Thought I'd do a review of the two purchases Ive made over the winter which have made it into the bag.
They are actually fairly similar in alot of ways looking at the spec below. Which is purely by chance as they are both off the shelf!
First up a H4L Warbird I managed to get in their outlet sale.
Cost : £156.00
Grade : Devil
Middle position : 75mm from toe
Spine height : 57mm
Edge height at middle : 41mm
Edge height at toe : 25mm
Edge height at shoulder : 18mm
Weight : 1249g or 2.75lb
My first impression when this turned up was that this was an absolute steal. I nearly bought a Warbird a few years ago and went for something else instead so when I saw this in the outlet section didn't think twice.
Lovely sweeping Warbird shape with plenty of wood where you need it. Very pronounced bow which I love. Obviously has the longer handle setup which makes it feel like an absolute weapon in the hands.
Devil grade so their lowest, but 5 straightish grains which go through the toe and up the back of the bat. Used for the first time indoors yesterday and the sound off the bat was incredible.
Id be surprised if you can get a better bat for this price anywhere this side of Karachi
Next up a Garrard I got from their 'Special Release' in Jan.
Cost : £175.00
Grade : 2?
Middle position : 80mm from toe
Spine height : 59mm
Edge height at middle : 32mm
Edge height at toe : 24mm
Edge height at shoulder : 16mm
Weight : 1253 or 2.76lb
Another beautiful bat, picks up like a dream with a slightly thicker oval handle than the Warbird. This also has the longer handle shorter blade arrangement complete with dropped shoulders.
Grade isn't disclosed by the maker but Ive estimated a 2. 8 straightish grains but a couple of small pinknots and a thin strip of heart wood probably make it so.
I wanted one of these after hearing a few people say how good the pressing was and it does feel very nice out of the box. Softish but good rebound and felt better than the H4L off the mallet initially.
The branding is obviously very different to the H4L and I like both.
One thing I will mention - After I managed to buy one of the limited number (6 I think) which are released at any one time I received an email to say that there had been an admin error and they were out of stock but one would be made for me shortly and shipped asap. Id be interested to hear if anyone else has received this message when purchasing a Garrard.
Another thing which lets this bat down very slightly is this untidiness around the handle and splice. I looks like a few small chunks have splintered out when cutting the handle V. I dont think its a structural problem but just a bit untidy, although any makers on here may be able to correct me.
One thing I was surprised about was that the H4L was better finished than the G. Perhaps I had a pre conceived idea that the G would be finished better due to the classic minimal branding but the H4L has definitely been sanded and polished to a better level. Not that it really matters - I have bought them to hit a ball with after all.
Im hoping to have a few bowling machine sessions in the next few weeks to really get these prepared and tested
Overall very happy to have picked these 2 up for about £320 and both go into the bag alongside the Chase Lam for the first match in 2 weeks time
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Topic: 2 winter purchases (Read 2093 times)