This may come as a total shock to some of you following my recent reviews, but I have got myself another new stick!
I contacted Jake on 14th June asking about a new bat. I'd convinced myself that I "needed" a bat made by Tony, and within 3 questions I'd made up my mind! A huge thanks to Jake for his almost instant responses and for putting up with me.
I wasn't "that specific" as to what I was after (okay, maybe I was), I liked the Aura stickers and wanted a bat between 2lb8 and 2b10 in a Hellfireish shape - over to Jake and Tony. A whole 8 days after my order was placed, Jake sent me some pictures of my new stick. Considering I placed my order in the afternoon the turnaround time for a hand made bat was incredibly quick.
I know Jake has been very busy recently so I said there was no rush to get it in the post to me. The bat arrived with me last Friday (1st July) and I was incredibly pleased when I opened the box. The first thing that struck me was the size of the bat. it just looks a big bit of tree, but doesn't feel like it at all!
LooksNot one for the grains brigade this. the bat has 6 straight even grains, which I believe puts it into the "wide grains" category. There is a small pinknot and a couple of little marks on the face towards the bottom, but there are no marks to cause any concern, just a little bit of character.
The most striking thing about this bat, in my opinion, is the stickers. There is plenty of colour but enough black that it doesn't look tacky. I understand that they may not be to everyones last, but I love them personally (which is why I decided on the Aura stickers as soon as I wanted a Hunts).
Shape and specsAs I requested a Hellfireish shape bat it is very similar to a H4L Hellfire actually!
There is a mid - low swell with the spine running through the toe. It is a good all round shape that looks as if it was made by a cricketer.
Weight: 2lb8.375 (with 1 grip, toe guard and a natural finish)
Handle: Semi oval - not a toothpick but not overly thick.
Spine height at peak: 62mm
Edge size at peak: 41mm
Edges at shoulders: 11mm
Edges at toe: 21mm
Thickest point of toe: 24mm
Concaving: Medium - The concaving is clearly visible and there has clearly been weight taken out this way. This isn't a concern as there is still enough wood in the spine/hitting area that you feel confident looking down the bat. (That said, with a 62mm spine and 41mm edges even if you do scoop some wood out the back there's going to be plenty left!)
Pickup & performanceThe pickup on this bat is fantastic, but you'd expect that from a bat that weighs barely over 2b8.
It has an excellent balance so feels like a feather in your backlight, but when swinging the bat you know theres some wood lower down. You could say it's a lightweight bat packing a powerful Aura! (sorry, that was dreadful...)
Trying to judge response of a brand new bat isn't the easiest thing in the world. When tapping up an old ball the response felt good, but there were some light seam marks being left. That means plenty of knocking in will be required, which will improve the ping further!
I tried tapping a mallet on the bat to give an idea of performance. The toe was dead, as on every bat, but the mallet started to respond 43mm from the toe.
The mallet was coming off nicely, but stops rebounding around 330mm from the toe (round where the stickers are).
The mallet came nicely off the area 113mm from the toe to around 276mm from the toe. This gives it a "sweet spot" of some 163mm. This doesn't sound massive, but that is plenty of blade that pings well and the area surrounding it isn't dead, so this will be a nice forgiving stick for balls struck slightly off centre.
The best mallet response, or "middle of the bat" is around 185mm from the toe, so this will be good for playing drives.
If the above was totally over your head, as it felt to me like i was bumbling on a bit, hopefully this video explains it a bit better!
https://youtu.be/V-WBABfo4Bk Final thoughtsAnd just to wrap this review up here are my final thoughts on my new stick.
For the price I cannot believe Hunts don't get more love, either on this forum or by the wider public.
I got a bat hand made (in England) to order that was turned around within a week. That is an excellent service whoever provides it, be it a boutique brand or one of the big boys.
The only thing I would say could be improved would be the finishing and sticker application. There were a couple of places along the edge with the odd fibre of willow that wasn't sanded off and the back sticker has a couple of small bubbles. I'll be totally honest with you though, that is a total knit pick and anyone less OCD about their bats than me (so around 95% of people) wouldn't notice or care about something so tiny!
Overall I am 110% happy with the bat. Tony is an incredibly skilled bat maker who's work deserves a lot more appreciation than it gets. A big thanks again to Jake who is one of the nicest guys in the business and is incredibly easy to deal with.
Basically I'd go back to Jake and Hunts again without any hesitation, and would recommend anyone else to do the same.
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Topic: Hunts County Aura LPZ 700 (Read 7112 times)