Custom Bats Cricket Forum
Equipment => Bats => Reviews => Topic started by: seedy on December 11, 2009, 04:10:41 PM
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Right well as you chaps know there has been much scepticism over Roger's work even though i have had an absoloute belter last year some of you lads wouldn't believe it! Well anyway, glad to see a great review from custom Dan and see that his solitaire was excellent!
Obviously after having a gem of a bat from a bat maker you want the same again, so after my equipment arrived back from Australia after a jaunt playing in Melbourne the bat was straight off to Roger to have two replica's made. Roger was always at the end of the phone and was happy to reply to my text messages generally straight away, he was also happy to reply to me asking for updates on roughly when the bat would be ready.
After recieveing the bat it took roughly a 7-10 days for me to recieve the two new blades back! Excellent service and to say i was amazed was an understatement.
When Roger called to ask for payment he stated that he had got some lighter clefts and the profile on both was the same but had chunkier edges and more wood in the spine, i was happy with this so long as the weight gripped was at 2lb 13oz as i asked.
Well this is what you have been waiting for, the snaps:
BAT 1:
Weight: 2.13
Edge Height: 38 mm
Spine Height: 68 mm
Grains: 8 straight unblemished Grains
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v623/seedy9/DSCF1084.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v623/seedy9/DSCF1086.jpg)
BAT 2:
Weight 2.13
Edge Height: 37mm
Spine Height: 66 mm
Grains: 8 straight unblemished Grains
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v623/seedy9/DSCF1088.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v623/seedy9/DSCF1089.jpg)
Again i will reiterate that people who say a bat is super dooper ping tastic without playing against a hard ball are clowns, however you do get an impression from a tap with the mallet, and as with my last solitaire these are absoloute Gems, the profile is huge, the wood sounds fantastic off the mallet and i am itching to get in the indoor nets and give them a run out.
Just another point to clarify, many people say to me, do you only rate solitaire because they are cheaper than everybody else? No i don't i rate solitaire as they are cheap i rate them because they produce top quality bats! I don't have a money limit to buy bats and could happily buy a 300 quid L.e from GM or a 250 pound newbery but there is no need when Roger can make such fantastic bats, totally custom for a fraction of the price.
Fill your boots lads and don't get ripped off. 10/10 again Solitaire and Roger Weston.
Liam
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both are beauties (maybe purple is better willow than green though)
Edges are frigging huge!
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THey look beauties. I never read a bad review about solitaire previously, but from the 3 i ahve seen today, they all look pretty first rate (apart from the stickers!). at £110 per bat, it seems like a new standard has been set, especially as they are custom made to spec!
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they are beauts :)
Love the stickers as well
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Yeah they look great Liam, like you say we will know more once we've had a few nets etc but seeing as you had one last season and scored a bucket full of runs with it i think its pretty clear they are quality bats!
Same here i was amazed with the size of the bat but how well it picked up!!
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Isnt it strange how this shape of bat is now the "precedent"? A few years ago no one had seen bats like this
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Yep... the shape was based on my Grizzly... i think bats do go in trends... bats from the middle of the 90's all seem to have a similar shape.
These things are huge though, cannot believe how much wood is there for the weight!
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Lush looking bats - hope they play aswell as they look
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I see my comments got deleted - great work admin, opinions not welcome any more?
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The bats look ok but really don't compare looks, willow and finish wise to the G1's you get from Redback, Warsop or even Newbery. For £100 they look great value though, but given £200 I'd rather get 1 Redback than 2 Solitaires.
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The bats look ok but really don't compare looks, willow and finish wise to the G1's you get from Redback, Warsop or even Newbery. For £100 they look great value though, but given £200 I'd rather get 1 Redback than 2 Solitaires.
i agree they dont look the best but the i'd still buy 2 instead of 1 redback
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Would you buy 2 Hyundai's instead of 1 BMW too?
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Would you buy 2 Hyundai's instead of 1 BMW too?
Yeah cos i hate BMWs ;)
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My Redback turned up on friday absolute ripper! Need to get on the weights tho to lift the 2.12 of it off the deck and swing it!
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My Redback turned up on friday absolute ripper! Need to get on the weights tho to lift the 2.12 of it off the deck and swing it!
You got any pics ayrtek ?
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Give me 5 and will get snap happy! Will start a new topic as dont wanna ruin Seedy's on here
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Yeah i would agree, I have a Solitaire but i dont think it will ever replace my main bat . . .at the moment H4L.
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did you ask for 2.12 then?
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Give me 5 and will get snap happy! Will start a new topic as dont wanna ruin Seedy's on here
Yeah CooL
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Yeah i would agree, I have a Solitaire but i dont think it will ever replace my main bat . . .at the moment H4L.
Yeah i do like the H4L Bats.
i am still deciding what to get as i have seen some solitaires which doesnt look the best but probs performs good
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Yeah i do like the H4L Bats.
i am still deciding what to get as i have seen some solitaires which doesnt look the best but probs performs good
LB, hope you decide on your bat before the season begins!!! Not many brands left for you to evaluate....
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No one answered my first question - admin, why were my posts from yesterday deleted?
