Hi chaps, been a little while, and as expected, the willow collection has grown a bit.
I thought I'd share something I find quite special today, it was a purchase off eBay. As always, pics first, specs next and then descriptions.
Specs:
Weight – 2lb 10.6oz
Width – 108.6mm
Edge – 34mm
Spine – Approx 62mm
Shoulder – 10mm
Toe Edge – 21mm
Toe – 24mm
Concaving - None
Camber – Super flat (Around 2mm)
Handle - Oval
Right, so first up, I have no idea what made me go for this on eBay, I guess I just quite liked the looks of the willow for the grade and price. Thing is, I've never really been too keen on the graphics of the Powerbow 5, the back stickers just seem too much with the red, black and yellow weaving. The black background of the stickers and the bow-tie also don't quite do it for me, although admittedly it is much easier to stomach in flesh than on brochure pictures. I think also with GN being my least favourite out of the big 4 brands in the past 2 seasons, I have never paid proper attention to their mainstream range. (I really disliked the Omega shape and found that the Supernova and Powerbow GenX bats I picked up and tapped up were sub-par compared to the GM and Kookaburra bats) The aesthetics and shapes just lacked the finesse/class that the Classic range offered.
Onto this bat itself, you can see that this particular Powerbow 5 is a butterfly cleft, there's a big stain is on the back of the bat just under the spine peak, and there's just a small stain on the toe of the face. I'll be honest, I've seen G1 bats look worse than this, with 8 pretty straight and even grains and just the small butterfly on the face. As mentioned above, I never really paid too much attention to the mainstream GN range as I found the Classic range to offer superior products. Because of this, I never really noticed, but the Powerbow 5 profile isn't a million miles away from something which would feature in the Classic range, namely the Aus GN Legend. (I know, not exactly the same, but similar swell position, full profiled and duckbilled, except with slightly more wood lower down, less higher up and a more exaggerated bow) I actually really liked the shape when I took it out of the box, and found that the pick up wasn't nearly as bad as I remembered. (Must have seen some poor examples)
Sorry I didn't ask you
@manno , but stole your pic for a comparison.
Now onto the response of this bat, which is what stands out and makes this special - I would say it is right up there with the top bats in my collection, which is pretty insane seeing as I spent a fraction of what I've paid for them on this. The pressing actually feels almost perfect on this, it doesn't feel too hard like some GN bats I've felt, and isn't too soft either. It makes an almost delaminated sound when bouncing the ball off the sweetspot. Oh, and unlike a certain other Powerbow that's appeared on here recently, this one is made from the 'Finest Handcrafted
English Willow'!
@WalkingWicket37 The best thing about all this is that the bat will still be legal, should that elusive international call up ever happen!
As always, hope I didn't bore you guys too much, it's not too in depth of a review, more of an opinion of mine proven to be wrong. If there are any questions, please feel free to fire away!
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Topic: GN Powerbow 5 400 Cricket Bat Review (Read 2698 times)