Hydro-Bat is made of Hydro-Stone instead of the standard pottery plaster, it’s full eight to ten times stronger than similar products. Hydro-Stone is a US Gypsum material containing cement and crystalline silica so it’s very absorbent, AND very strong -- you will find the surface of our bats to be scratch resistant, while the bats’ water-absorbing properties fully eliminate the need to cut your pieces off of the bat with a wire.