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[petehosk]

I normally use 2'10-2'11 bats and they seem to suit my game.
And I have tried to use heavier bats that 'pick up lighter' but nearly always with very limited success.
For me the more important things are how it feels in my hands and where the sweet spot is! I seem to get on with a slightly higher sweet spot normally and these bats tend to pick up better than bats with a lower middle that I find to be more bottom heavy!
Saying that, my net bat is actually closer to 2'13 and I use it with ease and find it comfortable for long periods and still time the pants off shots! But it is a H4L Devil that has a stupidly long middle and goes like an absolute train! And I think that it has been so well balanced that it does pick up beautifully!

Therefore I have decided that it is pointless stating that I'll only use a specific weight! My preference may be 2'10/2'11 but I am open minded and would never dismiss a bat totally until I actually pick it up (with batting gloves on) and see how it feels, preferably trying it in the nets if possible.

The above is a long and boring way of saying that pickup and feel are more important than dead weight in my book!

[sanredrose]

I personally prefer the GM grading - power vs control for their pick up index. Anytime i pick up a GM bat with the pick up index marked 2 or 3, it works really well for me. When i check the weight of these bats they are in the 2lb9oz to 2lb11oz range, which is pretty much what i can handle.

Despite the pick up factor, i have noticed that an increased weight beyond my comfort range affects my square cut and pull. This makes me stick to dead weight within in my range. If its GM - i stick to 2lb10oz and pick up index 2 (this is pretty much what you get on a GM Six6). For all other brands - 2lb9oz is my preferred weight - if the retailer has a 2lb12oz bat and it picks up like 2lb9oz ... i am happy that it picks up lighter but i cannot handle that weight and i will look for other options.

[tim2000s]

It's an interesting one isn't it? I think the biggest difference between Cricket Bats and Tennis racquets is the cross section of weights in the product. Typically, your tennis racquet varies between about 10 and 13 ounces (so 3oz, or 30% of the lightest). Cricket bats typically vary between 2lb 5oz and 3lb 5oz (16oz or 43% of the lightest).

Whilst it's an extreme statement to say that you could have a 3lb 5oz bat that picks up like a 2lb 5oz bat, you could infer this from the discussion about picking up lighter than it weighs.

We all know the reality is that  heavier bat is a heavier bat and that will impact the ability to improve the pick-up, but as we have also discussed, as long as swing weight is a ratio (which is what the decimal system implies, and what my pick-up index also worked out) that takes dead weight into account, then there is no reason why that couldn't be the measure of a cricket bat.

[well past my peak]

Been a very interesting read this thread.
IMO I have always stuck to what the dead weight is, taking also into consideration the extra weights of sheets and grips etc.
I do think this pick ups lighter than it is a bit up a selling pitch, yeah some bats do pick up better than others due to profile etc but IMO "pick up" is only small part of what I do with the bat

[WalkingWicket37]

Who was it had that Rav Bop GM?

That weighed a ton but picked up like a feather by all accounts. Funnily people got tired quickly when they used it...

[tim2000s]

Who was it had that Rav Bop GM?

That weighed a ton but picked up like a feather by all accounts. Funnily people got tired quickly when they used it...

That was something that Pete had. It was well over 3lbs and all of us who used it in the nets, as users of 2lb 10oz roughly, were surprised at how well it picked up. Couldn't use it for toffee though as late on everything.

[Calzehbhoy]

I personally prefer the GM grading - power vs control for their pick up index. Anytime i pick up a GM bat with the pick up index marked 2 or 3, it works really well for me. When i check the weight of these bats they are in the 2lb9oz to 2lb11oz range, which is pretty much what i can handle.

Despite the pick up factor, i have noticed that an increased weight beyond my comfort range affects my square cut and pull. This makes me stick to dead weight within in my range. If its GM - i stick to 2lb10oz and pick up index 2 (this is pretty much what you get on a GM Six6). For all other brands - 2lb9oz is my preferred weight - if the retailer has a 2lb12oz bat and it picks up like 2lb9oz ... i am happy that it picks up lighter but i cannot handle that weight and i will look for other options.

Totally agree with this statement. I found this with my B3 TKC. On the drive I was fine and would cream it as the pickup was nice and light, as soon as the ball was short and I had to cut/pull I really struggled with the extra dead weight.

