I've always loved the idea of using a nice, big short blade/long handle bat like Black Cat joker or similar during a game and after seeing the IJC review on Youtube for the Blank Bats B20 I got in touch with Tai about getting hold of one - I've owned both a Newbery Uzi and a TT over the years and actually find the longer handle short blade setup really easy to play with.
I spoke on the phone with him about bats for quite a while - he seems a really passionate, knowledgable guy and after discussing what sort of specs I'm looking for like handle shape, pickup, weight range etc and him sending me a couple of images this little beauty arrived in the post a couple of days later.
When I took it out of the box I was gobsmacked and not just how big this thing is, but how beautiful it is - the finishing is stunning and the quality of the timber is top class.
It's got 15 straight grains that go straight through the bat with half of the heartwood on the inside edge for me.
Weighing 2.12 on the nose including scuff and double thickness chevron, the pickup really is superb - I know a lot of people do like to use the whole 'it picks up much lighter than it's weight' line but it's definitely true with this bat - Both of the Newbery short blade bats I've had before have picked up brilliantly too.
The handle is a reassuringly full oval, none of this skinny round nonsense - it's a proper handle without a hint of a GN Demi-God's medical tape in sight.
The pictures don't do it justice - the thing is a massive piece of wood with 45mm edges, 25mm toe and 18mm shoulders - the concaving is minimal and just like the Newbery Blitz this spine isn't very big at all - 58-59mm but the playing area is simply huge and the ping is first class - have just started knocking in with a mallet and I'm seriously excited about using this bat this season, the confidence just looking down at this thing when tapping up is awesome.
After a couple of seasons of not really doing myself justice and getting out playing some half hearted shots I'm hoping this bat is going to give me the boost to get out there and just play my shots properly - it's not a nudging/nurdling bat, it's a see-ball hit-ball bat and I think that's just what I need.
Anyone looking for a t20 bat or simply a big bat to smash the ball around - you won't go wrong with one of these, and Tai's a top guy to deal with. Always nice to deal with people who have passion for bats as much as us
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Topic: Blankbats B20 review (Read 23880 times)