Custom Bats Cricket Forum
Equipment => Bats => Topic started by: Liam-SCCC on September 23, 2012, 05:02:36 PM
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Looking back at all the bats I've had, I have only ever owned 2 off the shelf bats, 2 Kookaburras and a Woodworm (that Woodworm was a beast!)
I've had an average season with the bat, only 2 50's 1 with the Ayrtek and 1 with the Talisman. According to one of the senior players in my team I need to stop mucking around with no name brands and just buy one from a shop!
I'd like to get an off the shelf bat for next season and wondered what you guys would recommend? I have limited experience in this area! No flat faces please!
Thanks
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GM
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Care to expand on that point?
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What weight are you looking at?
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Care to expand on that point?
You asked what I would recommend. Don't think you can go wrong with a GM. Many on here would vouch for their customer service too.
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Anything up to 2lbs 10oz would be ideal
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You asked what I would recommend. Don't think you can go wrong with a GM. Many on here would vouch for their customer service too.
Ok, you've got a Halo and Icon haven't you?
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Just the Icon now, passed the Halo onto a guy at my club who got 102* off 67 balls in a T/20 first innings with it haha.
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I agree, if you don't want a flat face you could go with a GM, just go for a 707-909 (i.e. unbleached) model and choose a lighter. one with a good rebound.
alternatively you could stop blaming the bat, make do with what you have and keep practicing...
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Buzz amen to that must say my laver snapped in 2 pieces today I loved that bat
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I know what fantastic bats are available on here, I've bought some but I just stick to what I've done best with in the past
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I agree, if you don't want a flat face you could go with a GM, just go for a 707-909 (i.e. unbleached) model and choose a lighter. one with a good rebound.
alternatively you could stop blaming the bat, make do with what you have and keep practicing...
Not blaming the bat at all!
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How much are you looking to spend on the bat roughly?
Probably around the £160 mark I'd imagine
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http://www.talentcricket.co.uk/sale_cricket_bats_full_size/gunn_and_moore_flare_dxm_909_gm_now_cricket_bat/c251p119.html
Or if you could spare £30 more maybe this -
http://www.talentcricket.co.uk/sale_cricket_bats_full_size/gunn_and_moore_halo_dxm_original_gm_now_cricket_bat/c251p114.html
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I don't understand how your 'senior' player can tell you to 'stop mucking around with no-name brand bats' and 'Buy one from a shop' and you think that that's likely to be the cause of your problems....Have you not learnt anything on here!?? :D
Your 'Senior' player obviously doesn't know what he's talking about and you both seem to think that the bat scores the runs not the batsman! You're wrong! Go and sit on the naughty step! ;) :D
Spend the money you would have spent on the bat on a decent coach. I guarantee you will score more runs as a result....
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Agree coaching had an ok season after a couple of poor seasons. Average mid 20's had coaching + definately felt better than the new bats thisa year which was awesome + helped too. Coaching helped confidence
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I'm not saying what my team mate said is influencing me!
Just added that in as it was amusing to me!
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And just to be clear, I'm not blaming the bat for the poor season! Just want to try an off the shelf bat next season!
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£160 = Dynadrive
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Go to a shop
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Go to a shop
Agreed, one with shelves.
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A salix mines a beast !
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After using off the shelf bats such as GM, Slazenger, Newbery and Kookaburra. I moved onto using smaller brands such as Warsop, Laver & Wood and Hell4Leather(current match bat) I would never be tempted to go back to off the shelf bats. Smaller brands on here can offer much better value for money and the bats can be tweaked and made to your requirements.
As said previously spending the money on coaching would be much more beneficial. Find a bat your comfortable and confident using and stick with it. Then concentrate on improving technique.
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Got to agree. Of seven bats I've used in matches this year (a Newbery, two GNs, a Black Cat, a H4L, an M&H and a Warsop) I'd say the off the shelf models performed the worst, with the three that were custon made for me performing the best...
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Personally I spent a long time looking for the perfect bat, could have a cracking bat but still would be thinkingmaybe there is something better out there. Recently I have realised you will never be able to say you have the best bat ever as you will never be able to try every bat made.
Having found a bat that suits my game ie weight, middle position, my mind is now firmly on getting better technically and building consistancy in my batting. Find a bat that gives you confidence and realise the bat is only as good as yourself.
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For me, there is nothing better than going to a shop, trying loads of bats and walking out with the best one you could get your mitts on - just a great feeling and experience. Trumps a custom made bat for me any day.
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Bit like going to a car lot and picking out the best car they have there compared to going to the factory to pick up you newly ordered car to spec.....custom wise you should get exactly what you order not as close a match to what your after IMO
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I guess it just depends on how well you know your game and what you need to get the very best out of it.
I find smaller companies survive by producing quality bats to sell to people who know their game, which means they survive on reputation. If they started churning out a few planks, it wouldn't be long at all before they vanished.
