Evening all
As a few of you have seen (and ordered from) Chase had a Black Friday sale where they were selling their R1s for £60 each. A UK made English willow bat for less than a tank of petrol sounds like an absolute bargain to me, so I couldn't resist placing an order.
Chase is my local bat maker, and I've had a few sticks off Dan over the years so knew to expect a quality bat. For £60 I wasn't expecting anything that would win a beauty contest, so I ditched my usual fussiness about looks and requested my sticks weigh between 2lb9 and 2lb11.
I placed my order on the evening of Friday 6th December and they arrived today, which is a good service considering the time of the year.
First out the box was the only bat of the 3 I was slightly disappointed by.
With edges that are 18mm at the shoulder, 24mm at the toe and 34mm at their peak this is a fairly traditional profile. There is a 63mm spine and moderate concaving which gives a good balance and plenty of wood in the right place.
This bat weighs 2lb10.5oz and feels well balanced. I won't claim it picks up a lot lighter than the dead weight, but it feels nice in the hands and you know there's some weight in the bat when swinging it round.
The bat has 9 fairly straight grains, that aren't perfectly evenly spaced, and a touch of heartwood on the right handers inside edge. It would usually be my idea of the perfect looking bat, but it is let down by some filler in the outside edge (not a huge issue) and on the face (something I'm slightly concerned by.
While I'm sure it will not be an issue, I may put some fibreglass tape over the filler as extra security under the scuff sheet.
I've tapped up an old ball and the bat makes a firm thud but responds well. A few seam marks have appeared so it will take a bit of knocking in the be match ready.
Next up a 5 grainer that certainly won't win any awards for its looks.
This bat is a touch smaller, but not noticeably to the naked eye. The edges on this one are 16mm at the shoulder, 25mm at the toe and 33mm at their peak, with a 65mm spine and a fair amount of concaving. This is a very similar shape to the first bat and it again has a nice balance and a good amount of wood in the right place.
Weighing in at 2lb9.9oz this is the lightest of the bats I received. While the difference in dead weight is minimal, this one feels lighter (presumably as there is more concaving) and the bat feels as if there is less weight down low when swinging it.
With 5 grains, heartwood on the right handers outside edge, some false growth, pin knots and grasping on the face this bat certainly has character. I like bats that look like this (although I'd prefer the heartwood on the other side in an ideal world) but I can see why the looks may discourage some.
Having tapped up an old ball again this bat also has a deep thud. While the response is reasonable when tapping up, this bat not trampoline like out of the packet. There are seam marks appearing which tell me the bat needs some knocking in, which will likely result in a very nice performing stick.
And last, but by no means least!
With edges that are 16mm at the shoulder, 24mm at the toe and 33mm at their peak this is an almost identical profile again. This one has a 63mm spine and the most gentle concaving of the bats I received.
This bat weighs 2lb10.3oz and the profile gives plenty of wood in the blade. Of the 3 this bat feels the most well balanced to me, not feeling bottom heavy despite the low sweet spot.
With 4 uneven grains that go through the toe at an angle I imagine many wouldn't look twice at this bat normally. there are a couple of pin knots lower down and some graping higher up the blade but this is arguably the cleanest if the 3.
I tapped up the same old ball and this bat simply sounds nicer. There are still seam marks appearing so some knocking is needed. While it's almost impossible to tell out of the packet by simply tapping a ball up, this one does seem to respond better so would be my front runner for the "pingiest".
Overall these bats aren't pretty, the finishing is decent enough but you can't see your face in it like some people like and the response seems decent enough out of the packet. How they'll perform after some knocking and playing in remains to be seen, but I have no reason to believe these won't perform as well as anything else given time.
Overall for £60 (or £100 at full price) you're getting an English willow bat made in Hampshire. You can't go wrong, and these certainly offer better value than some of the cheap imports you can get off eBay!
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Topic: Chase me! Chase me! Chase me! Black Friday, I'm in love with you. (Read 12615 times)