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[trypewriter]

Thanks to Paul's generous Olympic offer at It's Just Cricket I was able to buy a bat that would otherwise have been out of my reach. Not working too far away I was able to go and take a look at the bat, and inevitably, after picking it up, bouncing a ball on it and tapping it with a mallet, I wasn't able to leave his premises without buying it. It does have a few very light, character giving blemishes, which perhaps prevented it from being categorized as the very best grade. But on performance it lacks nothing at all. As well as the feel, ping, call it what you will, the sheer size of it for its weight is amazing. The additional clincher as far as I was concerned was that unusually for this model, there is no concaving. I have nothing whatsoever against concaving, I hasten to add, but the lack of it on this model, to me, made it a bit special, a bit of a stand out, maybe as close to an off the shelf custom build as I could get. It is a Salix Pod Performance and here are some pics to give you an idea. Apologies for the quality.

[ItsJustCricket]

Thanks for this, Paul - especially like the close-up of our sticker! 

I've either used or knocked in pretty much every brand in the past few months and, for me, Salix are top of the tree in terms of performance and ping, and this bat is a great example.

Hope it goes well for you!

[Alvaro]

Judging by my CBF30 purchase this must PING!

[RightArmRapid]

That's a gorgeous looking bat for a g2 I'm sure it'll go well, what's the weight on the scales?

[trypewriter]

Bought as 2 lb 7 oz - and I'm taking that as read - no scales required.

[petehosk]

I used to have a Praestantia Performance which was my spare bat, and that used to go really well!
Quality bats! 

[RightArmRapid]

1 Grip or 2 Grips?

[PedalsMcgrew]

That's lovely....

[trypewriter]

Just the one grip. I'll be honest - so long as the handle isn't pencil thin (which you don't tend to see these days) I'm happy.

[trypewriter]

For a better idea of the salix pod handle take a look at the Lukeys clearance bats thread - far better pics than mine - and some absolute bargains at those prices.

[trypewriter]

OK, after a long winter and missed opportunities to net with fellow CB'ers I finally managed to give the Pod Performance a run out at the weekend. After the expected slow start, getting my feet moving etc. I eventually began to put bat to ball and some even came out of the middle. Not blowing smoke up anyone's fundament, but it was obvious that the bat had been beautifully knocked in by IJC - well worth the payment - thanks fellas. Nice soft balls started the playing in process and the performance from the bat was in excess of what I had expected. Not that I had low expectations (but never having used a Salix before it was obviously open to negotiation) it was just miles better than any bat I've used before. The middle felt pretty big, because wherever the ball made contact it produced a very satisfactory sound and  went off well. But the shots that came out of the sweetspot were astonishing. I'm not surprised that Paul's batting average soared last season when he used a Salix. My bat weighs in at 2 lb 7 oz and the value it gave to shots, given that it is pretty light, was out of proportion to its weight. As you'd expect the pick up was good at that weight, certainly better in use than when playing shadow shots, when it is easy to be uber critical. Allowing that it should get even better when played in more I am absolutely delighted. I can see why people who use them are huge fans of the Salix brand. Their bats are not cheap, but based on my experience so far, you get one hell of a bang for your buck.

[gdb19]

Salix do seem very good, I'll probably be getting a new bat for next season and to be honest I have no idea how I'll choose between Salix, H4L, RK, Aldred and all the other possibles (as I'll only buy one unlike a lot of people on here).

Being on this forum is definitely a blessing and a curse, my childhood obsession with looking at kit in the romida catalogue has been taken to a whole new level. As well as reading ever post on here I also scour eBay for kit that I don't need and won't use much. I'm currently considering buying another pair of gloves which is mad given I already have two top end pairs, rarely bat for too long and play at quite a low level.

[trypewriter]

How I scoffed (to myself) when IJC Paul reckoned his Salix had doubled his batting average. How red faced I am now that mine appears to be doing the same... Given that I've netted once and not played at all until the weekend a red inker was a huge bonus even though I wasn't timing it well. Typically one that did come straight out of the traps (a rare straight drive for me) totally demolished the stumps at the other end. Bugger!