The Science

Launchpad's protection is unrivaled.

68% Less Peak Impact Force

61% Less Thumb Loading

29% Less Palm Loading

9.5 Load Dispersion Rating

Peak Impact Force: The highest impact reading on any part of the palm or thumb — the raw shock your hand takes the instant bat meets ball. The lower it is, the less pounding your hand absorbs on every swing.

Thumb and Palm Loading: The force driven into the thumb and palm, the parts of the hand that take the most abuse. Less loading means less repetitive stress on the spots most prone to injury.

Load Dispersion: How evenly the impact is spread across the hand instead of slamming into one spot, rated out of 10. A higher number means no single part takes the brunt.

And it's protection that elevates performance.

22% Less Bat Twist

22ms Grip Recovery

31% Less Vibration

31% More Hand-to-Bat Contact

Bat Twist: How far the bat rotates in the hands at the moment of contact, especially on balls you don't square up. Less twist means more control through the swing.

Grip Recovery: How quickly the hand re-stabilizes its grip after the jolt of impact, measured in milliseconds. A faster recovery means a steadier, more repeatable swing.

Vibration: The buzz that travels back through the bat at contact. Less of it means calmer hands and a steadier, more stable bat through the hit — not just a cleaner feel.

Hand-to-Bat Contact: How much of the hand is actually connected to the bat handle at impact. More contact creates a more stable, connected grip and better energy transfer.

The Verdict

Protection almost always comes at a cost — more padding means less feel, and more contact with the bat usually means more shock through the hands.

But Launchpad is the rare exception the lab couldn't explain away: it produced the most connected feel of any guard tested, yet transmitted the least force to the hand.

That isn't cushioning — it's coupling. The patented, bat-shaped channel locks the hand to the handle so hitter and bat behave as one connected system rather than two separate pieces meeting at a vulnerable thumb, spreading load across the hand instead of spiking it and damping the shock before it ever reaches you.

The result is the balance this category has always chased and never caught: more contact, more feel, and less force — now measured for real.

About RAPID Tech Sports Performance Labs

RAPID Tech Sports Performance Labs is an independent applied-biomechanics organization that objectively measures force, pressure, and impact mechanics for athletic and protective equipment. They have worked with several MLB organizations, collegiate programs, and top equipment manufacturers such as EvoShield and Sqairz.