I finally ordered My B3 50% off bat a couple of weeks ago and it arrived yesterday. I took my time ordering due to the vast amount of options and shapes available. I eventually decided on my original shape choice (thanks to anyone who answered my questions about shapes), the
@procricket B3 designed Tonto.
The Stats
Number: 4372
Shape: Tonto
Weight: 2'10
Handle: Oval
Grains: 7
Initial Thoughts
Silky smooth finishing (highly impressed as I know how difficult it can be to achieve a smooth finish) and the stickers look and feels very premium. I went for the purple colour scheme, which looks fantastic when the light catches the main B3 logo but a bit dark at other times.
Willow Grading
I went for a two stripe after much umming and arring and I'm pretty happy with what I have got. The 7 grains are straight and while it does have a couple more imperfections than I would like, I'm happy with this being sold as a grade 2 bat. Out of interest, what are these imperfections called?
Performance
While good looks are a bonus, great performance is what I'm after. I was very keen to try out the so-called 'B3 press' that every seems very impressed by. I decided against the B3 knocking service as I'm a tight git! The middle feels very sweet, with a lack of vibration noticeable in the most responsive part of the bat. Either side of the sweetspot, the middle extends around 23cm overall from under the Bespoke sticker down to around 11cm from the toe. The toe has a noticeable drop off in performance (as expected) but I am surprised how quickly it goes from ping to dead zone around 10cm from the toe. With other bats, I have noticed a gradual drop off in performance while the B3 feels very sudden. Not really sure if that is a positive or negative thing, just an observation so far.
Handle
I requested a thick oval handle when ordering and it feels pretty good. Considering it only has a chevron grip on, the handle feels a similar diameter to my other bats which normally have double binding or grips. The bottom of the handle has the spine running into it, making the oval feel quiet sharp on the bottom hand. I have not owned a bat with a handle like this so I will need a few nets to decide if I like it.
Pick Up
Not sure a small 2 bed cottage is the best place to decide on a bat's pick up so I won't make many judgements except, with my batting gloves on, the bat feels pretty meaty and weighty in my hands. This isn't a negative, just none of the 3oz lighter pick up crap that we sometimes see.
Gripes
Packaging - The bat had a couple of dents but nothing too major. You could clearly see the spine trying to force its way out of the bat box. I have seen better packaged bats from other brands.
All White Stickers - I thought it was a bit cheeky to ask for an extra £20 for the all white stickers that I wanted.
Overall Impressions
The whole bat buying process has been very good. I used Skype to discuss my requirements which added an nice face-to-face touch to the company. The bat feels like it has had an added attention to detail due to the high quality stickers, the smooth finishing and classic white chevron. All those little things add to the buying experience and make it feel like a qualty product. Top work lads, I look forward to using it.
Author
Topic: B3 2 Stripe Tonto 50% off Bat (Read 13410 times)