Well the day finally came! after waiting a whole 7 days and lots of moaning Myself and Simmy set off down to Northants to see some man about a bat (which turned out to be 2 bats but i'll get to that later).
picture the scene, a cold, foggy and frozen november morning, my alarm goes off at 05:45am BAT TIME
Simmy had agreed to accompany me on the 5 hour round trip and to be honest was more excited than i was at first.
We set off from Wakefield at 06:25 and decided that breakfast was in order. A quick visit to subway (closed) was followed by a trip to BK (closed) then a stop at woodall services (open) for a greasy sausage and egg mcmuffin meal 'no cheese please' and a card and cuddly toy for Mr Packs new baby girl Isobel. An empty motorway meant we could make good time, well anyone would doing 100mph all the way to J19. we had planned to get down to Irthlingborough for around 10-10:30 but somehow managed to arrive more than an hour early. This time was killed by initially driving past the workshop and watching swanny's video diary on youtube. you gotta love Youtube! A quick email and voice mail soon had Robert on his way and before Simmy could drop off... again he was opening the doors to BlueRoom (not the strip club).
Robert wasted no time in getting the kettle on and offering us northern folk a good brew while we discussed all things cricket. Including his history at Kookaburra, how he got into bat making and some of the amazing Pro bats he had pinned on the wall. Stuart Law and Dean Jones' Kooks were on show and it was nice to see how much they appreciated his efforts.
the shop was full of bats, all shapes large and small including a Mahooosive Blue room swell and a few very tasty poomas.
Rob then treated us to a sneak preview at some 2011 gear and believe me guys, it looked a bit special. all you Puma boys have something to look forward to in March.
after picking up about 20 different bats we discussed profiles and batting styles etc, what you may look for in a bat and how you wield your sword! this was quite a lengthy discussion and before we got too carried away we were being shown into a room full of Clefts! some were handled, some werent, some were shaped and others were practically fnished. The choice of willow and quality was endless. We did not see a bad looking piece of wood. Whilst we were moaning about the vast array of choice Rob told us about the Puma operation he had going and how he discusses the blades with makers like Tim Keeley for days on end before deciding on the willow for the bats. He takes on Pumas top ranges 5000-6000 and some very good 4000 all uk Made and pressed and stored in Batley for distribution. He also showed us how he likes to press bats differently to when they arrive and also additional pressing of the bats to pro-long life and maximise performance. this was something i was sceptical about until he actually got the machine on and showed us the difference with 2 finished blades. it was phenomenal. the sound altered a lot and so did the feel but after a few tap ups with a hard ball the bats 'PING' (sorry Buzz) had increased massively and Rob explained why he believes a customer should have a bat that performs very well for as long a time as possible, rather than a bat only having a season or two in it!
We didnt get too much time to ask all the necessary questions but he did go on to say that grading with manufacturers differs all the time. The willow itself is graded by the Company selling it and then many retailers grade their bats on looks rather than performance, he explained that many of the pumas are graded like this based on internet sales and non-personal purchases. the image the customer see's is of a perfect bat with plenty of straight grains, very little heartwood and no blemishes and this is what they expect to recieve. we all know you cant always get a bat that looks amazing and goes like a train but apparently this is how most of todays big brand companies grade their sticks.
all the time this was going on Simmy had taken a liking to a very big piece of wood he had managed to find in the cleft hut and proceeded to carry this round the workshop with him until finally Rob offered to finish it off with another little press, sand, buff and finish. so there we go I went for a Custom bat and Simmy got in their first! i must admit it was great to watch Rob doing his stuff and all the time explaining the process and telling us about his equipment. you could tell this guy really loves his job. he wouldnt let Simmy have his bat until he was absolutely spot on it was finished, all the while asking Simmy what his thoughts were.
i wish the same could be said for my bat. i am so picky it took me practically 2 hours to pick a cleft and then i still couldnt decide between 2 very nice big pieces of wood. Rob didnt mind sorting both out for me to have a look at and the choice was made on pick up rather than performance as both bats were equally brilliant.
The custom service was fantastic and showed how individual a bat can be as we both have completely different blades.
All in all it was a fantastic day out, Rob Packs service was excellent, second to none and the guy educated us all morning, what a Legend. We would reccomend this to anyone nearby or anyone willing to travel up/down to Northants. you will find it very hard to pick just the one bat as he has so much quality on show. Enjoy the pics.
Simmy went for a very puma-esque concaved profile with 'New Wave' stickers whereas i preferred a more traditional shape with smaller edges but a steep spine and large hitting area!
Performance review to be conducted during winter nets
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Topic: Our visit to 'The Pack Cave' (Read 9612 times)