Got a couple of new bats in the post last week and thought I'd post them both together and compare! One is the replacement butterfly B3 kindly sorted me out with after my first one broke, the other is an SS I picked up for a teammate on a budget.
So here they are, SS Master 2000 - 2lb9 and B3 new DB1 shape - haven't weighed it but about 2lb10. Both have been oiled and had a little knocking in.
Comparisons:
Size and pickup - the B3 is a good size bat, but the SS is enormous for a bat of that weight! Picked it up from the parcel office right before a Saturday game and amused myself showing it to teammates who all said 'that's huge!' and were shocked when they picked it up, it picks up really really light. Ideal for the guy I ordered it for so pleased with that. The B3 is a little heavier obviously but picks up really nicely, has the kind of balance I like where it's light in the hands but still has a good feel to it.
Handles - they're both too blummin thin (I am not a fan of a thin handle whatsoever). Not surprised with the SS on this, but a little with the B3. Personal taste of course, but feel like handles is an area they could improve on from my experience so far.
Concaving - just a shade on both of them, more on the B3. Happy with that, a little bit of concaving used right is fine with me.
Performance/pressing - I'd expected the SS to be quite soft. Not a bit of it, it seems well pressed and responds well from the start. Mainly conccentrated on the edges so far knocking it in but it's hard to make a noticeable dent in the face with mallet or ball and it pings really nicely bouncing a ball on it. Like the duckbill shape, feels different but good, and the fuller profile seems pretty forgiving.
B3 pressing... fantastic. The previous one I had was pressed well, but the 'ready press' changes seem a step up for sure. Haven't done a lot on it yet but it seems pretty close to ready to play, and the response is fantastic. Unusual sharp noise from it and the ball really pings off. New DB1 shape is a cracker too, probably higher middle than I'd normally choose but feels great.
Finishing on both is pretty good, branded TON stamps certainly look better than the old ones. Suffered a little bit in transit but other than that good. B3 was finished beautifully on the face and edges, a little less so on the back oddly. That said, I really don't care too much, both are finished well. Embossed stickers on both are lovely if you like that, new B3 ones a definite improvement over the old.
Conclusion - you can get a hell a lot of a bat for little money these days! B3 is going to be a gun I'm sure, and I'm almost hoping the guy I ordered the SS for doesn't like it so that I can keep it. What a pair of bats for less than £200 combined.
Also big thanks to B3 for excellent service even despite the fire, very happy to have another butterfly cannon to use.
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Topic: 2 new sticks - B3/SS (Read 4725 times)