Afternoon all
So took delivery today of a GM Aion. Firstly appearance wise the colours really work well. Flores ent on black always stands out nicely and it’s a very good design for the TV etc.
So on to the bat. This is the 404 grade and my first thought as always is why oh why to GM insist on bleaching this grade. This one has some lively right grains with some marble effect markings on the face in and around the plying area but other than that is lovely.
@Edward Lowy please stop bleaching 404 grades please. Profile wise it’s similar to the chroma which was in all essential purposes a more budget friendly players shape and this to me is is negligible difference to the chrome. It’s different to the Hypa in that the shape flows a lot better and is bigger all round than the Hypa which seemed to have a shape that for me doesn’t work as well as this Aion and Chroma did.
Handle - still the best in the business on my opinion with a loveky oval shape at the bottom in a nice medium thickness and tapering onto a round handle toward the top. For me having 5 GM’s currently this is no thinner or thicker than previous years. Grip is a thin Lite I think they call it. Branding looks good at the top but for me will be immediately changed.
Profile - GM refer to this as a low swell I would call it mid/low personally. Edges are 39mm toe 21mm edge 29mm centre and shoulder 16mm. Full shape but these is a small drop from the spine to the edge as it’s not a convex profile like the GN Powerspot. In all very good specs for a bat that weights 2lb 7oz. However!!!!!!!!
Now onto the width. This is the only GM I have and think iv ever had from the 20odd iv owned and used that’s narrower and as soon as I took it out the box it looked narrow as silly as that sounds as I’ll get into I’m talking mm but maybe when your working with bats daily and have owned so many it’s the first and only time iv ever seen this from GM. This is 105/106 as the battery has died in the gauge. It’s the same front and back. A comparison iv put below is a Hypa which is the full 108mm and when you out them both in a bat gauge you really can see the gap is greater on this Aion vs my Hypa, Diamond, Kyros and chroma. This could be a one off but someone else did mention the same so maybe it’s just this model to achieve the retail demanded weights and customer demanded specs in edge shape and full profile.
Pressing - simple it’s a GM which has a firmer feel when it’s first out the pack and once properly prepared will be very good no doubt. They are just not a soft pressed bat. Personally feel they have stiff handles which require a bit of breaking in. As always will require a decent amount of time in the nets to be ready to use in a game.
404 model is now £120 and thanks to Rob
@Six Sixes Cricket for the super service and speedy delivery. Given the fact that I make my own now and only use others occasionally in the nets this is a sweet price point for me as the GN Powerspot was as well. The 606 has always filled this gap but they are moving now over the £150 mark but just how prices are going. Just as I said hope Mr Lowy can review the bleaching as I can’t believe retailers find it easier to sell bleached bats over explaining maybe the reason for the mark and that overall very few have detrimental impact on its performance.
GM Hypa from 2023
GM Aion 2024
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Topic: GM Aion review (Read 4273 times)