Helios Midas Review
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PedalsMcgrew

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Helios Midas Review
« on: July 26, 2012, 05:49:28 PM »

Hi Guys,

As a few of you may know I am quite keen on the more traditionally profiled bats. A long love affair with a Newbery Mjolnir has meant that anything with slim edges and a fullsome rear tends to attract my attention! I've also had bats made for me with this profile in mind, anyone who has seen my Chase will know what I mean.....as I believe it suits my game perfectly. I want a bat with a long middle and this type of profile seems to supply that in spades....

Anyway, whilst browsing the many for sale threads that seem to appear on here these days I noticed Jamferg offering a few Helios bats for review. Although I was immediately struck by the grainage on this particular stick it was the profile that sold it to me. James describes it as a Mjolnir with a twist, and I think that's pretty accurate. It certainly has a higher spine than my old Mjolnir and it's only a little lower than my Chase (which cost over twice as much!) but it feels very similar in the hand and picks up very, very well.

This bat weighs in at 2.9 with one grip and I think it comes in just a tiny bit under 2.10 with my preferred setup of two very thin latex grips. It took very little knocking in, maybe an hour on the mallet and it was ready to go. Luckily I had arranged what turned out to be a very short net with PeteHosk and JBlowe last night so it was a perfect opportunity to give it a hit against some Bola balls and see how it felt.

Simply put, it was a revelation! I seemed to be finding the middle of the bat almost immediately off both the front and back foot and the blades response was easily on a par with anything I have used (and I get to use all the Hosk's bats  ;-) ) It's pickup and balance were perfect for me and I soon forgot I was using a brand new bat such was the 'familiarity' of this particular profile. Both myself and Pete were/are very, very impressed with the bat and bearing in mind that the other bats we had with us last night were top of the range offerings from Salix, Chase, H4L, Puma, GM x2, CFx2 and neither of us moved away from the Helios for long tells you all you really need to know. It's gone straight into my match bag and I'm hoping to have a hit with it at some point over the weekend.

All in all it was a great service from James at a fabulous price, I highly recommend checking out Helios Cricket (http://helioscricket.com/) or contacting Jamferg on here and getting an order in...Great bat, very happy.

Pics...

I must point out that the red grip tape is a superstition of mine and I put it on, Helios bats come with far more tasteful black tape and I put on the scuff sheet which is of poor quality and will be changed for a decent one asap....I see Sports Direct are doing the Kook Armourtec's cheaply at the moment  ;)




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johnnyw

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Re: Helios Midas Review
« Reply #1 on: July 26, 2012, 08:37:26 PM »

Love the shape of the bat and nice padded bat cover ;)
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PedalsMcgrew

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Re: Helios Midas Review
« Reply #2 on: July 26, 2012, 08:39:19 PM »

A bit of free advertising for you Johnny!  ;)
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FattusCattus

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Re: Helios Midas Review
« Reply #3 on: July 26, 2012, 09:07:45 PM »

Round or oval handle?
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PedalsMcgrew

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Re: Helios Midas Review
« Reply #4 on: July 26, 2012, 09:12:10 PM »

Oval at the bottom....it's a nice shape actually, not too extreme but just enough..
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Chad

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Re: Helios Midas Review
« Reply #5 on: July 27, 2012, 12:36:10 AM »

Very nice, I really like the profile, though there are too many grains on it for my liking! I prefer around 10 grains and only a little bit of heartwood on the outside edge. :P I just checked out the website, and it would help if they gave bat descriptions, and didn't have everything in Latin, or at least what I think is Latin. :P

I have just started using a Mjolnir, and it does suit my natural play a lot better. I find that when I use a modern profile bat with thick edges, I tend to try muscle the ball quite a lot. I have the frame and strength to do so, but it doesn't suit my play because I don't practice those shots often enough. (Probably lack the ability to do so consistently too!) 