[Mpt7]

Being a bit of a bat obsessive I currently have 3 Hell for Leather bats - it's not wrong, they are just that good!

A Devil, (basically a Hellfire) a Warbird and a Hattori all are 2:10 with a scuff, toe guard and 1 grip.

They are all the same weight but they all feel different in the hands

A bat is built to feel different depending on where you place the middle and if there are any counterbalances involved

Pick a weight that you feel comfortable with and allows you to get enough wood behind the ball and the select where your middle is depending on your style of batting and level you play (kinda connected)

My perfect approach tp to selecting a bat would spend some time with a bowling machine hitting their shots, identify how far up the bat they hit the ball and then select a custom bat accordingly. However, it is a bit OCD so perhaps not for everyone - I wish they would release the ball impact sheets in the UK.

However, I believe most will agree - if you can swing it and have good technique then you bat with anything including Rhubarb!

[northernboy1987]

The thing that confuses me is when people say a 2lb10oz bat "picks up like a 2lb8oz" and then the next bat they review/own actually weighs 2lb8oz and "picks up like a 2lb6oz" so does that mean in fact that the 2lb10oz bat picks up like a 2lb6oz? Like others have mentioned, no bat ever seems to be mentioned to pick up heavier than it's dead weight (or even it's actual weight for that matter) so does anyone know what a 2lb10oz bat is meant to feel like anymore?!

[ppccopener]

The thing that confuses me is when people say a 2lb10oz bat "picks up like a 2lb8oz" and then the next bat they review/own actually weighs 2lb8oz and "picks up like a 2lb6oz" so does that mean in fact that the 2lb10oz bat picks up like a 2lb6oz? Like others have mentioned, no bat ever seems to be mentioned to pick up heavier than it's dead weight (or even it's actual weight for that matter) so does anyone know what a 2lb10oz bat is meant to feel like anymore?!

very true..... surely it's the middle position of the bat. If you look the IJC videos,which are informative, and the hell for leather reviews certain bats pick up lighter than the dead weight. These are normally bats with higher middles...that's the only way than can pick up lighter 

bats like the M and H( ) Amplus-the middle is pretty high, picking up my mates at 2 lb 13oz it's the same as a lower middle positioned 2lb 10 oz bat.

if the toe of the bat is fairly thin, this can help the bat seemed lighter than it is.

so I reckon it's only the middle position of the bat and nowt else.....

good thread thou !

[Seniorplayer]

A  Bow also  helps give a lighter pick up.

[WalkingWicket37]

A  Bow also  helps give a lighter pick up.

I'm probably just being thick, but I've never really understood how that works.

[ppccopener]

I'm probably just being thick, but I've never really understood how that works.

me neither.... i'm often told this is the case can't say ive noticed any difference in a bowed bat or non bowed bat....

Ive learnt more on this forum about bats in 3 years than in the previous 30 ! 

someone will be wheeling me out to the wicket about 82 and i'll be shouting ''I KNOW IT ALL YOU HEAR ME SONNY!''  'now...help me take guard here young man'

[edge]

I'm probably just being thick, but I've never really understood how that works.

If the blade length remains the same, it doesn't.

Interesting other example for you on one reason why I think high middle nats that pick up better are a bad idea for those of us who don't use high middle bats anyway:
Squash racquets are usually grouped in two ways - weight distribution and shape, weight being either head heavy or head light and the two common shape types designed for either power or control. Last time I changed racquet it was from two almost identical shapes with the same head size (which affects power). The first one was head light, with most of the weight of the racquet higher up towards your hand. The second one was way lighter (100g rather than 140g irrc), but designed so that all of the weight is in the head of the racquet, because that's where you're hitting the ball. Same shape, close enough to the same price, essentially the same materials, one bottom heavy and one that picked up like a dream. I hit the ball WAY harder with the bottom heavy one.
Bought some bats that had more weight low in the blade than I usually had before and discovered exactly the same, which makes sense - for all the talk about middle position etc, weight behind the ball is king. So for those of us who don't happen to hit the ball high up the blade all the time, high middles are daft. No point having that extra weight in your bat if you're not using it. Shouldn't be a surprise really, it's exactly how a mongoose works. Or a sledgehammer.

[skip1973]

My belief is that because you hands seem forward of the blade bowed bats seem to pick up better, similar to a handle set forward.