Right, I have decided to finally do a review on my very first purchase from this forum, a Black Cat Custom from d7bow! I had originally joined this forum to seek out a good deal on a BC Shadow, but to my disappointment, a HUGE Shadow I really liked had already been snapped up. Despite being really gutted about this, I think I found something better a little later... I bought this off him a while ago, and he had it made to the M&H Distinction 2010 profile. (I think it was the 3rd one he ordered, which was actually the profile he wanted, but he was getting a Distinction coming through from M&H) It weighs 2lb 13.28oz with a chevron, double chevron, hammer edge and shoe-goo toe guard (around 2.10 with just the chevron). It has 10 straight grains with about 1-2 grains of heartwood on the right hander's outside edge and the handle is an oval one. The bat was a little too toe heavy for my liking when I received it, but now actually picks up like a 2.9-2.10 and is just about perfect for me. You would expect a bat with such a large an low middle to be extremely toe heavy, but I think the double chevron helps a lot! (Thanks to Paul at IJC for supplying it!) The edges are relatively small, as you can see from the pictures they are barely as thick as the diameter of a penny! There is quite a lot of concaving just to get the spine up to its ridiculous size. Despite not being a fan of concaving, I decided to buy this as I have only heard good things about Black Cat.
On a side note, these stickers have to be among the best looking cricket bat stickers I have seen!
Now onto performance... Just as I received the bat, I could not help but hit a ball off it, (leaving a few seam marks) and have to say I wasn't disappointed. I would compare my Helios to my Black Cat, but I feel that it is unfair as they are both very different bats. (I had actually typed up a comparison between them in almost every aspect!) A few things I will say though is that the ping and sound off the mallet for both bats are similar, and despite being about half an ounce heavier, the BC picks up lighter. Also out of the four nets I have had between both bats (Two sessions each) I felt that I played better with the BC (Although the Helios did offer more power). The shots which I didn't even play with too much effort came off the bat really nicely, and the length of the middle really helps, especially if you are playing on pitches with uneven bounce.
Now after purchasing this bat, if you asked me if it was worth what I paid, I would say yes straight away. If you asked me if I would have paid the full price for the bat, you would make me think twice. As much as I love this bat, I wouldn't have been completely willing to fork out the £325 for it. Why? Perhaps the reason is that I have bought so many bats over the years, (almost none which have been anywhere near the quality of this one) and only 2 have been £200 and above. This may be the reason I would be hesitant about paying £325 for a bat. However, if you were to ask me if I would have bought the Salix Pod Players if it was on the online listed price of around £300 over a Custom Black Cat, or even a Shadow, I would have to go with Black Cat. Although Andrew Kember is a fantastic bat maker, and I have no doubt about that after receiving a Salix Pod Players from Paul Cole (IJC), the fact that a bat is made to your own specifications, be it a Shadow in terms of weight, pick up, handle shape and concaving, to a custom made bat which could be whatever you want it to be, is something quite special, even if it does cost like £35 more after delivery. One thing is for sure though, this bat has set a new benchmark for me when buying bats!
I hope I have been clear in this review, as I know I like to ramble on. Feel free to ask any questions, but you would be better off asking Charlie himself! I have read both good and bad reviews of BC, but if it helps, the Hosk rates BC very highly, so they must be good.
Also, I hear Charlie is very fussy when picking clefts. Having a very fussy person pick clefts for bats is never a bad thing, especially if you are fussy yourself!
PS. I am starting to dislike the Hammer Edge sheet on this bat... Should I change it for a helicopter anti-scuff? I would probably scuff the whole blade, as our nets can have extra bounce, so protection for those lovely stickers makes sense! I am just worried that Hammeredges are hard to remove, but I haven't used the bat too much, so I shouldn't have the problem of chunks of willow being yanked out!
Any advice on this matter is appreciated!
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Topic: Black Cat Custom Review (Read 23928 times)