Have you come across any club players, junior or senior, using Spartan kit?
I've seen one Spartan bat in the wild, about 3 or 4 years ago when Michael Clarke was their poster boy. Not a single thing since. NB though you see all over the place, while you may be paying for the branding in lots of cases, with NB the branding is very well done, the players they got involved are/were all well thought out and they had a solid brand behind them. Still wouldn't buy one though, value for money is my prime consideration in most of my purchases, cricket related or otherwise. Don't mind paying more if I perceive extra value in that, but as I've said elsewhere I find it hard to see past either a GM Signature or 606 or something affordable from India or Pakistan. That said, every now and then I'll feel all patriotic and buy something from an English manufacturer.