Recently decided to get a couple of bats,
Unexpected # 1: Unlike the high end pro player bats being posted on here recently I went for absolute bottom of the pile. I needed a few bats for team kit that would get abused so wanted something cheap and since cricmart had been in a lot of forum posts I logged on their site and placed an order. A day or so later I got a txt on my phone from them informing me of a few logistical items and everytime I contacted them they have been great in response and service. Why is titled this unexpected was I didn't expect service/communication of this level, so happy with that.
Unexpected # 2: Bats were cheap, so cheap I was in a bit of a "too good to be true" mode but at the price worth the risk. What arrived did surprise me again as the bats were polycoated/white cover which the site description either didn't mention or I didn't see it. Regardless, I still was not unhappy considering what I paid per bat.
Unexpected # 3: To see if I had completely wasted my money I took my mallet and went at the bats, then decided to use a new ball. Happy to report that these ping very well, it made me question why cover willow that responds so well?
Unexpected # 4: As my other half put kids to bed and I sat there looking closely at the bat face I noticed something underneath the polycoat and decided "Hey lets rip the cover off", At no point did i try to save the stickers instead I went at them really roughly which helped pull the cover away from the wood a bit. It was surprisingly easy to remove the cover, having said that I did do some minor damage to the face of the first bat I peeled off, second one was perfect. Noticed a minor knot on the back of both bats, I am sure more will be revealed as I begin sanding but the grains on one of them look good for a low end bat.
Pics to follow. I will add more pics once I have had a chance to clean the face of the bats.