Custom Bats Cricket Forum
Companies => Off-the-shelf companies => Kookaburra => Topic started by: hit4six on December 16, 2023, 01:22:36 PM
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An early Christmas present to myself landed yesterday, so I thought I'd get some photos up on the forum!
Back at the very start of November, Kookaburra announced that they were adding a Kahuna to their retro range for 2024. For me, this bat is my first memory of playing cricket so to read about the launch brought back lots of happy memories. My parents brought for me a 2005 Kahuna Warrior (for £99 back in the day) from my local sports shop and it was a bat that lasted 3 seasons, unheard of these days (as I now seem to change bats once a month!) so I was keen to get my hands on this new model as soon as it was available.
Initial impressions of the bat received is really positive. Coming out of the box face first, I was pleased to see 6 or 7 relatively straight, clean grains - decent considering this is the G4 "Warrior" model. It has a nice full profile too, with very little concaving present.
The biggest question that had been circulating online was around how the back of the bat would look. Unsurprisingly, it is not fibreglass / graphite as per the 2005 model, but it is a full length carbon fibre sticker with the Kookaburra decals on top. There are no major creases or kinks in the stickers, so it looks nice and clean. I have no idea how that back sticker will hold up during the wear and tear of a cricket summer, but for today, it looks great in the bat room and I cannot walk in without picking it up for some shadow batting. A minor detail but the front sticker has some very aesthetically pleasing detailing too giving it a bit more of a modern look.
Tapping up with a new league ball, the bat feels lovely and responsive, a lot better than most of the lower grade Kookaburra's I have received in previous years. There doesn't seem to many dead areas on the bat and seems very forgiving when you don't get it out of the middle.
Specs:
Weight: 2lb 9.0oz
Width: 107mm
Edge Size: 34mm
Shoulder: 14mm
Toe: 15mm
Handle: Round
For £200, by modern standards, I am very pleased with what arrived and I am looking forward to getting my hands on one of the G1 models.
Enjoy the photos!
(https://i.postimg.cc/T1HbYWcY/20231216-125125.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/63q56bbn/20231216-125129.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/GhGY19yr/20231216-125157.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/ryvWb5zQ/20231216-125208.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/XNZdQsNr/20231216-125216.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/KYJ82hfm/20231216-125221.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/Dmk2gvvP/20231216-125223.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/qRFBNcWY/20231216-125227.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/C5fhkBgK/20231216-125235.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/Dzj4cXtQ/20231216-125251.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/MHRcxrXt/20231216-125259.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/8PQJwDnY/20231216-125306.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/50XYKtVh/20231216-125337.jpg)
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Great mini review / initial impressions :) thanks for putting up
Would love to hear what others have bought or buying this Christmas ?
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Great review. Kookaburra retros look really good this year. Ridgeback and Bubble also seem top drawer. Will have to get to a shop to see them soon.
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I tapped one up in Romida on Friday. 2lb 8oz felt good. Only issue was grey stickers at the top were already coming off the carbon sticker. Still do think I'll pick one up before pre season though but definitely put a white grip on
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this is dangerous, im in leatherhead tomorrow. just got expensive.
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Retros near the end...
https://youtu.be/urKVx36mFMo?si=uP--JXFwiPmqr01j
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Don’t know why everyone gets excited about the Kahuna, perhaps watching Ponting score so many runs against us bashed out the love for it.
It’s the ridgeback for me in the hands of Thorpe(get well soon we hope) although him and Stewie changed to the bubble version I think halfway thru their careers.
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Alan Lamb, post-Slazenger, wearing his white lid and muscling the West Indies with his Kookaburra Ridgeback back in the day.
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Retros near the end...
https://youtu.be/urKVx36mFMo?si=uP--JXFwiPmqr01j
'We always say don't buy a bat on stickers'...... spends most of the video talking about the stickers and showing close up of the the stickers, while hardly showing any side on profiles shots, or giving any really useful information on handles, middle positions etc. Maybe it's just me, but I find their videos frustrating with the info they give. It's like they're aimed at kids rather than serious cricketers (ironically).
Not a big Look fan, but the Stealth looks the best for me.
