Custom Bats Cricket Forum
Equipment => Bats => Topic started by: praguetaz on May 23, 2013, 02:33:59 PM
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I was just perusing M&H's 'Clearance items list' and having never owned one of their bats but well aware of their reputation, I was wondering if anyone here had ever bought a 'storm/compression damaged' bat and if so, what did it look like, how did it play and how long did it eventually last? M&H sell these in all their profiles at much reduced prices but obviously with no warranty.
Secondly, what do the bat makers on here do with bats that might fall into this category as I don't think I've ever seen a bat sold/offered on this forum with this kind of description. They must exist so what happens to them?
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I too saw the offer and have been tempted until.....I went to see Paul @IJC and he has a couple of Original Lows at only £190. They ping like a dream. If I get anther it will be one of these.
I've already lost 1 discounted bat through breakage before it got to a match so I would err on the side of caution and try and find one discounted somewhere. I also got the best bat I've ever had as a discounted model. Both those bats where Hell 4 Leather and Matt sells them as 'Devil' grade.
You can never tell.
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there was a topic about this a while back.
ive never used one but surely for the price your paying you would be better buying a custom made one from a forum sponsor and getting some form of warranty. prices wont be that different
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there was a topic about this a while back.
ive never used one but surely for the price your paying you would be better buying a custom made one from a forum sponsor and getting some form of warranty. prices wont be that different
Yes I agree with you but it wouldn't be an M&H... they've always been very expensive bats but I don't think I've ever heard a bad comment about them.
Then there's Salix who are known to have a really high grading standard and thus the 'Rogue' model but I wouldn't describe that having owned one to be a 'storm/compression damaged' bat which might be the same as the H4L Devil Grade...
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google js wrights - I think they mention storm damage in respect of what it does to willow caveat emptor I think.
anyway this is what they say
Storm Damage ( also known as Wind Damage)
This is when the tree has been affected by very strong winds which has blown the tree from side to side in a very excessive manor and has broken the cell structure of the willow, it will happen more in the tops of the tree which get whipped around more and therefore it is also more prevalent in narrow grain bats (the grains of a bat are always narrower in the top of the tree than the bottom). If you imagine the cell structure of a willow tree running from top to bottom, if there is lateral movement to excess these cells will break and cause a weakness.
This wind damage is a natural occurrence and there is absolutely nothing us or the bat manufacturer can do about it. The majority of these bats are found when they are in the manufacturing process but some will still get through to the customer. They will not always break ( they normally break as per the attached photo by snapping across the grain) but if slightly misused or they catch a fast Yorker on the toe with perhaps a poor quality ball they are more likely to break. A good way to reduce the chances of this are by having extra toe protection on the bat.
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Yes I agree with you but it wouldn't be an M&H... they've always been very expensive bats but I don't think I've ever heard a bad comment about them.
Then there's Salix who are known to have a really high grading standard and thus the 'Rogue' model but I wouldn't describe that having owned one to be a 'storm/compression damaged' bat which might be the same as the H4L Devil Grade...
i may be wrong but i believe that the rogues and devils are generally downgraded on looks. you will get a devil with some form of compression crack which has normally been repaired by matt. not sure the rogues are the same. it could well be that the catagory that m&h use makes it slightly confusing. storm damage normally means the tree has been heavily damaged during a storm and therefore the willow fibres are not a strong. cosmetically it may look ok but could well have underlying issues. Compression cracks arent always a bad thing. if they are repaired properly and depending on where they are they can be ok. just like any other crack on a bat if they are repaired properly they can stay for a while.
its up to you as its your money but id much prefer getting a quality bat from anyone on here for a similar price and having the knowledge of the aftersales service that you expect.
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If it's storm damaged don't touch it.
Back in the late 80s, after the Great Storm of 87, loads of new bats literally snapped in half. The willow was stressed in the storm and wasn't as strong as it needed to be. For our younger members here's a wiki page on the storm:-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Storm_of_1987 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Storm_of_1987)
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Is there an updated list then?
Of all my bats, none of them get people going 'wow' at the nets more than my M&H Amplus that was from the clearance bin. Sometimes I try and melt everything with it just to see if I can break it, the damn thing is invincible (and damn powerful)! Not saying I'd buy one again, just that I have been very lucky.