As for the off-the-shelf companies, they have less reason to care about quality in each bat. Also they make such massive profit each unit.
Having said all that, there are some cracking bats out there, just a matter of what suits your game.
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For me it's all about value. You get far better value for money from the smaller makers. If I were to walk into a shop and find the shelves stacked with offerings from GM, GN, Puma, SS etc and alongside them bats from SAF, H4l, RPC, CF, Helios, Vulcan, Bulldog, BB etc I'm sure I would end up buying a bat from one of the smaller companies.
When you see the big brands bats side by side with the smaller brands offerings and then you take into account the price differential it becomes a no brainer. For me at least!
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how about buying a £60 kookaburra from jjb sports, they are into administration so you can get some deals...
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I used to be very loyal to GM, and the Icon is ace, but it is a long way behind my Laver and Wood Special Reserve.
Custom all the time for me now.
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I think that you can get some great off the shelf bats for a better price than some smaller companies if you put the leg work in.
Gray Nicolls 4/5 stars can be great. The best bat at my club uses a Powerbow Strike that he's got 4 centuries with. £90. That's a pretty good return. It seems that Colesy has been getting mega runs with that Icon 606.
Not every custom bat is going to be a super bat. Even a bespoke bat maker can stuff up the pressing or something. Often the customer service from retailers is better too, just depends where you go. Provenance is not always everything.
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One advantage from buying through a retailer is they're the first level at sorting the wheat from the chaff. If a top-end retailer has issues with breakages or quality from one brand, they won't invest in the brand and stock them.
Whereas when you buy from a no-name company, you don't have that to go on.
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i would recommend gm because they have all their bats suited to a type of player/play
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The thing is with custom bats (and I will be careful what I say here because we do a fair few customs) is that most players (especially young players) don't really know what they like anyway - and that's the value of picking a stock shape or a bat off the shelf...you're really maximising your chance of being satisfied!
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The thing is with custom bats (and I will be careful what I say here because we do a fair few customs) is that most players (especially young players) don't really know what they like anyway - and that's the value of picking a stock shape or a bat off the shelf...you're really maximising your chance of being satisfied!
Really? how is the chances of a satisfactory bat anyhigher picking a stock shape over one you've chosen yourself?
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It would be fun to go into a retailer and try all the bats, then choose the one which feels most confortable for me and taps up nicely! But for me, going to a custom maker, choosing a cleft and the maker ensuring that it is a very responsive one, then having it shaped, balanced and finished (checking the feel of it at several stages) - and ensuring that everything is perfect for me, whilst I watch and have a cuppa with some cake and biscuits is the absolute best feeling there is! Makes you feel all warm and cozy! 8)
In my experience you get some lovely retail bats - one of the best I had was an Adidas. Also had nice GN and GM and others! But have experienced many poor retail 'off the shelf' bats too!
But I have only ever experienced 1 poor custom bat, and that was due to poor pressing...and that was also an absolute 1-off bad one! So in my somewhat wide experience of trying bats, I feel that most of the custom bats do offer something very special.
Also as people have said, you just need to find a decent bat that suits your game better?
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Really? how is the chances of a satisfactory bat anyhigher picking a stock shape over one you've chosen yourself?
Stock shape is (theoretically at least) a popular shape according to the masses...its like prefab homes - they build a stock shape which they know works. Sure building one yourself might ultimately result in a more satisfactory result, but if you speak to any developer they'll tell you that they learnt and improved loads over the course of designing and choosing their first few homes
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Tbh most custom bats aren't totally custom, they're based on a stock shape and tweaked slightly (usually in terms of weight) to your liking.
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Can not grumble there
Tom would you class the b3 custom custom made
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Tbh most custom bats aren't totally custom, they're based on a stock shape and tweaked slightly (usually in terms of weight) to your liking.
Of course that is true of most 'custom' goods - not just cricket bats. Take something like Nike ID, you're just tweaking the colours to one of their stock colours...perhaps personalised would be a better term
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Can not grumble there
Tom would you class the b3 custom custom made
The B3 custom made, where you select from 4 profiles, 5 edges and 5 spine shapes gives you one of 100 shapes, so while you have the freedom to select your shape, it is a predetermined stock shape made with your choice of handle, grip colour and sticker shade. If anything, it is less custom than one where you go and visit a bat maker and get a bat made based on a stock shape as it is very hard to adjust the handle and balance specifically for you.
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I perceive a custom bat as one made to my specifications, if I want a bat that looks like a stock shape I'll ask for one, if I want something completely different then I will ask for that! If I go to a batmaker worth his salt he shouldn't have too many issues providing either...far too often I see companies offering 'custom' bats for sale which are, as Tom alludes to, merely tweaks of their standard shapes. This is fair if that's what the customer wants but when every single 'custom' you see from that manufacturer is absolutely identical you do start to wonder whether they have quite grasped the whole 'custom bat' thing!
