How long do bats last

[angryangy]

I have a gray nicholls gladius pro performance (top of the range) and this is going 2 be my third season and ive had about 70 innings with it. IT is still fine but a few little cracks are starting to form but its fine.
I open the batting so i also face a hard new ball.

you should slap some extratec on it if you havent already

 

[langerrox]

nah you cant go from oil to extratec, only extratec to oil, and oil sux keep with extratec, i had extra tec with my bat, no problems, took off and oil it, it snaped in half.:]

 

[Maxkarter]

Well it also depends on which type of willow it is, if its kashmir that can be expected of it. But, by the sounds of it its an english willow bat, I think your main concern is that your bat hasn't been knocked in long enough, and thats why you have cracks/chips on the blade. Pre-Knocked in doesn't mean much really, you would still need the full six hour treatment afterwards (I would reccomend). Personally I have a Kookaburra Bubble kasmir willow bat which I used since 1998 still hasn't broken, then I bought a Kahuna Predator kashmir willow, due to it not being knocked in properly it broke so I had to buy a new bat. So I then proceeded to buy a Kookaburra Kahuna Twister LE 'pre knocked in' knoced it in and have been using it for the last three years. Why I didn't return the old Kahuna is that South African retailers all have the same policy, all bats come with stickers as follows "Due to the nature of this game and the materials used, we are unable to exchange broken equipment."

 

[JamesyJames3]

Oil doesnt suck. I think oil is probably a far more popular choice than extratec! Oil keeps the wood from drying out and more chance of snapping. Extratec just protects the wood from being hit. When I worked for a cricket retailers we would always reccomend oiling a bat once knocked in.

Oil > Extratec

 

[langerrox]

yeh i had the twister LE and a bubble 4 star, the 5 star cracked after took off extratec, also when u take it off it peels the wood off

 

[Maxkarter]

Especially on the edges so I left it on....

 

[angryangy]

nah you cant go from oil to extratec, only extratec to oil, and oil sux keep with extratec, i had extra tec with my bat, no problems, took off and oil it, it snaped in half.:]

by the sounds of it, you shouldn't have gone from extratec to oil and instead left the extratec on.

 

[aldersley]

What's extratec? Is that like that fibreglass tape stuff? My bat just got a new sleeve and i sanded it and oiled it and its looking almost new.

 

[angryangy]

yeah its like fiberglass tape but not. good at combating the onset of minor surface cracking.

i think its a gray nichols product, but im not sure.

 

[langerrox]

its the coating they use on helicopter blades! its not gray nicolls its a global product, gray nicols make their own which u can buy yourself not needed to be installed by the guys at shop

 

[Maxkarter]

Yep, you can even get it in the form of a '3M' tape roll! Or from Gray Nicholls or Gunn & Moore, I would definitely reccomend it your bat will last much longer!

 

[aldersley]

thanks but i will stick with my clear sleeve and oil. i think the bat looks sh*t with the tape all around it.

 

[JamesyJames3]

I suggest you put some of the tape on the edges, these can be the real weak points! and the extratec will support them!

 

[Maxkarter]

This is my opinion but I think a bat has real attitude with tape on it! Edges and aroung the toe are the main weak points, and if anyone has or hasn't mentioned this, don't oil around the splice area!

 

[angryangy]

I've got an old crappy bat at home with gaffa tape all over it, cos its virtually cracked in half. Tape is character.