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Don't know - I quite like them but always view them as two parts. First bit looks at stickers, etc. Next part (in the net) gives a quick overview of how they play. I like that someone is trying something different.
I wouldn't buy from a video but useful to see what's new.
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Yeah just me then 😆 Certainly can't please everyone and I'm sure lots will find them useful, so fair play.
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reality is that most wouldnt buy a bat with horrific stickers, so it is relevant to some degree. but the worst bat with the nicest stickers wont be sold to most 'cricketers' as the pickup and feel are the priority.
For me, the ghost and stealth look really good, but i will still end up with a retro kahuna as well :)
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Don’t know why everyone gets excited about the Kahuna, perhaps watching Ponting score so many runs against us bashed out the love for it.
It’s the ridgeback for me in the hands of Thorpe(get well soon we hope) although him and Stewie changed to the bubble version I think halfway thru their careers.
Thorpe's Ridgeback is definitely the one I remember with the most fondness. Playing that pull shot the way only he (and maybe a few West Indians) can.
(https://i.imgur.com/LnWvzEx.png)
I was never lucky enough to have one growing up, I did get a Sword which i loved, but always had a yearning for it to be a Ridgeback.
These were the sort of stickers on my Sword
(https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/8zAAAOSw6-NbzqmV/s-l1600.jpg)
The closest I got to a Bubble was Bubble pads and gloves aged about 14.
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I've never owned one, but have always had a soft spot for the retro Kookaburra's, so thanks for the photos and review. Tragically I'm so old that I remember the original Ridgeback and Bubble, and was jealous of my opening partner having both.
If anybody has any photos of the original bubble, I'd be really interested to see how it compares to the current version (sorry, realise this is a Kahuna thread!).
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Thorpe's Ridgeback is definitely the one I remember with the most fondness. Playing that pull shot the way only he (and maybe a few West Indians) can.
(https://i.imgur.com/LnWvzEx.png)
I was never lucky enough to have one growing up, I did get a Sword which i loved, but always had a yearning for it to be a Ridgeback.
These were the sort of stickers on my Sword
(https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/8zAAAOSw6-NbzqmV/s-l1600.jpg)
The closest I got to a Bubble was Bubble pads and gloves aged about 14.
Great photograph :)
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That leg raised pull/ hook brings back so many happy memories. Playing spin in his white sunhat gave me so much joy as a nipper. I think I will be getting a ridgeback just for the nostalgia.
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Don't know - I quite like them but always view them as two parts. First bit looks at stickers, etc. Next part (in the net) gives a quick overview of how they play. I like that someone is trying something different.
I wouldn't buy from a video but useful to see what's new.
Part two. Bats in action.
https://youtu.be/aADVf1PxmCQ?si=nXjJxXDfj-g_AbSD
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quick question re the back sticker? based on the amount of verbals im going to take for using one in the league i assume the bat is 'legal'
cant see why kooks would release one that wasnt but can already foresee the daft, stupid comments being thrown around in the field
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quick question re the back sticker? based on the amount of verbals im going to take for using one in the league i assume the bat is 'legal'
cant see why kooks would release one that wasnt but can already foresee the daft, stupid comments being thrown around in the field
It's a sticker, not carbon fibre, so you'll be fine :D
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Would a very keen umpire or opposition not be able to use this law?
“B.6 Commercial identifications - these identifications may not exceed 0.008 in/0.02 cm in thickness. On the back of the blade they must occupy no more than 50% of the surface. On the face of the blade, they must be confined within the top 9 in/22.86 cm, measured from where the bottom of the grip as defined in B.2.2 and B.2.4, would finish.”
https://www.lords.org/mcc/the-laws-of-cricket/law-appendices (https://www.lords.org/mcc/the-laws-of-cricket/law-appendices)
If they did, I doubt it would go down well!
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https://kingsgrovesports.com.au/collections/kookaburra/products/kookaburra-gold-crown-hs-special-edition
take my money!
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https://kingsgrovesports.com.au/collections/kookaburra/products/kookaburra-gold-crown-hs-special-edition
take my money!
Sold out and pics won’t load 🥹
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i know, its new for 2024/25 so they havent uploaded it yet