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I perceive a custom bat as one made to my specifications, if I want a bat that looks like a stock shape I'll ask for one, if I want something completely different then I will ask for that! If I go to a batmaker worth his salt he shouldn't have too many issues providing either...far too often I see companies offering 'custom' bats for sale which are, as Tom alludes to, merely tweaks of their standard shapes. This is fair if that's what the customer wants but when every single 'custom' you see from that manufacturer is absolutely identical you do start to wonder whether they have quite grasped the whole 'custom bat' thing!
Hmmm, when you go to the batmaker do you tell him exactly where you want the curves to be, how the convcaving should be placed on the blade, exactly how the toe shape should merge into spine?
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Yes, but then I tend to use batmaker who enables me to do that and, as is often the case, who will tell me if I am asking for something that doesn't work. To me that is what getting a custom bat is all about, that interaction with the maker. If you remove that interaction then, to me, it's not a custom bat.
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Yes, but then I tend to use batmaker who enables me to do that and, as is often the case, who will tell me if I am asking for something that doesn't work. To me that is what getting a custom bat is all about, that interaction with the maker. If you remove that interaction then, to me, it's not a custom bat.
So here's the question. Is a Hades that has it's middle, balance, handle and weight adjusted for the player directly any less custom than an Ultima where the client has complete control over every aspect of the edge, spine, middle position, pressing, etc? And when you provide an answer, please explain why!
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I know nothing about SAF bats so I can't really comment about them directly.
What I do know is that when I order a custom bat it's because I can't get the shape of bat I want from a makers stock profiles. If I wanted a stock shape I'd buy one. If I want a custom shape then, assuming you can't find a maker who actually makes that shape then getting someone to custom make you one would seem to be the natural solution. Is one more custom than the other? Well, that would depend on your definition of a custom bat. I've already given mine earlier in this thread. And just because it might not be your view doesn't make it wrong! ;)
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The B3 Bespoke is offered, where you visit and draw up any shape with the Dr on CAD
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So here's the question. Is a Hades that has it's middle, balance, handle and weight adjusted for the player directly any less custom than an Ultima where the client has complete control over every aspect of the edge, spine, middle position, pressing, etc? And when you provide an answer, please explain why!
Yes, one is tailor made. The other is bespoke.
One has started out as a shape and you've only adjusted it, like a tailor does with a pattern.
The other has started from scratch with the total buyers input.
The end result could be the same, but it's the process which defines whether it's custom or not. And if there was already a pattern which you've adjusted, then it's different to a totally bespoke cricket bat.
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Yes, one is tailor made. The other is bespoke.
One has started out as a shape and you've only adjusted it, like a tailor does with a pattern.
The other has started from scratch with the total buyers input.
The end result could be the same, but it's the process which defines whether it's custom or not. And if there was already a pattern which you've adjusted, then it's different to a totally bespoke cricket bat.
Thank you Tom, far more eloquent than me... :D
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Here is my 2p worth, not on the edge of a bat, just my opinion....
The problem we have here that in general the shapes offered come as standard and those shapes will be based on...
1 bat model having a middle middle, another model will have a mid to low and another a low middle.
This the norm in the wider market... Because the bigger brands having to provide shops with a range of bats to suit all players and so there business model is just that...
Then we have those that buy in stock shapes and the range is similar to the above... They try to tweak a shape to suit a player and call it a custom but in general the offering is for you to go to a different model... eg. If you ask for a shape you like that has a high middle and ask them to lower it to suit you in general this cant be done...
Then you have those that can move a middle and balance it on any profile shape they make in the range. So you ask for a customization on a model you like the look of or shape of....
Then you have those that create whatever you want, based on discussions with the bat maker.... we dont have many of these left in the world. Some companies stop short of copying other peoples shapes but you know they could make it if they wanted to....
I'd bracket the last 2 as custom the levels of customization are different but then again so is the work involved...
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Here is my 2p worth, not on the edge of a bat, just my opinion....
The problem we have here that in general the shapes offered come as standard and those shapes will be based on...
1 bat model having a middle middle, another model will have a mid to low and another a low middle.
This the norm in the wider market... Because the bigger brands having to provide shops with a range of bats to suit all players and so there business model is just that...
Then we have those that buy in stock shapes and the range is similar to the above... They try to tweak a shape to suit a player and call it a custom but in general the offering is for you to go to a different model... eg. If you ask for a shape you like that has a high middle and ask them to lower it to suit you in general this cant be done...
Then you have those that can move a middle and balance it on any profile shape they make in the range. So you ask for a customization on a model you like the look of or shape of....
Then you have those that create whatever you want, based on discussions with the bat maker.... we dont have many of these left in the world. Some companies stop short of copying other peoples shapes but you know they could make it if they wanted to....
I'd bracket the last 2 as custom the levels of customization are different but then again so is the work involved...
I reckon that's a pretty good summary.