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[singapore rookie]

I am fascinated by the number of profiles I see on the bats on this forum.

My question is how do you decide what profile is the best for you?

Sweet spot I understand is easy to figure out but how about stuff like flat face vs curved, square toe vs round toe, bow or no bow?

Oval handle or round handle, high spine or low spine, big edge or thin edge?

[Tailendfielder]

Trial and error. Buy lots of bats until you have tried so many you can be sure.

[singapore rookie]

@Tailendfielder that would require lot of investment of money and would take a really long time.

My question is to the bat makers on the forum, how does the dialogue with the pros go, do they want a specific profile or you suggest them a profile looking at how they bat?

[WalkingWicket37]

I am fascinated by the number of profiles I see on the bats on this forum.

My question is how do you decide what profile is the best for you?
Look at the shots you play most, or are strongest playing - get plenty of wood where you hit the ball most often. (Hint: you'll often hit the ball higher up the blade than you think you do)

Sweet spot I understand is easy to figure out but how about stuff like flat face vs curved, square toe vs round toe, bow or no bow?
These are all down to preference, and you tend to find out by trial and error.
Flat faces tend to be more forgiving in sending the ball where you intended for off centre shots, but the difference isn't huge. GM do a 4.5mm face camber which is the happy medium between a fully round or flat face.
Square vs round toes is purely preference. I'd go for a rounded to as it may slightly improve the pickup having less wood low down, but a lot of people like square toed bats.
Bows in bats (apparently) improve pickup and make hitting over the top easier. I know @InternalTraining likes a big bow, while some people like no bow at all. If given the choice I'd go for a soft bow personally

Oval handle or round handle, high spine or low spine, big edge or thin edge?
Oval handles twist less when you hit the ball, but this is down to what feels good in your hands really. I like my handles oval with an extra half grip on the bottom hand, but @smilley792 keeps telling me this is wrong because he doesn't like it! 

Given the choice between a high spine or big edges I'd prefer a high spine. A big spike puts plenty of wood in the hitting area, while thick edges give the illusion of a big bat, but to keep the weight down the bat will often be concaved so there won't be as much willow towards the centre of the blade. It depends which gives you more confidence when you look down your bat really. (You could also argue that thinner edges mean you're less likely to feather one through to the keeper!)

[InternalTraining]

@singapore rookie , posters above have given you good pointers. One thing I'd add is that it may take some time to find what you are looking but make sure you have fun doing it. Also, share the pics/details of what you find, we love good gear.

[smilley792]

@WalkingWicket37 I keep telling you to try without as it doesn't make sense to your game.

You bat like a bottom handed biffer. But then make your handle so thick it takes your bottom hand out of the game.
But then still try to bottom hand everything to leg, but don't get the power you could, with a normal handle set up.




To @singapore rookie I did as per the forum rules, I've bought 50 bats over the last 3 years, and sold the ones I don't like on at a loss. It's the only way......

[ElPerro]

I've not done it but bat mapping seems an interesting idea to me, I think it's something B3 can offer and once that's done I'm sure they'd be able to recommend a profile based off of that.

Mine was just done through trial and error, same as others on here just bought different bats and figured out what I liked best

[Churchy1989]

@Tailendfielder that would require lot of investment of money and would take a really long time.

Thats the fun part! i hat 2 bats before i joined the forum in April, now have 22 and sold 7 to players and 2 on ebay so i could of had 31...........ahhhh.....i think i need an intervention!

[steelcouch]

A lot of good points my take on things is
flat face vs curved, is to me the same as bowed or no bow to me. It means that the batmaker presses the bat less at the bottom to allow a non flat surface. to me it makes very little difference in playability either way. some have the handle slightly forward as well, but actually its a tiny difference than say weight and size of the wood in the toe, height of middle etc etc. Start with things like that and then fine tune


 square toe vs round toe,
batmaker preference. very little difference in playability to me, unless you have the thickest toe in history where i guess a square toe might be heavier. Only difference i have heard is about a square toe getting more damp, but most makers put toes guards on these days , so irrelevant.

Oval handle or round handle,
oval handles to me prevents over strong bottom hand and encourage top hand. it i guess prevents twisting, mainly to leg so in effect sometimes keeps your shots straighter and more "Orthodox". same with bigger\ larger grips will reduce you strangling shots to leg. I used oval handles for several years but im now with thin rounded handles and feel it hels with what is actually a pretty strong, left handed onsided game

high spine or low spine,
this to me is more to do how you like your pick up and to a lesser point where you play your cricket in terms of height of bounce. If you play on artifical or very hard pithces then there is argument to have a higher middle as the ball will hit the bat higher and vice versa. I dont really understand the preference for lower middled bats these days. It takes away from a good pick up and the bounce over here is "OK". low centred bats i guess could be argued to be better for front footed drivers, but i dont really buy this so much. Middle to me is about feel.
 
big edge or thin edge?
Big edges rudimentary should be more forgiving if you hit laterally outside the sweet spot, but as said it gives the batmaker less weight to put in the spine, which in theory reduces the power and overall size of the middle.
FOr me the most forgiving bats will have thin/traditional edges and high spine with no concaving. This would give you a very large hitting zone, but probably less forgiving if yo uhit oe right on the edge. Players bats, would also take wood out the toe and the shoulders and put it in the middle meaning they might be more prone to cracking or damage in the area with less wood ( toes and shoulders, but if you are an accomplished bat you might avoid doing that so much)

the other consideration these days is drying and pressing these day. You can get a drier bat and possibly less pressed bat that will perform better straight away and have more wood in the bat for the weight. the compromise to that is longevity. a harder, heavier , more moist bat will generally last longer, take a while to perform to its best, need more preparation. A bit like a good wine.....

i dont really buy into a computer program being able to determine the best bat for you. its all about feel. You need to know your batting game to know what you could start to play around with to change things. What you tend to play on, what type of bowling and where runs are to be had and how you intend to play your shots. To that end i would strongly suggest you get a more or less traditional profiled bat. mid middle, round handled if possible and take it from there. You can then play around with things from there. Traditional bats have worked very well for hundreds of years it is only relatively recently that things have been jigged about and a lot of it is about ego edges and wanting to look like the latest super star. ( in saying that my current bats have rather large edges and some concaving!!) pick up as many bats as you can. look at the profiles of the best bat makers. millichamp and hall of the late 90's, newbery molinjer, screaming cats etc as traditional.  Grey nichhols, especially the Australian ones make some of the better new profiles for me these days and are edges and clearly "dryer" wood.  something in the middle with lots of wood in the hitting zone and largish edge and good pick up  and roundish handle is probably a good compromise. There are a lot of "extreme" profiles out there which i would doubt would last the distance and are perhaps unnesaccary

[Tailendfielder]

What @steelcouch said.

I go for a more convex shape with thinner edges, but ultimately its what feels best in the hands. I feel the middle is more forgiving and goes further

[Sitonit]

Ideal profile should be mid-high, at about 40 mm, with 30 mm toe edge, 25 mm shoulders, and little to no concaving.
All in 2lbs 7oz or less.

[singapore rookie]

Thanks @Sitonit @Tailendfielder

Thanks @WalkingWicket37 and @steelcouch for the comprehensive reply