Firstly, thanks Chad for the excellent and most thorough review - much appreciated 
But if I may,
Pickup. It's always grated with me! I've thought about this ever since discovering this forum, as it's always mentioned in any review, but it's always 'subjective'.
As you mentioned, GM have attempted to clarify this with their pickup index, but how does that relate to any other bat that isn't manufactured or indexed by GM? Again, lots of room for personal opinions and guesses.
Why not take that huge grey area out, and replace it with something that's black and white?
'Pickup' is a function of three simple measurements - length, mass, and point of balance.
Point of Balance is easily measured by placing the bat across a cylindrical object (such as a horizontal beer can) and rolling it until the POB is found, mark the point and measure from there to the tip of the handle.
Measure the entire length of the bat, and divide POB measurement by this. You now have POB as a %, which is indicative of where the middle is.
Multiplying the POB % by the mass of the bat will give a meaningful measurement of what it will feel like in your hands.
For example, a 'high middle' bat might have a total length of 848mm, POB at 480mm, weight 1180g, so 480/848= POB% at .566 X 1180g = a pickup value of 667,
a 'Low middle' bat might have the same length and weight, but POB at 520, so 520/848=POB% at .613 x 1180g = a pickup value of 723,
and a junior size 6 'mid middle' bat having POB 462mm, length 790mm gives it POB% of .585 X 921g = a pickup value of 538
It all seems so simple to me, I can help but wonder why nobody's ever used anything similar before?
Again, superb review, with great pics and information - thanks Chad.
I'm not directing this specifically at you, but at the forum in general.
I agree and disagree. Those 3 measurements are very much things you can measure, of which most batmakers will give you 2 of. You could nail all 3 of those things between 2 bats, yet have a different pickup for you. You can change the grip on a bat, with one of the same weight, and the pick-up will feel different. The thickness of the handle - some people will have smaller hands, and feel that a thicker handle actually makes the pick up feel worse for them, and some bigger hands. We also all grip the bat differently. Double gripping tends to make the pick up feel lighter - but you're still having to pick up the same amount of mass. Sure, it changes the balance point a bit, but it could be that your hands don't have to be so tense cause the grip is thicker, so could make it feel that bit better for you
Heck, we even had a wee exercise here, where we all measured the weight of our bats from the tip of the handle and from the tip of the toe, while suspending the opposite end at the same height. Result? Gave a rough indication of what did feel lighter etc, but there were some variances.
IMO, you don't want to confuse the buyer too much, and I feel GM probably provide the best indication of how a bat will feel compared to others.
For me, I've always taken the GM Pick Up Index to be roughly this, based on my experience. (What I'd expect a neutrally balanced bat to feel at these weights - again, what is neutral?)
1 - Anything up to 2lb 7oz.
2 - 2lb 8oz - 2lb 10oz.
3 - 2lb 10-11.
4 - 2lb 12-13
5 - 2lb 14 +
I understand that buying blind is often one of the most frustrating things, as you're depending on the seller to give an indication of how the pick up is like in their hands. IMO, the best thing you can do is make sure you have a dead weight range that you're comfortable with. Never go beyond this, and don't go for anything too silly like a 40mm toe bat with a middle 2 inches off the toe and no wood in the shoulders. At the same time, don't dismiss something too soon just because your old bat picked up fractionally better - muscle memory can do wondrous things.
If you're a double gripper and buying in person, buy a bat which picks up well with 1 grip, that advice seems to work best when people come round to pick up something from my collection.
Author
Topic: GM Chroma Signature Review - from Six Sixes (Read 15270 times)