Topic: Hunts County Neo Surge Cricket Bat Review (Read 1634 times)

Chad · « **on:** February 27, 2024, 12:52:30 AM »

Been a little while since I've done one of these, and I've definitely accumulated more than a few bats 😅 I think I put out a poll, and one of the most requested was budget bat reviews, so may as well start with this one. Hunts are a brand which aren't really very flashy, and certainly aren't talked about too much here.

Specs/Info:

Weight - 2lb 9.5oz
Spine - 62mm
Edge - 39mm
Shoulders - 12mm
Splice - 36.5mm
Toe Edge - 25mm
Toe Centre - 32mm
Face Camber - Flat
Bow - Moderate
Handle - Medium Oval
Concaving - Medium-Heavy
Width - 106mm at front and 104mm at back
Price - �175 RRP, �140 is a pretty typical price to find them at, so an increase from �150/�120 from 2023
Finish - Natural with a Toe Guard - but unsure on this as it does give off a little bit of a bleached look, especially with the butterfly colouring not being so intense

The Neo Surge is a budget offering from Hunts County, which appears to be an imported part made bat which has been finished at Hunts. This particular piece has 6 beautifully spaced grains, and also some butterfly staining higher up on the blade, and also on the back around the swell area. The bat feels very nicely balanced, probably true to the weight. The even spread of wood throughout the hitting zone with the thick toe, the tapering towards the shoulder and the good thickness in the oval handle all seem to marry well together to create this balanced feel. There is a fair bit of concaving throughout the blade, which tapers from a medium heavy to a mild level almost as soon as it hits the splice. Tapping up a ball, the bat feels nice and springy, and is a touch soft with there being seam indentations.As alluded to earlier, the piece of timber has a very beautiful grain structure with lovely even spacing. The shoulders of the bat have a very peculiar shaping to it, with almost a bull like appearance. I'd say this style of blend is almost synonymous with Hunts, and also very very similar to the style of Choice/WG Willow.

I actually really took a liking to the look of the old stickers with the stag in front back in around the pre-2010 era.

The style of profile is very much the same as the Triumph (Green) when the stickers were in the style of this - http://custombats.co.uk/cbforum/index.php?topic=39327.0. I find the stickers on this to look and feel fantastic, there's a simple smooth vinyl clear backing, with texturing/embossing for the writing and ornate crest, which just give it a very fancy, but classical taste, especially with the contrast of a much simpler back sticker design. I guess my criticism of this however is that the look of the bat itself doesn't really match the vibe I feel the stickers give off - it's a very chunky brutish looking profile, with very square edges etc. I do feel a design of stickers maybe more in the style of the one in the link above would somewhat match the look of this profile better.

All in all, a pretty solid offering, especially for �140! (Or there abouts) I was lucky enough to pick this out in person at Talent Cricket, where I also got to see a lot of the other ranges. My general feel was that the Tekton and the Caerulex seemed to embody more of that classical Hunts sort of shaping, with the rounded face and more blended look. (I suspect these may have been fully made in-house) The Neo and Maximo I felt were very much the same offering with different colourways, and the Insignia I saw there was an absolute cannon, but also what I suspected was also an imported bat. (Not a bad thing, but I wanted one that was made in Huntingdon as if I was to get one, I'd be after a specific aesthetic) Sorry if I've missed anything, or things aren't quite up to scratch, it's been a while! 😅

LockieEP · « **Reply #1 on:** February 27, 2024, 07:23:34 AM »

Thanks for review- great to have some more wallet friendly bat reviews and love the stickers on this one. For �140 it looks a really good option.

Bats_Entertainment · « **Reply #2 on:** February 27, 2024, 10:17:43 AM »

I'm sure it would serve most of us perfectly well.

Chad · « **Reply #3 on:** February 28, 2024, 03:06:09 PM »

Quote from: LockieEP on February 27, 2024, 07:23:34 AM

Thanks for review- great to have some more wallet friendly bat reviews and love the stickers on this one. For �140 it looks a really good option.

Thanks! Yes, it certainly is a lot more wallet friendly, and although it's essentially an imported bat, it's still had work done to it, and also has been done to keep costs down. Stickers are lovely, far more suited to a shape like the Caerulex IMO, but eh, they look nice on this too.

Quote from: Bats_Entertainment on February 27, 2024, 10:17:43 AM

I'm sure it would serve most of us perfectly well.

Indeed, a lovely bat for the price - if anything will improve the run:pound ratio for many

Author Topic: Hunts County Neo Surge Cricket Bat Review (Read 1634 times)

Chad

Hunts County Neo Surge Cricket Bat Review

LockieEP

Re: Hunts County Neo Surge Cricket Bat Review

Bats_Entertainment

Re: Hunts County Neo Surge Cricket Bat Review

Chad

Re: Hunts County Neo Surge Cricket Bat Review