Whilst I agree the price is high, the difference here is that they’re pro spec bats - high performing, lightweight clefts that have (in the example linked above) been made to gauge filling specs in the profile Livingstone uses. If you want a massive bat that performs as well as anything you’ll get your hands on, this is basically it.
I’ve been fortunate enough to get my hands on quite a number of ex-pro bats (normally damaged to the point of being retired from use or needing major repairs to keep them going) and there’s only a handful that would be classed as G1 in terms of aesthetics. The majority of pros don’t seem to share the obsession about grains, they are after tools for the job which perform incredibly well. Some of the best ‘ping’ I’ve found came from bats that cosmetically many would scoff at.
Keeley will make you a beautiful with tight, straight grains if that’s what you’re after, they’ll also make you something that will perform extremely well regardless of cosmetics if that’s what you want. The top international players are lucky enough to get both, but for the retail buyer it’s often a case of understanding your priority and choosing accordingly. Would I pay £750 for one of those? Well, I nearly did - but couldn’t quite justify the cost on a couple of levels.
For what it’s worth, give me brilliant pressing of a bat with uneven clustered grains and loads of heartwood any day - they often ping like mad 😅
Author
Topic: Keeley sales (Read 8801 times)