You should get a Hammer Edge antiscuff! They are by far my favourite as they are sturdy and offer very good protection. :) Is that a Readers antiscuff on it at the moment by anychance? And apply a Shoe-Goo toeguard to it! :D
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petehosk

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Re: Helios Midas Review
« Reply #6 on: July 27, 2012, 09:25:40 AM »

I will add a little review of my own as I was there.
There were more powerful bats on show when we tried this bat on Wednesday, although the Midas more than held it's own. This in itself is extremely impressive considering it has only had an hour of knocking in and will get better and better as it's played in!!
It was being tried at the same time as fully played in bats which are flyers and a couple of which are very special.
In fact, I am looking forward to trying the Midas again once it's had a few hours of playing in as I suspect it will be a absolute weapon! The middle is sooooooo long and strong already, and driving the ball was ever so satisfying  ;)
I also played a couple of cross bat shots to see how it faired and they were pretty easy to time as the bat has a great pickup and was an absolute wand to use.
Because I normally use bats with more modern profiles and more of a bow, I find that traditional profiles feel strange and take a little getting used to before I start to feel comfortable. But I felt pretty comfortable from almost the first ball and found myself driving and middling the ball beautifully.

Performance: From a performance point of view, this is promising to be an excellent bat and I’m thinking that Luke may be struggling to decide which to take out to the middle as his main match bat!

Feel: Feel and pickup is surprisingly good for a bat with a lower middle. And the middle itself is extremely generous, and even makes me look good!  :o

Finishing: Salix set the standard yardstick pretty high on finishing their bats, and the Midas falls short of that standard…..but most bats fall short of that standard so no disgrace there! But the Midas finishing on this bat was of a decent standard and was as good as any other bat there (with the exception of the Salix)

Looks: Loads of grains are like Marmite. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, there are lots on this blade! There is also loads of heartwood on this particular blade which some will love and others won’t.
Stickers are also a very personal taste – these are not bright and shiny…just nice and subtle. They blend nicely with the blade and the opposition loudmouths would have to find other areas of your game to sledge!

Value: I believe this bat was offered on a special offer initial release price. From the price paid, this will turn out to be a performance bargain! It is very good in all areas of the review and I hope we got to see the other Helios profiles reviewed soon as I’d be interested to see if they offer the same standard as this bat. All three of us testing the bat loved it and there were no negatives from the initial review.

So to summarise………….. an excellent match quality bat for a great price. It is bats such as this one that make me wonder why on Earth people want big-edged large profile bats. Traditional profile bats like this one need to live on!
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jamferg

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Re: Helios Midas Review
« Reply #7 on: July 27, 2012, 10:03:43 PM »

Luke, sincere apologies.. a stretchy healing magic scuff sheet was meant to be banded to the handle of the bat when I sent it. Check its not come off in the box, if not I'll post one out and I'll chastise my bird brain ( if I remember to!)

Glad you liked the bat. Ive one that's just come in but is something special. It the Midas shape but without concaving. Sounds odd but at 2.11 its the same small edges but a truly massive spine. Photos up in the morning.

Apologies for the slow going on the website. I'm an IT fu*kwit so in the hands of someone else. Also waiting for the photos to showcase these stunners properly

Also just in an Atlas with a laughably massive low to mid middle yet picks up like the Midas, weighs in at 2.11
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PedalsMcgrew

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Re: Helios Midas Review
« Reply #8 on: July 27, 2012, 10:39:21 PM »

Luke, sincere apologies.. a stretchy healing magic scuff sheet was meant to be banded to the handle of the bat when I sent it. Check its not come off in the box, if not I'll post one out and I'll chastise my bird brain ( if I remember to!)

Glad you liked the bat. Ive one that's just come in but is something special. It the Midas shape but without concaving. Sounds odd but at 2.11 its the same small edges but a truly massive spine. Photos up in the morning.

Apologies for the slow going on the website. I'm an IT fu*kwit so in the hands of someone else. Also waiting for the photos to showcase these stunners properly

Also just in an Atlas with a laughably massive low to mid middle yet picks up like the Midas, weighs in at 2.11

Hi James, as you can see we both loved the bat, I'm going to give it a go in my game tomorrow so I'll report back then...

Sadly no scuff sheet in the box...luckily I've kept the box as I may soon have to part with a bat in order to accommodate this one into my match bag!  ;) 
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