Topic: My Solitaire (Read 12336 times)

SillyShilly · « **Reply #30 on:** December 10, 2009, 10:12:58 AM »

watsontotty - I agree with you , people will have varying notions of what passes as grade 1 willow and it's really not that important if the bat plays well. My problem with Roger's 'only grade 1' bats is this. If you grade on perfromance all the time, then every single one of his bat's could potentially pass as grade 1, whereas if you grade on cosmetics this makes the grade 1 bats less widely available due to the limited nature of clean willow with x amount of grains.......there are of course pro's and con's both ways and in a sense you will never please everyone...... It's always interesting to hear everyone's view on this kind of debate. I agree with you, if a bat plays well it couldn't care less if it has knots, stains or wavy willow.

yvk3103 · « **Reply #31 on:** December 10, 2009, 10:33:31 AM »

GM have 3 levels of Grade 1 bats -

Original LE - The very best unbleached naturally seasoned Grade 1 English Willow, selected for grain structure and weight, Limited by willow availability

Original - Superior unbleached naturally seasoned Grade 1 English Willow, Straight grained with a hint of colour and minor cosmetic blemishes

909 - Unbleached naturally seasoned Grade 1 English Willow, Predominantly straight grained with colour on one edge and minor blemishes

Why cannot a G1 be just a G1..... i do not understand 3 grades in G1 - so is this like G1++, G1+ and G1???

Going by my experience a week back, the stock of the LE and the Original seemed to be not limited by willow availability as all the shops had ample stocks of these 2 grade and in some cases even more stock than the 909's......

I picked-up a 909 which had 8-9 grains - not straight (slightly angled) but evenly spaced and just a bit of color on one edge and a butterfly mark towards the toes (which is good for a bat with a thin toe).... but surprisingly this bat felt and pinged much better than the Original and similar to the LE )all bats were the same weight). The only diff was that the LE had a cleaner blade (mostly all the LEs had 8-12 grains but not always evenly spaced) and the Original had tight grains (but not evenly spaced) and some color on one edge.

But does this matter?

It is quite diff to understand how the batmakers grade their willow - basically everyone tried to do what suits them and their business more and get more money in.....

kenbriooo · « **Reply #32 on:** December 10, 2009, 10:49:35 AM »

They have Butterfly bats along with the technique bats that they could be using a lesser grade willow for - but that is just a guess.

Washington · « **Reply #33 on:** December 10, 2009, 10:54:04 AM »

Yash i see where you are coming from. . .there is roughly a �100 difference between the LE and 909 and what do you get for that extra �100? The answer is an aesthetically more pleasing bat ie easy on the eye. I friend of mine has just bought a GM Flare 909 from Romida for i think was �170 or there abouts and that has several blemishes and stains on the face and several more on the back of the bat. . . .but the pick up and feel of it was extraordinary! It was 2.8lbs and it felt superb. He brought it to me in work yesterday and we gave it a few taps with the mallet and first impressions were great.

So why spend a �100 more on the same model but an LE when all your getting is nicer grains?? It madness! I once spent �240 on a Newbery Uzi and it was sh*t it looked like Cheryl Cole I tell you but when it came to performance it was more of a Cheryl from the royle family!

From that day on i decided i would try the 'smaller' companies who offer G1 willow at lower prices with a greater service. Its not that im cheap it just makes sense

gramw · « **Reply #34 on:** December 10, 2009, 10:59:58 AM »

Quote from: thedon on December 10, 2009, 09:35:51 AM

Dont warsop do only grade 1 bats?

No

kenbriooo · « **Reply #35 on:** December 10, 2009, 09:54:34 PM »

Quote from: seedy on December 09, 2009, 08:04:51 PM

Re: willow purchasing i have spoke to Roger about this on the phones as i knew you were fairly sceptical and rightly so Dom. Roger's reply was that he has had a very good relationship with Jeremy at Wright's for over thirty years from when he made bats for other companies back in the day and i think it may be sort of a personal arrangement.

I am thinking chaps, of asking Roger if he will do a Q+A via email as sort of an interview which i can then type up and put on the forum. Would you lads have lots of questions?

Im so tempted to get a solitaire bat as I am not to far away from his workshop. I would love to see what his bats are like the the flesh as Solitaire seems to be a bit of a Marmite company - people either seem to love it or not!

