Right guys, here's a review of the large purchase I made off Kieron at Bulldog. First, I want to comment on the service I received, and Kieron was fantastic the whole way through. I can't really fault anything he did for me, as he was patient with me wanting to delay the order, as I wanted to add some extra stuff on.
Now onto the purchase!
I saw Kieron put up this beauty of a slightly tweaked Amplus profiled bat up for sale a while back, and it attracted a lot of attention. I decided just to go with it and immediately made payment to Kieron, but told him to hang on for a bit as I knew he had a big sale on, and I wanted to add on grips, a mallet and maybe some softs. Then I saw the Tendulkar profiled bat he put up for sale as well, and thought, well, in for a penny in for a pound! So I also told him to keep that aside for myself.
Now of course, I said I couldn't pay for it quite yet, as I had a few things to shift, so Kieron gave me time to gather up the funds to pay, which was great! After I finally finished paying up, the gear all arrived quickly, and I was very impressed with the initial impressions of the quality.
Now, pictures of the gear!
Bulldog Neo-Amplus Pedigree Plus
Specs:
Weight - 2lb 11.02oz with scuff sheet, grip and toe guard.
Handle - Oval
Middle position - High-mid (An inch lower than the regular Amplus)
Pick up - Incredible
Concaving - Minimal
Edge size - 41mm and 37-38mm
Ping - Among the best I have heard. Definitely comparable to the Helios, but not quite there, so a 9.5 on ping.
Finishing - Besides the edges, really good finishing, as expected.
As you can see, the bat doesn't have the prettiest grains, but it is an exquisite profile, and I really like the stickers, as they aren't too flashy and compliment the wood. However, the one thing that does let it down is the edges. It is a little disappointing, as this bat is a really top quality bat, and for a bat of this kind of quality, you don't expect that much of a difference in the edges! The ruler I have placed on the face of the bat (the centimeter side) is showing the peak of the edges, and as you can see, they are quite a bit off as well, around 3cm away from each other. Now I would never have checked this, had the odd E41 not turned up, but as soon as it did, I knew immediately which bat I wanted to check first. (This one by the way!) Now yes, I know, the chances are if I used this bat, I wouldn't notice the difference really, and I'm just picking at faults, but it is a bat made by a very fine batmaker, one of the best in my opinion, and I would expect some mistakes, but not ones like this! Yes, the bat picks up beautifully, yes, the sound it makes off the mallet is eargasmic (sorry) and yes, the shape is out of this world, but I would expect something simple like the edges to at least be relatively consistent... Mind you, one of the shoulders of my Helios is noticeably thinner than the other as well, and it is especially noticeable when the shoulders of a bat are thin!
Bulldog Sachin Tendulkar Pedigree Plus
Specs:
Weight - 2lb 10.74oz with scuff sheet, grip and toe guard.
Handle -Slightly oval
Middle position - Low
Pick up - A tad bottom heavy, but a nice feeling bottom heavy
Concaving - Minimal
Edge size - 38mm and 39mm
Ping - Very nice, again, among the top bats I have had, but I reckon it isn't as good as the Neo-Amplus, so a 9.3 ish.
Finishing - Excellent, the edges are ever so slightly uneven, but only by a mm, which is not really too noticeable.
This bat is much nicer looking I reckon, with 10 straight grains. I am a big fan of this profile, as it seems to suit my style of batting. (despite what the cherries suggest!) I have used this bat once in the nets, and it does play really nicely. The pick up isn't too bottom heavy like I said, and is how I like my bats to pick up. The thing I love about both these bats is the minimal concaving, as I do prefer a slightly fuller profiled bat. I guess the spine heights aren't too high, but they are by no means small at all. The middle on this ST bat is pretty long as well, as I played a few shots higher up the blade which came off the bat quite nicely. I have to say, I do prefer the small circular sticker on the back at the toe compared to the 'Plus' sticker! All in all, much more pleased with this bat.
I bought these pads and gloves for my youngest brother, who is just starting cricket. They are a little big on him, but he is growing pretty tall now, and will probably overtake me around Spring time! The pads seem to be of a really good quality build, and I bought a pair of these gloves for myself as well, which I have yet to use. They are quite a snug fit, and are pretty flexible without needing to do much work on them, which is a bonus! I really like the softs, and the only thing I would say is that maybe release a pittard palmed glove for 2013?
All in all, I am happy with my purchase, and there is no way Kieron could have known that the bat was like that, as I don't think many people would expect something like this to be honest! I would recommend anyone to him, as he has a quality product to offer, and also look out for his Matt Prior shape! It really is massive!
I do apologise if I come across as a little anal in this review about the uneven edges, but I guess it is because I always have high expectations!
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Topic: My Bulldog Purchase! (Read 4717 times)