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If it's storm damaged don't touch it.
Back in the late 80s, after the Great Storm of 87, loads of new bats literally snapped in half. The willow was stressed in the storm and wasn't as strong as it needed to be. For our younger members here's a wiki page on the storm:-
[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Storm_of_1987[/url] ([url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Storm_of_1987[/url])
Whoaahh.. that's really got me thinking where i was and what I was doing.. I remember the Michael Fish blunder and wonder what he was doing at the BBC at that time instead of getting an accurate forecast!!??
Thanks for the advice. M&H send pics apparently and I've asked for any further info they can provide.
I haven't actually decided to buy one yet as others have stated but in my experience lovely brand new bats can be damaged very quickly too.. I broke 3 quality bats last year and one in nets this year.... and no.. not all toe damage...
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I slept through the whole thing, most of the damage was done overnight in the Thames Valley.
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Is there an updated list then?
Of all my bats, none of them get people going 'wow' at the nets more than my M&H Amplus that was from the clearance bin. Sometimes I try and melt everything with it just to see if I can break it, the damn thing is invincible (and damn powerful)! Not saying I'd buy one again, just that I have been very lucky.
Without trying to advertise this list seems to be from 2012 and updated as and when...
http://www.millichampandhall.co.uk/downloads/MH_Clearance2_2012.pdf (http://www.millichampandhall.co.uk/downloads/MH_Clearance2_2012.pdf)
I'm actually after their 'retro' clothing but the bats are first on the list....
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Just to clarify my earlier comment regarding the Devil grade at H4L.
I have two. Both graded Devil on the fact that there are two very small and irrelevant nots (excuse spelling). Neither are storm/compression damaged. I've no knowledge of Matt selling that type of blade.
Both Devils are outstanding bats and I would recommend that grade to anyone.
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I was agreeing with you fasteddie.. my actual match bat is a H4L 666 5 star, I think, which was slightly downgraded on looks because of a knot on the spine...
Salix have 'rogues' and I'm sure other bat makers on here have differing names for clefts that aren't so aesthetically pleasing which is no reflection on performance..
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They seem quite expensive for bats that could feasibly break at any time and you would be stuck with no way of getting money back...
What are the retro range of clothes?
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They seem quite expensive for bats that could feasibly break at any time and you would be stuck with no way of getting money back...
What are the retro range of clothes?
Here we go again.... it's just a classic 'old-school' range...
http://www.millichampandhall.co.uk/clothing-accessories/clothing/retro-shirt-trousers.html (http://www.millichampandhall.co.uk/clothing-accessories/clothing/retro-shirt-trousers.html)
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I've always nicknamed Storm Damaged bats as 'snappers'.
They might be worth a risk at £30-£40, but I wouldn't want to spend too much unless there's a warranty in place
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I would steer clear from the storm damaged bats. A bit later towards this month or so they do drop their prices on harlequin and few others via discount codes. Last year Harlequin's were priced at 200 GBP towards July.
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I have seen various pictures of the storm damaged bats some nice ones in there
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Compression cracks are often not that noticeable to the eye, they are very small cracks that run across the grain, I would as a general rule stay away from these bats. You may be lucky and get 2-3 seasons maybe more but quite often they will break very often quickly as a hard ball new or old is just to much. As has been commented for the same money as there top end Amplus etc you may as well get an original etc at normal price as you will still get a grade 1 bat for the same price with warranty if you fancy an M&H.
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200 pounds for a storm damaged bat????
Are y'all crazy?
A Risk NOT worth taking!
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Is there a way to tell if a bat willow might have storm damage?
Imagine having bought a 200 pound bat which breaks in 2-3 games. Might as well go a different brand or am I being too practical here?
Just thinking how many of these bats will be ending up on eBay....unless M&H add another sticker or something on these to differentiate.
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I have had a few bats from a reputed bat maker which had compression cracks. For the price I paid for these, these 4 bats pinged like mad. There of these 4 bats are still being used by my friends/team mates for 3 seasons now and each having scored over 1400 runs. Just to add, these 3 bats are the only match and net bat that these 3 guys have, so their bats are being used a fair bit. Still going strong these bats.
Never had a storm damage bat.
Can't imagine bats with compression cracks / storm damage being sold for £150 or more and with limited warranty.