from Amazon
Monday, September 20, 2010
Extratec bats
Here we go from the world of cricket:
One such product is called Extratec. It has been approved by the International Cricket Council (ICC) and is now preferred by nearly all professional cricketers today.
Cricket as a sport has a long and rich history similar in a lot of ways to baseball. Extratec is a clear adhesive which is applied to the face and edges of a cricket bat, like a sticker or decal, giving it a protective coating to stop the bats from splintering or breaking. The great thing about Extratec is that it does not add or take away any of the characteristics of the bat itself. By this I mean that it won’t enhance performance or stop the bats from doing its natural thing. You don’t want to lose that “natural” sound of the ball hitting the bat, but also you don’t want to see any rebound qualities that Extratec does not have to give batters an advantage.
Extratec in its original state was developed in the United States to protect the blades of helicopters. it is both extremely tough and lightweight. The thickness of the adhesive is 0.35mm and weighs less than an ounce. Tests and trials were carried out by the ICC on the ping and performance of a range of cricket bats with Extratec as opposed to a normal bat and there was absolutely no reduction or enhancement on the bats performances. If a bat splinters or breaks it would normally be held together by the adhesive or drop to the ground close to the batsman.
This is what I always talk about, that there is a world outside of USA where we have real-life usage to compare against. Alan, if you are out there, what say you?
I wonder if the different characterisitics of a baseball bat (its shape and mass) would make this less effective at holding a baseball bat together. I imagine this could be simulated in a pretty straightforward way and tested just as easily.