The aluminum baseball bat is a great weapon which can be found in many homes and is readily available at any sporting goods store. A good thing about it is that it requires no license to purchase, and if you keep a glove and ball in you car, no one will question you having it with you. The aluminum baseball bat is versatile and requires little to no training to use. They are typically made from aircraft grade aluminum, with a rubber or synthetic leather hand grip.

	An Aluminum Bat

The aluminum bat is a relatively functional weapon to use against a zombie. It is used as a bludgeoning weapon and, if swung with enough force, will break bones and cave in skulls. For the most part, bats are a relatively bloodless weapons as they tend to not excessively break the skin, so chances of infection by bludgeoning a zombie to death are relatively lower than that of an edged weapon. The bat is also a relatively silent weapon (there may be a slight “gong” noise made from the hollow aluminum tube), and good for dispatching several zombies at a time without drawing attention from other zombies in the area with loud noises like gunshots. An aluminum bat is swung fast and relies on your strength for the blow since it is so light, where as a wooden bat has a solid core and, when swung, the weight of the bat will help with the power delivered on impact.

Because the aluminum bat is easily accessible and fairly reliable, the bat makes a good secondary armament. Since a bat is basically a specialized club, it has multiple uses, and can be used to gain entry to buildings by breaking windows and doors, and can also be used to support loads and brace doors. Against a large group of zombies, the bat would not be your first choice of weapons. In order to kill a zombie with a bat, it takes brute, blunt force to the head to cave the skull in and destroy the brain. Unless the zombie you are facing is old and decayed, this will generally not be accomplished in one shot, so it may take a few whacks to turn a head into a squishy pile of flesh, crushed bones, and brain matter. Against a large mob of zombies, the effectiveness of the bat is greatly reduced since you cannot kill them in rapid succession. By the time you kill one, you will be fending off more. The main problem with using a bat is range. You have to be close, and there is no room for error.

	A dented aluminum bat

Aluminum baseball bats are fairly tough and durable. They can easily stand up to a good pounding. However, aluminum is a relatively soft metal and it can easily bend or warp, especially if sufficient force is used, or if you are hitting a strong solid object such as a door, or in some cases a head. Once a bat has started to bend, it will eventually fold in half and be rendered useless. If exposed to water or given enough time, rubber handles tend to dry rot making the bat slightly uncomfortable to hold, but this is of little consequence.

The bat is very portable. It can easily be strapped to any back pack or your hand. Standard aluminum bats are about 32 inches (81.28 cm) long, and weigh about 1.38 pounds (0.62 kg) making them extremely light. However, they are a little long for effective close-combat fighting.

A baseball bat can be a very practical secondary weapon and can be used to easily drop a zombie or two when stealth is required. As your only weapon we would suggest finding something else. You don’t want to go toe to toe with a zombie if it is avoidable.