Hi guys, just an initial review of a purchase! (Will go into a more detailed review after the bats have seen some use)
So I was procrastinating, thinking of possible cricket brand names, just in case I suddenly decide to one day start a brand. (Highly unlikely, but I'm sure a bunch of us have had this thought!) Names like Regal, Sovereign, Imperial etc etc were all ideas, and of coursed Googled them. (Sovereign Cricket is an actual brand, providing bats with pretty simple and classy branding) Eclipse was also one of the names that came to mind, and I stumbled across the EAS website in my findings, which happened to be a small retailer which had its own brand of bats as well. They are a specialist on Asian brands, and seem to be reasonably priced. The site had a pretty handy Live Support tab, which basically puts you in direct contact with with whoever is in charge of the website.
Hanif, the owner of EAS, started a conversation, asking if I required any help, and we chatted for a good long while. I hadn't originally planned a purchased, but having a browse around the site, which had the actual pictures of the bat you'd be getting, while chatting to the owner about his opinion awoke the bat buying side of me. I was stuck for a while on purchasing either the EAS Hyperion and a BDM, or maybe even going for an SF! In the end, Hanif recommended I get one of the EAS Erebus instead, so I decided just to go for both EAS bats. (Told me which was the best performing one, which happened to be the best looking too!)
The bats arrived on Sunday, which is actually the first Sunday I've ever had a delivery arrive on! Both are lovely bats, the Hyperion with the fuller profile, and the Erebus with a pretty heavy concave. The Erebus was made in India and the Hyperion was made in Pakistan. I find the Erebus to be shaped and finished to a higher quality. (Also a much nicer looking bit of willow!)
Erebus - 15-16 grains - (2lb 11.86oz):
Hyperion - 8-9 grains - (2lb 10.42oz):
As you can see, both bats are of a decent size, but nothing alarming.
The Hyperion has a round handle, and is actually pretty narrow, being around 104mm wide at the toe and 100mm wide at the top. It makes a lovely sound off the mallet, and has around 37mm edges with a spine height of around 60mm and a small touch of concaving. These dimensions are reasonably modest compared to some, especially since it's quite a narrow bat, but the toe is 29mm, which is a pretty thick toe! The bat responds exceptionally lower down the blade, and has a playing area which extends up to the end of scuff sheet. The
The Erebus has a slightly skinny oval, and is pretty consistent in width, between 105-106mm at both the shoulders and the toe. It also makes a lovely sound off the mallet, and responds really nicely to the ball too. The edges are around the 36mm mark and the spine around 65mm, and it has quite a heavy concave. Now with regards to my view on concaving, I don't know, but I just find that a lot of concaving seems to make the bat feel less substantial and the contact doesn't feel as clean. Then again, I am used to medium weighted bats, so getting bats without much concaving isn't an issue at all for me! Despite this, the Erebus is possibly the best bat I've had with a heavy concave. It really is very punchy, and has a very long playing area too. I would say it's my favourite of the two bats, although the Hyperion is also a lovely bat too. They both pick up well, with the Erebus picking up slightly better for its weight. (Could also be because I prefer a slightly skinny oval handle)
For a brand that just started up a couple of months ago, I have to say that the graphics are pretty good! Nothing massively special, but stand out reasonably well, and the stickers are of a good quality. However, the back sticker of the Erebus was bubbled pretty badly when I got it, so I had to take part of it off, and use some PVA glue to stick it back down. I guess one of the frustrating things about stickers on concaved bats!
Now onto the value for money and service. The Hyperion was on sale for £120, as it was actually a prototype. The Erebus was, and still is on sale for £140, which is a cracking price for a G1 bat. Both bats perform exceptionally well, better than a lot of £200+ off the shelf bats. Hanif was brilliant to deal with, and patient with all my questions, and we got to have a good chat about the cricket retailing world, the manufacturing in Asia and chatted about world cricket in general. The delivery time was also great, as he had to oil, scuff and knock the bats in, so it was a pleasant surprise the bats arrived to me in less than a week! I would definitely think of purchasing again from EAS, as Hanif has some very competitive prices, great service and also because I've had a sudden interest in Asian bats.
Sorry for rambling on in this initial review, I guess it has just been a little while since I've done a review at all! If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask!
I will update this after I have given the bats some use! Initial thoughts are that they will be really fantastic bats!
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Topic: Eclipse All Sports Bat Reviews (Read 8993 times)