware on what you are getting into!!!

1) The bat will become obnoxiously loud.  yes, everyone will know something is up with your bat, no doubt.  I have had quite a few customers call me back and are like HOLY SH*T this bat is hot but also INSANELY LOUD. 

2) The bat will be prone to vibrations which leads to hand stinging.  A lot of the ring tech in alloy bats are also to dampen the bat.  Think of it as ringing a bell..........bells vibrate, composite bats for the most can absorb the impact and transfer it evenly through out the bat.  Aluminum bats cannot which is why a good amount of these have composite rings inside them

3) The bat will dent and warp rather quickly.  Most cases, rings in alloy bats are some what structural in nature as well, just not as pronounced like in composite bats.  either way, removing the rings will cause the bat to flex more which will lead to denting rather quickly most cases.