Custom Bats Cricket Forum
Equipment => Bats => Topic started by: jonpinson on February 23, 2011, 08:44:37 PM
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We've all seen the pattern, all been known to say it. 'My new bat is the best I've ever used' 'It blows away the previous one' 'It was well worth the £400, so much better than my £200 bats'
But is it really true?
I will be the first to concede that testing a bat with only a mallet is a flawed method. For absolute results one needs to use the bat(s) in a real world, i.e match situation. But for the moment that isn't possible, so well will have to trust the mallet.
Assuming that then, a few honest observations.
1. Of the dozen or so bats I've bought in the last few months, there is no discernable variation in rebound between them all. I could not honestly pick one as the best.
2. Further to this, none of my recently purchased (modern style) bats perform discernably better than my bats from 10-15 years ago. The comparison is done side by side, I'm not relying on memory. Further to that, my older bats range from budget level to premium. Again, there is not such an obvious difference between them that the original price differences were justified.
I'm beginning to think if all this talk of 'mega-ping' and 'gun bats' is at least in part our attempt to justify the cost to ourselves. By saying it on here, or to team mates at nets, we feel a bit better about spending £200 on something we didn't honestly need.
I now own two bats that were originally made with the intent of being used by pros. Nice bats, both of them, but are they clearly a different class to my 'made for mortals' bats? Not really.
So am I only going to spend under £100 on bats from now on? Sod off. Whether it is justified or not, I want the best. Without the best I would doubt my kit and thus lose confidence. I'm sure many of us are the same. It defies logic and sense but it is how it is for me and I think it's also true of many of you. Not a criticism, it's the same for me.
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Agree with most of what your saying but in most cases you can tell of a mallet the size of a middle not the full strength though.
The truth is in cricket bats price never determines quality unfortunantly and neither do fancy stickers.
I would pay no more than 200 pound currently for a bat and only one company will drag me over that figure because there worth it.
I guess some bats do take longer to show but most i find you can get a good feel for how there going to perform.
The classic view is of Laver they start off like dogs and take a while but after a longer period than most they come into there own.
Asian bats tend to show from the start but burn out faster all very bold statements but all with elements of truths.....
I agree about the pro bats but i do not think most are designed for performance but even more for pick up and wood to weight ration...
why do most of the best bats people say end up on the for sale section it like little fads on here
I see the in blueroom creeping onto the for sale section
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I think a lot of the "best" bats are in the for sale section because people are sucked into deals which they think are too good to ignore without needing the product in the first place.
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I think a lot of the "best" bats are in the for sale section because people are sucked into deals which they think are too good to ignore without needing the product in the first place.
Mate , You couldn't have hit the nail any better !
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If it's new and/or shiny we buy it. It's human nature, to resist would be almost unnatural. Although I have done well so far :D
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I think it also depends on how you good you are in a ratio to the cost of your bat
I am a biffy tail-ender (although I will soon be a proper batsman) and would look a c*ck walking out with a custom Laver.
That said, with a lot of luck and a little judgement it is possible to get good stuff on a budget.
I own 3 bats - total cost £180 2 x used 1 x new.
1 x Talisman Blank, supplied new and a great bat with a fantastic middle
1 x MH solution, supplied about 4th hand - goes very well too, and just the right pickup for me
1 x Slazenger V800, supplied 2nd hand - a very acceptable reserve
They are all very usable for less than the cost of one!
This of course is only my personal opinion, even the worst bunny could spend £300 on a stick if he wanted to.
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Every time I come on here I find myself typing in www.payp....
I've got 2 lovely bats, and have bought one or two "for the club bag" (so I say to Mrs Oak)
But I always think there is something better, although as a complete village level slogger it won't really make any difference.
I like a glass of wine, but would rarely spend more than £15 on a bottle, however now and then I get taken out by someone with a bigger expense account than me and get the chance to to sample something that can cost 10 times more. I think it tastes nicer, but is that because it's more expensive, in a fancier bottle, in a posh restaurant?
Anyway drink enough of it and it still gets you pissed.
Not sure if this analogy is at all applicable, but I know what I mean!
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Every time I come on here I find myself typing in www.payp....
I've got 2 lovely bats, and have bought one or two "for the club bag" (so I say to Mrs Oak)
But I always think there is something better, although as a complete village level slogger it won't really make any difference.
I like a glass of wine, but would rarely spend more than £15 on a bottle, however now and then I get taken out by someone with a bigger expense account than me and get the chance to to sample something that can cost 10 times more. I think it tastes nicer, but is that because it's more expensive, in a fancier bottle, in a posh restaurant?
Anyway drink enough of it and it still gets you pissed.
Not sure if this analogy is at all applicable, but I know what I mean!
Very good analogy in my eyes as I know a bit about wine. Yes, the more you pay the better it is, but a £20 bottle is not (usually) twice as good as a £10 bottle.
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all depends on some on here are collectors some are users and some are both.....
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Jon I could have sworn you came up with a similar analogy around Christmas time, talking about whiskey? Do you remember?
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Oh! He's soooo predictable!
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Oh! He's soooo predictable!
More of a pisshead it would seem.
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When it comes to a single Malt then there is so many different combinations ( I'm an expert ) so you get what you pay for but doesn't mean you will like it. In regards to bats show me a £300 bat and i will show you one that cost half the price and is equally as good in every single way, you don't need to spend ridiculous amounts of money on a bat.
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More of a pisshead it would seem.
We need to get on to decent beers - that's my area of expertise (along with pies and confectionary from the 1980's)
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We need to get on to decent beers - that's my area of expertise (along with pies and confectionary from the 1980's)
COBRA
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cw2gGfD5R4g
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I am struggling to remember the last time I have read so much horse (No Swearing Please)
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TIGER
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i specialize in the bargain cider region, white lightening etc.
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I think I tend towards the dave approach. Test them all and keep the ones you get on with best.
I know I have acquired too many over the past few months, and I really don't want to have a Hosk-esque storage problem, so I'm testing, deciding and offloading.
What I've found though is that some bats appear to work better for you than others and some feel deader than others. This is probably more down to the way I use them than anything else, but I've llearned which of mine is my absolute favourite and which ones I am unlikely to use in the future. Time for more sales I suspect...
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I am struggling to remember the last time I have read so much horse (No Swearing Please)
Thanks for your well thought out point.