However I do think it would be beneficial for Roger to come on the forum and try to answer the questions that people seem to have over his brand. I for one would like to hear more about Solitaire
Liam

Washington · « **Reply #36 on:** December 11, 2009, 02:04:44 PM »

Hey guys,

I took delivery of my Solitaire this morning so thought I would post a review seeing as Solitaire are making quite a stir here on the forum.

Ok so when i spoke with Roger these are the specs i was after (in brackets is what i got)

Weight - 2.10oz (2.11oz)
Handle - SH, Oval (SH, Oval)
Profile - Adidas Incurza with the following alterations - extra thick edges and toe. (exactly what i ordered)

I was after the Incurza profile as I used an Elite for a game last season and it felt great, and I scored some runs with it! haha. But what i liked about it was that it was very forgiving, like an oversized driver in golf. So i asked Roger for a long middle on the bat. I had sent Roger as many pics of the profile as I could to help him. Unfortunately my team mate is over in oz playing some cric with his incurza so couldn't send it to Roger to copy.

I have to admit I ws very skeptical after the intitial reactions from the unfinished pics i posted a few days back, and I was anxious to take delivery of the bat.

My first impressions were . . .oh sh*t there are stickers on it (when i had asked for it blank), I can honestly say though im over the moon with what i got. You really have to see the size of this bat to believe how big it is and how little it weighs!! The pick up and balance are great!! Funnily enough i kind of like the stickers!! Had i not ordered some adidas ones i would have left them on!!

The oval handle of the bat is large in diameter, but luckily enough my hands are big so it suits me fine! But just for those who are considering buying a Solitaire this maybe a point to consider if your ordering an oval handle.

That blade of the bat has 8 grains, not dead straight but near enough and has a few marks but overall its a good looking bat . . .no Cheryl Cole . . .but hey!! The finishing of the bat is great and its obvious Roger takes great care in his work.

So I then picked up my trusted old slaz bat mallet and gave it a few gentle taps, then plunged straight in and gave the middle a few whacks! The sound was high pitched which was great to hear and the rebound quality was fantastic!

CONSULTATION AND TIME TO MAKE BAT - 8 Days - 10/10
COMMUNICATION - PHONE AND EMAIL - 9/10
DELIVERY - 9/10
SPECS - Overall very happy - 8/10
BALANCE AND PICK UP - 8/10
FINISHING - 8/10
VALUE FOR MONEY - 10/10
SERVICE - 9/10

OVERALL - 9/10

Would recommend Solitaire very highly guys for a �110 posted you cant go wrong. I may not have covered everything so if anyone has any questions please feel free to ask.

Washington · « **Reply #37 on:** December 11, 2009, 02:06:37 PM »

Washington · « **Reply #38 on:** December 11, 2009, 02:08:19 PM »

tommo256 · « **Reply #39 on:** December 11, 2009, 02:13:14 PM »

that is one cracking bat

SAF Bats · « **Reply #40 on:** December 11, 2009, 02:14:14 PM »

Looks a lot better and more balanced then the original pic's

cd0070 · « **Reply #41 on:** December 11, 2009, 02:26:04 PM »

Looks really really nice.. See you have pretty good photography skills also...

Washington · « **Reply #42 on:** December 11, 2009, 02:46:29 PM »

haha cheers mate i like to dabble

kenbriooo · « **Reply #43 on:** December 11, 2009, 03:06:18 PM »

looks like a pretty lush bat, hope it plays as well as you want it to

Washington · « **Reply #44 on:** December 11, 2009, 03:09:36 PM »

Yeah i guess thats the ultimate test or the acid test. . .will know a bit more come jan/feb and should have a good opinion on it by may after a few games

Author Topic: My Solitaire (Read 12336 times)

SillyShilly

Re: My Solitaire

yvk3103

Re: My Solitaire

kenbriooo

Re: My Solitaire

Washington

Re: My Solitaire

gramw

Re: My Solitaire

kenbriooo

Re: My Solitaire

Washington

Re: My Solitaire

Washington

Re: My Solitaire

Washington

Re: My Solitaire

tommo256

Re: My Solitaire

SAF Bats

Re: My Solitaire

cd0070

Re: My Solitaire

Washington

Re: My Solitaire

kenbriooo

Re: My Solitaire

Washington

Re: My Solitaire