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nowt to do with me i was nursing my hangover all day yesterday after staying up drinking til 6 watching the UFC!
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wasnt me dombo!
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and am i allowed to ask why glynn?
Apologies - Misread - sorry glynn, thought you said it was me......my bad.
To be fair i was probably talking a load of crap but i was just intrigued as to why they were deleted that is all.
Oh well, one of life's little mysteries......anyone back on topic, i will be ordering a solitaire in the new year and want it made to the Mjolnir profile and no concaving, be interested to see what he can reproduce at a weight of 2.9?
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i too will be ordering one in the new year. i will be going for a 2.14 satchin shape. see what we get ay!
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i think he seems to be okay on the larger weights, would love to what he comes out with on sillyshilly's bat and lighter ones.
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Satchin shouldnt have any concaving either, again i will be interested to see what he reproduces for this.
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If he produces what you guys are after will you give him a break?
Seems you want him to be s***??
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All we've seen from Roger is heavy, concaved and bowed bats I think people are just intrigued as to what he can do.
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Do you think that maybe cos what people have ordered as opposed to anything else . . .
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And I will be ordering one too - but I still cant decide which profile!
Maybe copy a bat I already have, but them again I am also tempted to see if Roger could kindly copy the M&H Distinction profile - although the one problem with that is I will not have a M&H Distinction abt to compare it with!! :-\
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buy both pete!
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Of course and if he does what i want i will praise him to the heavens, but it's just from the shapes i have seen he puts a lot of concaving on the back and generally uses one shape - and the one bat i did see........well, that was a rotter. But the other bats on the forum seem to be of a much higher standard.
I dont want it to be a bad bat as i am paying him £110 of my own money......i want it to be fantastic and i want it to my shape, i am just dubious over his supposed repertoire of shapes he can reproduce that is all. I have nothing against him and i'd imagine he is a top bloke from what everyone has said on the forum.
So, no, i dont it want it to be a bad bat and im not so proud that i wouldnt admit that he can make a good bat.
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Do you think that maybe cos what people have ordered as opposed to anything else . . .
From what I've heard from people not on this forum, no and that's why I'm interested. If he goes ahead and makes a good copy of Mjlonir or another shape then I'll be the first to admire his work.
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Although i was very pleased with what i got, it wasn't exactly what i was after as i had no adidas bat to send to him. So i would suggest in order to get exactly what you after to send a bat for him to copy.
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Listen i have no reason to defend him, but i believe myself, seedy and rich are in a better position to judge his work as we have seen first hand his craftsmanship . . . im just saying its a bit out of order that your putting his work down based on little or no evidence.
I refer back to my previous comment about sending him the bat to get a carbon copy
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As tempted as I am, I am not about to fork out another few hundred for a M&H Distinction just yet.
And Sloggs - not a bad idea, but will probably send Roger one to copy in the new year - maybe the Laver & Wood Private Bin, or one of the Screaming Cat bats!
That way, I can have a stick to compare it with?
I personally reckon that he will make a pretty good job of it. But the proof of the pudding.......... ;D
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I have seen one of his bats Dan, picked it up and hit a ball with it - hence my opinion. It was a 2.13 twig with a pakistani handle, so you'll understand my opinion and excuse my caution.
I understand that you are happy with your product and when i get my bat through and it is what i want, within reason, then i too will be in a better position to defend his work........but this isnt an argument, it's just a couple of bat geeks who are just a little cautious over the claims of this handmade grade 1 bat for £100.
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once we have received ours we will be the first to recommend solitaire to anyone and everyone if it meets our requirements. but im afraid unitl then the likes of myself and shilly will still be slightly reserved on our praise for rodger. i too saw the bat shilly refered to and it was truely shocking which is where my skeptiscism originates from too.
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Listen i have no reason to defend him, but i believe myself, seedy and rich are in a better position to judge his work as we have seen first hand his craftsmanship . . . im just saying its a bit out of order that your putting his work down based on little or no evidence.
I refer back to my previous comment about sending him the bat to get a carbon copy
I've reserved total judgement until I have owned one of his bats, which will probably be a very long time seeing as I can get bats from some fantastic players. But from what I have seen I'm impressed at the value, the shapes are ok but all very similar (I would guess he takes very little out by hand, a lot on the sander), willow looks ok for £100 and well the pressing I haven't seen to comment on.
I've heard 3 bad reviews and 5 good reviews, so perhaps I'm being a little harsh on him. But people like SS and myself see shortcuts and dodginess going on in the industry everyday so are a little skeptical especially when they're selling the supposed same product for half the price.
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Seedy just to get back to something on those bats here.... big edge at the shoulders on those bat or is it the picture?
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No i realise its not an arguement and im not arguing in the slightest, I truly was skeptical at first too, I had never heard of solitaire cricket or roger weston before i stumbled upon this forum.
By no means is the bat i got perfect, it was an ounce heavier than i had asked for and and it doesn't quite replicate the profile of the Incurza but its near enough. If i had paid £200 for it then I would probably have grumbled a little as the face is slightly blemished and it came with stickers on when i had asked for it blank.
I cant say if Roger is able to make any other profile of bat other than concaved, but any batmaker worth his salt must be able to. . .