Hiya, been a little while since I made a thread with bat pics, and even longer since my last visit to a retailer! I think the last time must have been like 2013 to Vitas or something like that!
Anyways, the ex-sponsor in question here was It's Just Cricket down in London. I just happened to be down in London on Monday, and decided to pop by unannounced and pay a visit to the very first online retailer I've ever purchased from. (Bought a Mjolnir off Paul back in July 2012) As I popped in, Paul was just dealing with another customer, so I just quietly popped in and put down my bag and had a little look around. The store itself is based in an office inside a Big Yellow Storage, and is a relatively small store. I'll be totally honest and say that pads and gloves don't really interest me too much, although I do have plenty of those. I knew this visit would be short, so I fully devoted myself to checking out the bats.
(Just as a side note, the original plan was to hop in, put on my impersonation of my dad and claim I was from the Hong Kong cricket reserve team, and claim everything looked like Kashmir willow, but of course, chickened out - much to the disappointment of
@WalkingWicket37 . Don't think I could do that to Paul!)
Anyways, so despite having quite the history of dealing with Paul, with numerous purchases etc, we had never actually had the chance to meet in person. Straight after dealing with the previous customer, Paul offered me a beverage and asked me if there was anything in particular I was after, and where I had come from etc. This actually makes a heck of a difference in terms of being a customer - indicates that I was welcome to take my time browsing and that he was engaging with me. Be it pointless pleasantries or an attempt to try gauge what a customer could be after, it does affect the shopping experience positively - for me anyways. After mentioning I was from Glasgow and the name was Chad, could feel a smile pop out - was great to finally meet another fellow (ex) forumer. (I think I've met a grand total of 4 so far)
Anyways, wish I took more photos of the stock, but these were 9 of the bats I had singled out and considered...
From the left, Mongoose Big Linka (G2), Mongoose Inclusive (G1), Mongoose MMI3 Super Premium, Phantom PS7 ST (Tendulkar), Phantom Shadow Performance, Ganador Clubs and Viking Golds.
Those 2 Ganador clubs presented possibly the best value for money bats IMO, with the fainter grained one being fuller of the 2. The things that put me off Ganador is the heaps of concaving they tend to have, and also the branding. That being said, these 2 examples of the Club selection were very good.
If I'm totally honest, I wish there were more bats in stock, but understandably, it's mid-late season now pretty much, and most people have their bats sorted. Those who know of IJC know that they pick every single one of their bats, so for them to replenish is quite the task. To me, this doesn't necessarily make a huge amount of business sense, as travel is far from cheap and time efficient for picking, but having actually chatted to Paul in person, you get the sense that he's passionate about the way IJC do things, (you'd perhaps go as far as to say a little stubborn, but in a good sense) and to be honest, having watched his videos regularly since they started up in 2012, I would have been severely disappointed in my visit if this wasn't conveyed in our conversation.
Despite this relatively 'low' stock, I would be happy to have a fair chunk of the bats on sale in my collection, and expected no less from an exclusively handpicked selection.
Hope you all enjoyed this lengthy review, and despite being the ridiculous bat hoarder I am, I left the store on Monday without any bats... Cause it wouldn't make any sense to lug them around for 8 hours before getting on the train.
More to follow sometime later, but meanwhile, enjoy some pics of that stunning PS7 Tendulkar bat!
Much more to add regarding things discussed, my thoughts on some of the brands on show etc, but not enough time. Will add to this in sometime tomorrow. If you read this Paul, thanks for being welcoming and spending time discussing things. Could have easily stayed a lot longer had I not something else to attend to!
Part 2So yes, I did end up getting something, although took a couple of days to mull it over...
Viking Gold Edition - 36-37mm edges and approximately 56mm spine. Thick toe and decent shoulders too. (Will get those measurements tomorrow)
This particular Viking bat is an IJC exclusive - you won't get it anywhere else! The profile is a slightly updated version of their Platinum, which I actually prefer, with the thicker toe and less pronounced duckbill. Despite the bottom heavy looks, the pickup is excellent, it feels very nicely balanced (even pretty light) and is 2.9. Ping wise, it pings from the toe up about 7-8 inches up the blade, very generous sweetspot. Looks wise, well, definitely not the finest of G1s I've seen, and even Paul admitted that. The other one was slightly cleaner looking, but according to Paul, this one was that bit more punchy.
These were actually picked out from the workshop in cleft form, and seems like upon processing, some more specks than expected emerged. Viking are made by James Dollive, the owner/batmaker of Jedi cricket.
Mongoose MMI3 Super Premium, boasting 40-41mm edges (35mm at the toe and 32mm at the shoulder), 40mm toe and approx 63mm spine.
So Mongoose were recently bought over by someone who is pretty much just downstairs from the IJC premises, so Paul can pretty much just nip in and pick out bats. Not too many MMI3s were available, but of the lot, he felt this one was the best in terms of response and weight etc. Don't get me wrong, it doesn't pick up well, it feels pretty bottom heavy, but as expected, the whole thing is pretty much a sweetspot! Won't be reverse sweeping anything mind you, as I tend to catch them quite high up on the bat, but this is really just for fun, and also a chance to own something which is pretty damn unique and iconic. The stickers haven't really changed at all from the previous ones, but the full length bladed bats all have a new design of stickers which is a bit more minimal.
Just a little bit regarding Mongoose, it seems like they won't be sponsoring anyone for the time being, and are looking to build the brand as one that is more inclusive, so the common cricketer can have access to their goods without breaking the bank it seems. Probably the right direction as it seems like you really have to throw money out their to grow into one of the big brands, and even then, it might not work out.
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Topic: Visit to an old sponsor... (Read 4861 times)