Custom Bats Cricket Forum
Equipment => Bats => Reviews => Topic started by: Chad on February 27, 2024, 10:41:41 PM
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What's this, 2 reviews in 2 days?! Another budget one - with the willow prices hiking up about 30% this year, I decided to increase the budget price range from £160 to £200. This one just squeezes into the budget category in my eyes.
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Specs/Info:- Weight - 2lb 9.4oz
- Spine - 66mm
- Edge - 35mm
- Shoulders - 13.5mm
- Splice - 38mm
- Toe Edge - 20mm
- Toe Centre - 26mm
- Face Camber - Rounded 6-7mm
- Bow - Moderate
- Handle - Very slight semi-oval, but more round
- Concaving - Medium
- Width - 107mm front and back
- Price - £240 RRP, £195 is a pretty typical price to find them at
- Finish - Natural
- Toe shape - Rounded
This particular piece has 7 pretty straight grains, with a nice strip of heartwood down the RH outside edge and some blemishes and hard bars around the middle. I picked this one during my visit to Talent Cricket, and let's just say the blemishes and hard bar don't seem to affect performance at all - this particular bat pings very nicely and has been pressed well - it feels nice and firm, while there are some very shallow seam marks from the ball, so it does still need knocking. The R4 is the 2nd lowest grade, with the R1 being the very lowest grade Chase offer. The R1 concept does seem to be a similar concept to the GM Radon, in that they come in any of the shapes, and will be ones which they've downgraded from R4. I'd say this one is very fair for the grade, if not a touch generous - I don't think it would look entirely amiss as an R7 middle of the range, and I'm happy to see it as a consumer in the R4 bracket.
Upon picking up - it does feel pretty nicely balanced and true to weight to me, perhaps a touch lighter than the Hunts reviewed yesterday. The handle is a slightly thinner and rounder handle, but doesn't feel bottom heavy. For me, perhaps if there was a more pronounced oval, the bat would feel nicer for me - although the Hunts picks up more of a medium balance, the more pronounced oval does make it feel nicer for me. The duckbill, coupled with the medium concave and the wood left towards the splice does help to create a nice pickup. The chevron has a nice grippy feel to it, and has the CHASE branding, which is a nice touch. The handle top has 3.1 written on it, and it seems to be a 3 cork insert handle, and either a 4 or 6 piece handle. (Can't make out the middle 2 slabs)
I would be lying if I said the size of the bat for the weight didn't somewhat attract me, but being able to have that volume to play with definitely does lend itself to a potentially more attractive profile. The Volante is the shape that just seems to have the right blend of modern and classical in the range. (Outside of the FLC and the Platinum) The Vortex and the Finback just look a bit like pancakes and twigs respectively profile wise to me, but I do think I know the reasons for them being the way they are. (Either lightweight for retail, or to keep the toes thick for the T20 style bat) The Volante and FLC/Platinum shapes do seem to flow a little easier on the eye for me profile wise. The labels are very nice and not too flashy, while introducing a bit of colour just to cut through and also have nice texturing and embossing. I have also always liked the Chase logo, although I'm not quite sure what the story is behind it. (If there is any) The finishing is of a high standard, with the edges being nicely rounded, and the profile and finish being nice and smooth.
Chase (Cricket Hockey And Sports Equipment) are a brand that I've never taken a HUGE interest in, but have been aware of their quality over the years. I do think that the shapes never quite did it for me with the concaving, but I guess over time my stance of that has relaxed. That being said, some of the best Chase bats I've seen have been their full profiled bats, which weren't very big, but just responded so well. One of them was a Platinum, and 2 were made for Newbery. (At least myself and another thought they were - pictured below)
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All in all, have been impressed with this Volante, and think the price does reflect a good value for money product, at least in this case. I understand that if you have to manufacture to meet retailer demands, you will have to manufacture bat shapes that are smaller and lightweight, and also you might not have the time to painstakingly craft every bat into a more attractive shape, but Chase do seem to have struck a happy point in their process with a pretty strong offering in terms of branding and quality.