As you may have seen on my post in the 2018 kit thread a while back, I treated myself to the Neon Pink players grade Adam had on offer.
I did say I was going to do a review and as I was sent home from work early this afternoon seemed as good a time as any to get the camera out.
LooksThe grains run fairly straight and even, but the number of depends on where on the bat you choose to count! Towards the shoulders there are 9, in the middle 10 and at the toe 10 with the hint of an 11th on the right handers inside edge.
There is a blemish towards the top of the blade but this is away from the "main hitting area" this doesn't bother me at all.
The most striking thing about the bat's appearance is the stickers, they're simple but effective (and very pink).
The specsDefinitely not one for light bat users, I know there are several on the forum that will dwarf it but, I'd consider it to be a large bat.
Weight: 2lb12 & 3/4 (1.5 chevron grips)
Edges at toe: 20mm
Thickest point of toe: 27mm
Edges at shoulder: 15mm
Edge peak: 41mm
Spine height: 65mm
Width: 108mm (
give or take...
)
There is a moderate amount of concaving but when you have a high spine and big edges there is still plenty of wood where it needs to be.
The handle is a lovely oval that just feels right in your hands.
PerformanceI haven't used this bat in anger yet, and only tapped it up for the first time today!
While the response was good, it does feel rather soft and the amount of seam marks that appeared from tapping up an old ball make me think it will need a fair amount of knocking in before I take it into a net.
Final thoughtsThe neoprene bat covers are excellent. If you've just dropped a fair amount of money on a bat, an extra £12.99 to protect it from potential dings in the bag seems like a no brainer to me!
https://www.neoncricket.co.uk/collections/accessories/products/neon-neoprene-bat-cover In all honesty this is a top end bat so it likely to be wasted on me, but I won't be able to blame the kit for my failures!
I still need to oil this bat then knock it in and apply a scuff sheet to the face and a charity sticker to the back, once I've done this I expect it to weigh over 2lb13. This is a much higher middle than I normally use, so it will be interesting to see how I get on with it. The higher middle, along with the funky grooves in the shoulders, mean that it does pick up lighter than it's dead weight.
The only slight grumble (and this if I was really nit picking) would be the finishing. It wasn't bad by any stretch, but you can't see your reflection in it which some people seem to want. This is a total non-issue in all honesty, but some people feel it's important.
In short - would I recommend someone else to buy a Neon
Yes, 100%
With prices starting at £174.99 and going up to £399.99 there's an option to suit any budget. The one thing guaranteed whatever grade you go for is you'll get an awesome bat made by one of England's finest pod shavers
https://www.neoncricket.co.uk/collections/adult-cricket-bats
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Topic: Neon Pink - players grade (Read 10599 times)