Hi guys, been a little while since a have made a topic about a purchase. (A while for me anyways!) When I saw Paul's offer for 15% off a Bubble purchase, I couldn't resist, so I went and dropped a deposit. Originally, I was looking for the very best looking 2.10, looking for all sapwood and around 8 grains. I changed my mind last minute, after I heard from a thread that the Bubble grips were pretty heavy, around 3 ounces, so went for something a little heavier, (2.11-2.12) and told Paul I didn't care about looks, it just had to be a performer. Anyways, here are some pictures of what I received! (Apologies for the poor quality, I forgot to bring my camera, so these were taken on my mobile)
As you can see from the pics, it isn't the nicest looking bat with only 5 grains, and there were small pressing cracks on the heartwood on the outside edge. However, it was very softly pressed, which was a pleasant surprise! It's been a few years since I remember buying a softly pressed Kookaburra, I think it may have even been back when the Beast and Genesis were around. (Two of my favourite models) The bat is a big bat as well, I think the spine looks around 60mm, and the edges looked like they were 40mm before I rounded them off, and there is only a small amount of concaving. The bat picks up pretty well too, despite the significant amount of wood near the bottom of the bat. There is just a small hint of bottom heaviness when I wave it around in my stance, but it is really minimal. The response is really very good too, and the ball responds pretty well up to the Star sticker, which I didn't expect from a glance at the profile. The handle itself is pretty thick and round, with a very very small hint of oval.
Having used this bat in a gentle net, I can say that it will actually take some more knocking than most Kookaburras, just because it is so soft. It does respond nicely, but there was that 'soft' feeling I got when playing shots, which made me wary of just how soft pressed it is. (Similar to how it felt when I first had throw downs with my Tour) I could get it up quick enough to play pull shots, and didn't really feel restricted in any shots at all. (Didn't cut, because my injuries won't let me move my feet to where I want them!)
An interesting thing I noticed about the concaving was that the toe profile is domed, like the Tour, and as it goes up, there is some concaving, which slowly increases until the edge 'bulge', then it slowly decreases as it reaches the shoulders. Kind of like the opposite of the C-V profile which Andy Norbs (SAF) suggested was a good way to make a bat pick up better. Anyone else who has a Bubble will see what I mean, if they run a ruler up the profile of the bat.
All in all, I'm very happy with the bat and service I received from Paul. He even kindly shipped it out to Hong Kong along with some of Smokem's things FOC, which was a very kind gesture. (I had originally planned to wait until February to receive it in the UK) It certainly made my week, especially since I had taken a ball to the left shin and rolled over my right ankle a few days beforehand during a game! Thanks again, Paul!
Here's a tasty pic of the bruise a week and a half after the injury:
This is what happens if you instinctively stick out your leg to stop a drive… Surely there's a gap in the market for some sort of shin protection for stupid bowlers like me?! (Yes Foxy George, I'm talking to you!
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Topic: Kookaburra Bubble Star from IJC (Read 4486 times)