Right, so went a touch crazy over the past few weeks, and ended up with these two beauties!
First up, we have a Warbird G2, weighing in a 2lb 10.85oz with a full profile. A pretty big bat for the weight too! Purchased from Eclipse All Sports (Not a forum favourite from the looks of things!) during their Black Friday sale.
Specs:
Weight - 2lb 10.85oz unscuffed
Edge - 37mm
Spine - 62mm approx
Shoulder - 15-16mm
Toe Edge - 20mm
Toe - 27mm
Handle - Oval
Concaving - None, Convex
Not too shabby, huh? Lovely bat with an excellent balance, although it doesn't feel quite as featherlight as my other G2 Warbird. This is probably due to the slightly heavier weight, but also because of the lack of concaving. The duckbill toe does help massively though, which I feel is almost a necessity in helping full profiled bats pick up well. The shorter blade allows for more wood to be packed in the playing area, and I quite like how relatively even the mass is spread throughout the profile. Despite having a duckbill toe, it's still fairly thick, so there is still stability in the hitting area down low in the bat. In terms of looks, with 7 pretty clean and evenly spaced grains, it's definitely a decent looker for a G2. The responsiveness is pretty damn good throughout the whole blade as you'd expect from the profile and impressive specs for a non-concaved bat.
Next up is something which is arguably the most special bat I've come across. (My B&S Supreme and GN Halestorm are also up there off the top of my head) This Fifty50 Monster isn't actually made to the Fifty50 shape, but probably not a million miles away from a Warner shape tailored to the slower and lower bouncing pitches here in the UK. (Had a choice of stickers, and you'll see later why I picked these) Purchased directly from H4L, with both the batmaker (
@hell4leather cricket ) and the bat guru himself (
@simonmay5 ) recommending and keeping this aside for me.
Specs:
Weight - 2lb 12.40oz unscuffed
Edge - 48mm
Spine - 72mm approx
Shoulder - 14mm
Toe Edge - 22mm
Toe - 28mm
Handle - Oval
Concaving - Medium-minimal throughout
Face camber - 4-5mm (I don't normally put face camber on as a spec, but thought it would be worth a mention, as if it was flatter like the GN Halestorm, the edges would be around 51mm, but would probably be around the same weight.)
So, from the pics and specs, you can see it is worthy of the Monster label. Many people will probably try to draw parallels between this and the Halestorm, but (in my eyes anyways) the only thing really comparable about the two are that they are both excellent pieces of craftsmanship and much larger than almost anything available off the shelf. (Unless you stay in Aus) With that all said though, I will be comparing it to the Halestorm throughout the next few parts.
In terms of looks, this bat actually looks really nice, you have 10 straight grains, and if you ignore the hard bar, you'd most likely have seen a G1/Pro grade sticker on the front. However, the hard bar seems to be an added bonus to the responsiveness, the ball does seem to fly spectacularly off that area. The finishing on H4L bats have always been excellent, and this is no exception. The sharp spine and edge shaping on the back hint at it being shaped by a very skilled craftsman. The quality of the textured stickers alongside the finishing and grip give the bat a robust feel. The bat has been pressed with a fair bow and with a rounded face camber.
Responsiveness wise, although you generally shouldn't hit it up at the stickers or toe, it does respond well in these areas. The swell is just over 8 inches off the toe with the hardbar being around 1.5 inches below this, and the responsiveness across the entire hitting area is quite something. I'd say it beats the Halestorm in terms of performance lower down the blade, which is to be expected with the swell being located about an inch below the Halestorm. However, despite being just over an ounce lighter than the Halestorm, the Halestorm actually picks up lighter thanks to a slightly thicker handle and also higher swell and thinner toe. That being said, the pick up is still good, the bat does feel balanced, it just seems ridiculous to have such a big lump of a bat which isn't 3lb+!
Now onto the price, this bat was not priced as a standard G2, costing me £350 on its own! Admittedly, I did feel I paid a touch too much for it, but I guess it's a one off, and could have said no, but I had been after something BIG and at a manageable weight from H4L. Simon even offered to try twist Matt's arm to slap a higher grade on the bat to reflect the price, but I told him not to bother, I wasn't planning on selling this beast on after waiting to get one. It's not everyday that you get an oversized and low density cleft afterall!
I know you've mentioned it a lot, but how is it compared to the Halestorm in actual pictures you're possibly thinking? Say no more!
Monster vs Halestorm:
Fifty pence on the edge (FPOTE) shot:
Toe up and shoulder down:
Monster Fifty50 vs Warbird:
Pretty ridiculous comparison, huh? Next one is even more so!
Monster Fifty vs Fifty50 Pro:
Full kit w***er? You bet! #hellyeah
Quick comment about the pads and gloves - both seem to be of extremely high quality in terms of build and detailing. The pads were very flat to begin with, but easily moulded into a more rounded shape. I haven't weighed them, but I think based on feel that there's a slightly heavier one, which I will assume is the front leg one. (The one with the black logo) This means that the strap set up will suit
@WalkingWicket37 as the buckle is on the inside of the leg.
I will post up a separate review and try to be thorough on them, as there is a fair bit to talk about!
Right, so concludes my review, it's been a bit of a quirky one. (By my standards anyways) But would like to say a huge thanks to Matt
@hell4leather cricket for his great service as always, and
@simonmay5 for his help. Feel free to ask any questions, (might help in adding content to the review) and I hope you enjoy the pics!
Review, specially for
@InternalTraining :
Warbird:
Bow = big
Ping = big
Fifty50:
Bow = big
Ping = bigger
Author
Topic: G2 Warbird and G2 Fifty50 Monster Review (Trust me, you'll want to click this) (Read 12728 times)