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[WalkingWicket37]

Hi All

As you've probably seen elsewhere I have invested in full SS kit (directly from India!) for next season.
After a couple of coats of oil, a coating being removed from one and a day spent starting the knocking in process, here are my thoughts on the two bats

Background
I arranged these through a forum member to be sent straight from India.
I was not too fussy with specs, I wanted an SS/TON bat weighing between 2lb9 and 2lb13 for not much money.
I was sent pictures of three potential bats and chose these two on price first then looks!

SS Super Power

This was bought to use as a net bat. It did have a coating/layer of paint on the edges and back. My removal thread can be found here.

http://custombats.co.uk/cbforum/index.php?topic=32024.msg503248#msg503248

Looks
This is no Grade 1 bat, lets be clear about that.
First thing I notices was the pink stickers (and I loved them!)
It has 7 evenish grains, and a nice stain on the face that looks almost like a strip of heartwood!
There are no blemishes as such on the playing area, but there is a knot on the right handers outside edge and one on the back of the bat.
This doesn't bother be as I don't use the back of the bat at all and try not to hit the edge, so these aren't in high impact areas.
There is a hard bar just above the toe which doesn't bother me at all (if anything it may improve longevity)





Weight
In it's current state (1 and a half grips) it weights 2lb15 and a quarter.
Slightly heavier than I'd normally use but it's only planned to be a net bat so that isn't disastrous.
It does pickup lighter than it's deadweight, if I'd taken a guess at the weight before I weighted it I'd have said about 2lb13.

Profile
The standard SS profile. Low middle, big edges and a high spine, and of course plenty of concaving!
These are very rough measurements:
Edges 36mm
Spine 64mm







Performance
Off the mallet and when tapping up this has a generous sweet spot, from just below the super power sticker to just above the hard bar.
The 'middle' of this bat is actually what I'd say is a mid middle, which is higher than it looks like it should be from the profile.
It improved after a bit of knocking in and the response is now rather good, but with 2lb15 of wood behind the ball it's always going to respond well!
It will be interesting to see how this performs in the nets.


SS Orange

This is the stick I plan to use as my match bat this season. I was drawn to it by the 'personality' the face of this bat has.

Looks
The orange stickers on this bat look just as good (if not better) than the pink ones on the Super Power.
There are 8 evenly spaced grains, four small pin knot blemishes on the face and a nice stain on the right handers outside edge.
These blemishes will not hinder longevity or performance, so I'm more than happy with this bat.





Weight
This bat is lighter than the Super Power.
In it's current state (one and a half grips) it weighs 2lb12 and three eighths.
This is comfortably in the weight range I normally use.
Again it picks up better than it's dead weight, Id have guessed about 2lb11 before I weighed it.

Profile
The standard SS profile again. Low middle, big edges and a high spine. Still a lot of concaving but slightly less than the Super Power.
Dimensionally it is virtually identical to the Super Power.
Edges 36mm
Spine 64mm







Performance
Off the mallet and when tapping up this has a generous sweet spot as well, from roughly the Orange sticker down to two or three inches above the toe.
The 'middle' of this bat is again what I'd call a mid middle, this suits me fine and was a pleasant surprise considering the shape of the bat.
This bat initially responded better than Super Power and has improved after some mallet loving. The sweet spot extends slightly higher up the blade than the Super Power and this bat seems to ping better when tapping the ball up, although there  is not a lot in it.
As this will be my match bat I will probably not risk it in our indoor nets as cheap balls and a hard floor are a recipe for disaster (and a net bat!)


And Finally
With all the pictures of bats in trees or flowerpots posted by various people I thought I'd have a go.
I didn't have a tree or a large flowerpot to hand, so here they are in the greenhouse next to our tomato plants! 

[smilley792]

Can I be harsh and say I prefer your gm collection to the current ss collection.
This look a little rough and ready. Poor compared to my own ss. Almost like there seconds, or aimed at a market with less.expectations.

Why have you switched from your gms??

[WalkingWicket37]

Can I be harsh and say I prefer your gm collection to the current ss collection.
This look a little rough and ready. Poor compared to my own ss. Almost like there seconds, or aimed at a market with less.expectations.

Why have you switched from your gms??

You're entitled to your opinion mate, and I think if I was a neutral I'd probably agree. The finishing of my GMs is definitely superior to these (although I have stripped one of these back myself so it may not be a fair reflection). That said comparing the two is like comparing chalk & cheese.

These may look a little rough around the edges, but they were cheap and cheerful bats, and aimed at, what I am assuming is the lower end of, the Indian market instead of the import market (not sure if that actually makes a difference or not though).

And why did I switch? I've always wanted to try a TON bat and theres no time like the present.
Will the switch be permanent? At this point I couldn't tell you, the winter nets will decide that for me.

[i12breakfree]

That is a nice review and hope these bats serve you well.
Four years back when i started playing after a long break , i used a 70usd BDM bat from India. That did really ping well even though the finish was not top notch.
So just want to say that looks is not everything and craze for butterfly bats from CBF members has proved that.
Enjoy your SS

[WalkingWicket37]

Thanks Amit for the kind words, I'm glad someone else agrees with me that looks aren't everything.

As far as finishing goes, the finish on the willow on the Orange was top notch, just the application of the stickers was a bit untidy, if that's all I can find to moan about SS are obviously doing a lot right!
These bats might not be to everyone's taste, as Smilley's comment goes to show, but I'm delighted with both of the bats I received, and at the end of the day that's all that matters. 

[WalkingWicket37]

Quick update

Instead of a toe guard I decided if experiment with outdoor grade glue on these!
It's waterproof and easy to apply, so will hopefully keep any unwanted moisture out while drying clear.




And I took the pikeyish DIY TON branding off my Super Power.
It looks much nicer now!