Hi,
I have never had a GM bat, but the reviews on here, particularly relating to the consistency of them, has brought me round. Also, there seem to be a good choice of excellent bats around the £100 mark (as with Kookaburra, too). After visiting a few shops over the past few weeks, (before and after the 2016 ranges were delivered) I finally went for a Paragaon 808. Inevitably, it was some distance above the original budget, but it was the one that 'spoke to me' - lovely pick up. I really enjoyed trying various bats for pickup, side by side. It is surprising how different, similar bats can feel.
It weighs 2lb10oz after thickening up the handle with some lightweight rubber sheeting. It is good to be back to my normal bat weight after 'inadvertently' getting a 2lb 13.5oz bat in February.
The last pic is next to my, still good, 1990's GN Dynadrive
I quite fancied some heartwood, not the highest grain count but the feel off the mallet and in my hands, is excellent.
I was recommended to spend around 45 minutes knocking in the edges, which I have done - their was a lot of compression happening as the corners rounded off. I have had to lift the scuff sheet edges and re-lay them. The blade also shows a lot of indentations after some mallet work. I wouldn't feel happy about going straight into a match with it, 'out of the packet'.
David
Author
Topic: 2016 GM Paragon (Read 6706 times)