Here it is, the one you’ve all been waiting for! A Black Cat review!!
After the various claims of superior pressing, better performance etc I just had to get one to test these claims out for myself. I contacted Charlie and he was supremely useful and sensationally quick to respond to emails! I placed my order and off we went.
As I did not particularly like their standard profile I had to go custom,
SPECS
2.10-2.11 dead weight
10+ blemish free and straight grains, made blemish free a priority!
Big edges, big middle, low middle, similar to the Redback allegiance profile (as this is what I use currently)
2 grips.
Was not adverse to heartwood as long as it was not 'messy' and followed the grain.
RECEIVED
2.10 dead weight
16 (well that’s what i count) dead straight and blemish free grains
a profile very much to my liking, similar to my Redbacks so perfect!
2 grips
Dead straight perfectly formed heartwood!
Not so bad eh?!
DELIVERY
Due to workshop email issues there was a slight delay in getting my address over to them so they could send. Nobody’s fault. After the address got to them it was delivered very quickly and without issue. Well packed etc so had no complaints.
LOOKS
Oh my word what a good looking bat!! The perfectly straight clean blade and the incredibly nice BlackCat stickers combine to make one of the best looking bats I have ever seen. The stickers are of a very high quality, well designed and are simple yet very effective. Most brands stickers look excellent and instantly tell you their product is decent, however only a select few brands have stickers that SCREAM quality and portray a sense of superiority. In my opinion Black Cat Crickets stickers fit into this category, I can’t get enough of them! Any bat with these stickers on is sure to look the bees knees!
PICKUP AND FEEL
It is a superbly balanced bat; it is up there with the best bats I have ever owned (which is a lot!). it picks up like a 2.8/9 bat, no joke! Of course his is aided by the 2 grips but none the less it has a superb pickup. Just by picking this mean machine up you can tell it has been handcrafted to perfection.
PING!!!!!
I will of course update this review when I have actually had a proper hit with it but on an initial mallet test and the very scientific ‘bouncing a ball on the face test’ it is going to be a beauty! It ranks alongside and perhaps above the best bats I have ever owned before (them being a L&W firefly, SC pro, and a Newbery mjolnir custom C6+). It is honestly that good.
CUSTOMER SERVICE
Just one word need be used here, OUTSTANDING! Charlie is very quick with email responses, is polite, very useful and will do anything to help you.
It is here I will be very honest. Initially the bat I was sent matched all my specs exactly except the weight of it, it was too light. Many companies would have said unlucky and moved on however Charlie was excellent about it and offered to replace it. I took him up on this offer, and this one landed on my doorstep instead. (Disclaimer! I don’t want to guarantee he will replace everyone’s bats if they aren’t perfect! I think I was lucky as I think I’m right in thinking I’m the first to buy from the forum!)
CONCLUSION
Stunningly good customer service, a simply brilliant bat, what more can a person want? (well I would quite like it to morph into Cheryl Cole during the night but that’s probably asking a bit much!)
I honestly recommend everyone who’s looking for a bat to consider a Black Cat, although undoubtedly expensive it is still not as expensive as the majority of brands top of the range bats and I can guarantee it will be far superior to any bat you may be able to get from anywhere else. Trust me on this!
im not quite sure i have portrayed quite how good this bat is. i have owned 200+ bats and this instantly has wanged its way up to the top 3. when i play with it i would not be surprised if it was the best bat i have ever used.
If I have missed anything out just put a post up, enjoy some pictures!
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Topic: Black Cat review! (Read 8533 times)