Those who know me know that I am a huge Laver fan. If I was loyal to one brand, it would be Laver. Laver would be to me like B3 is to Procricket, I'm that confident in their bats. (Admittedly, the pads and gloves could do with a little working on) I am sad that they aren't a forum sponsor anymore, but I'm sure quite a few fellow members have also dealt with Laver in the past, and have had great experiences.
My L&W Reserve I had purchased around April is probably the bat I have gotten on with the most. It helped me score my first 50, plus just gave me heaps of confidence when using it. The unique skinny and defined oval handle was something I thought I wouldn't like, but I've felt so comfortable with it. However, the price kind of put me off Laver, as I felt I could get the shape copied here for a lot cheaper, so I said to a fellow forum member that I would never buy one again...
So, it was around the beginning November, and Laver put up an offer for 5 free net bats with the first 5 Reserves ordered. I had previously guessed right in one of their 'guess the player's profile' competitions, and received a 100NZD off a Reserve prize, which I asked Anthony (New sales manager) if I could use in conjunction with that offer. I was expecting a no, as it just seemed too good an offer, and if he had said no, I would have probably left it at that. When he said yes, that was when I pretty much threw money and profile pictures at him, (Ignoring everything I had said about never buying another Laver) asking for a copy of my beloved Reserve in 2.10. (To allow for about 2 ounces of weight gain max) I asked him to let James know that he could take his time with the bats, and hold off delivery until mid-February, as I would be away until then.
So, around the end of 2013/beginning of January, I had my Laver with me in HK, and Smokem was planning to send his Laver back for a weight reduction and delamination repair, and he joked that I should send mine along too, so it could save him on postage.
I asked Anthony if it would be possible for me to send my Reserve too, which was delaminated in two different places, for a repair and a more accurate copy. L&W said it would be fine, and I didn't have to pay anything extra for this, only postage to NZ!
So, February came along, and there were some delays with the deliveries, which made me a little frustrated, but I believed that it would be worth the wait. A few emails enquiring as to when the bats would arrive were exchanged, and James told me that the bats should be arriving anytime this week, and that the copy he felt picked up nicer and responded better. Ironically, after waiting for what seemed like an eternity for the bats, I missed the first and second attempt at delivery yesterday, and nearly missed the one today! (Was in the bathroom in all three occasions too!)
Luckily, the courier went to the back door and handed it to someone cleaning out the garage.
Anyways, enough of my talking, here are the pictures!
Refurbed Reserve:
Delamination repair:
Copy of above Reserve:
Net bat copy (Legend):
All together:
Now the repair has impressed me, I can't hear or feel any of the delamination it had. James even the whole bat a clean up and applied new stickers and a toe guard, even though I said that he could just keep the old stickers on, as they were absolutely fine. No need to waste new stickers on it, as the face was all I was worried about. It feels so good to pick up my favourite bat after 2-3 loooong months.
It was 2lb 12.5oz when it left HK, and is now 2lb 11.84oz.
The Reserve copy is a touch lighter at 2lb 10.85oz, but I expect it to gain about an ounce, so will probably end up near 2.12. It has 12 grains, which aren't quite as defined as the Reserve, and has a touch of heartwood on the RH inside edge. I had requested all sapwood and 9-12 grains if possible, but if there was a better cleft, I wouldn't mind heartwood. It came with a regular cane handle, which is the only thing I can say is annoying about the bat, and that's because I had asked for a Willowcane handle. However, this also happened to my brother's replacement Special Reserve, so perhaps James had found it doesn't really benefit much. I use cane handles with my other bats too, so this is a very small thing.
The net bat, which is a Legend grade, has really impressed me the most. I expected a thin plank, but as you can see, it's still pretty impressive in size! It feels a little firmer pressed than the Reserve copy, but it responds really quite nicely too. It has 6 very evenly spaced grains, and a blemish at the toe. I would have expected Laver to grade this as a Special Reserve to be honest, I'm really very impressed with it. It weighs a little less than the copy Reserve, coming in at 2lb 10.74oz.
To say I'm chuffed would be a big understatement. I am so impressed with the service I have received from Laver. I know some people say that they overpress the bats to prevent breakages, they aren't as good as they used to be and they take a long time to play in. From my experience, they've actually played in pretty quickly, and yes, the pressing is very unique, but my Reserve went from ball 1, and this one feels just as good, if not marginally better! If they really aren't as good a brand as they used to be, it does make me wonder how good their bats really were in the past!
Hope you like the photos, and apologies about the long winded review. I've probably missed something, but I don't care. I'm just going to go off and play with my willow.
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Topic: L&W repair, and copy (Read 11583 times)