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[slcric]

i picked up a Puma calibre 3000 today at training and it definitely was more pingy than any other bat.Puma bats not only feel light and very pingy they also LOOK light..Does puma do anything special that other makers doesn't do to their bats? can a custom made bat from a forum member come out better than a puma?

[Ayrtek Cricket]

How do u measure the bat to make the statement that it's better than any other bat then?

I'd hope a custom bat on here performed better than a mid range puma otherwise puma would have cornered the Market and we should all give up now!

[Jenko]

And are you basing that judgement on just using one puma?

[langer17]

You've effectively used one Puma bat and used that to judge all of Puma's bats.

[ProWannabe88]

The bar must have been set very low here. The 3000 may well have been a good bat but if you were to use say a 5000, 6000 or any of the custom made premium brands here I think the 3000 would quickly be blow-out of the water. The only thing I've ever noticed from top end puma bats and robs blue room is the little extra press he does by hand to but you won't get that on a 3000 as they are manufactured in India.

[sgcricket]

PW88, why couldn't an Indian made puma 3000 be just as good if not better than a rob pack made puma 5000 or 6000?

[tim2000s]

It's very unlikely due to pressing. You'll get the odd one or two that behave well but Rob pack made ones are likely to be consistently better pressed.

 I've not used a midrange bat that has been as good as my custom instinct and the one puma I have used in the nets was distinctly average (evolution 3000).

[Talisman]

If you have found a good 3000 then there is no reason why it won't be better than the top of the range, it will be graded lower on looks, not performance. I've been to the Indian factory and seen them made, the finish I saw there and here on Vendetta 3000's is far better than Rob can do, better than any UK bat sander and finisher, very very impressive. As for the pressing I would say it is not as consistent as the UK factory where Puma's are made but there is no reason to doubt that some will be absolute screamers from India, I saw a Slazenger V500 County last week at 2.10 finished which was huge and felt perfect for me, it came from the same place and they are catching up fast.

[thedon]

I visited kg and robinsons in india and they said that their bats are all hand pressed.

[ProWannabe88]

If you have found a good 3000 then there is no reason why it won't be better than the top of the range, it will be graded lower on looks, not performance. I've been to the Indian factory and seen them made, the finish I saw there and here on Vendetta 3000's is far better than Rob can do, better than any UK bat sander and finisher, very very impressive. As for the pressing I would say it is not as consistent as the UK factory where Puma's are made but there is no reason to doubt that some will be absolute screamers from India, I saw a Slazenger V500 County last week at 2.10 finished which was huge and felt perfect for me, it came from the same place and they are catching up fast.

I'm sorry can I just clear a few things up here. Yes the indian made bats are good and they are obviously coming along quickly, of that i have no doubt and i didnt mean to discount any of the guys putting the work in to produce those bats. But mike...
Rob is not just a sander and finisher so please don't disregard the work he does on a daily basis, I'm sure he could crack plenty more bats out if he was just a finisher as you said. We've been over this one before a while back if I remember rightly. I can't imagine you'd say the same about mr keeley would you?? And as for robs finishing I doubt a brand like puma would be contracting him for their top line bats if his finishing wasn't up to scratch.

[Talisman]

PW, your commitment to the cause is fine, I understand.

What do you think of the method used by the Indian factory to press compared to the way Tim presses?

Have you any thoughts on Tim's set up compared to the Indian one?

What in your view makes a great finish?

Do you believe that the lower graded bats are graded on performance?

[ProWannabe88]

This isn't about tims pressing or the Indian setups so please don't go off subject.
You have just attempted to publicly disparage a genuine bat makers reputation and it isn't the first time you have done so. I'm confident if you and Rob had some form of working relationship your personal and professional opinion of what he does would differ greatly.

[Talisman]

I will comment on what I know rather than what someone told me.

My comments about the 3000 are as follows,

Why would an Indian bat not be as good as an English bat?
Why would the finish not be as good?

When I state that it was better finished than Rob's, who does do the finishing for Puma I believe and that it is better finished than any other sander/finisher in the country including Andrew Kember and others it is because I am talking about the people who finish bats, not make them. It would be better than Newbery bats, Tim does not finish any bats himself but he has done for me in the past and it is better than he could do.

Why is that offensive? Do you have a blind belief that Rob is a God?

And my questions about set ups were based on the fact that I am opinionated but that is based on knowing a little bit about what goes on in bat making. You rely on being told things, make your own mind up by using your eyes.

[ProWannabe88]

What I know is what I have seen. It may not be as much as you but i dont make my living from the industry. the Indian bats I have seen don't have the quality with pressing, handles or finishing that the UK bats I've seen/used have and that's from anyone not just rob. I obviously don't have as vast a knowledge as others on here which is why I don't make out I have I just say what I see and based your commemts on previous topics Regarding Rob. Maybe I took this out of context and if that's the case then so be it but I stick by what I said

[jonpinson]

This isn't about tims pressing or the Indian setups so please don't go off subject.
You have just attempted to publicly disparage a genuine bat makers reputation and it isn't the first time you have done so. I'm confident if you and Rob had some form of working relationship your personal and professional opinion of what he does would differ greatly.

No he hasn't mate, he said that the Indian factory can finish bats better than anyone in the UK. I must agree from what I've seen, the Puma 3000s are finished incredibly well. It's no reflection on Rob's work, or anyone's work. Just a compliment to the Indian chaps.