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Online now: 2 members: TABLE SETTER 11, Z Man; 96 anonymousDiscussion: Tired of the Ultra
| Posted | Discussion |
| July 28, 2006 Bobby Buggs 90 posts | Tired of the Ultra I have been noticing in the past year the Ultra has NO durability at all. I see them breaking in as little as 30 swings. Is anyone else tired of this or am I the only one who noticed |
| July 28, 2006 MPB33 Men's 50 33 posts | We're getting a little tired of them as well. I believe that we have broken 17 or 18 of them this year...it's quite frustrating! I have heard of other players and teams with the same complaint. Maybe it's time we make a statement to Miken...did anyone say "class action suite" for defective products? |
| July 28, 2006 Dbax Men's 65 2100 posts | After buying 3 Ultras at $200 a pop, I no longer use them for batting practice. And I no longer allow others to use it during the game. Used to be guys would just grab someones bat that they liked and go hit. I don't want to be selfish, but it's getting to expensive not to be! |
| July 28, 2006 MPB33 Men's 50 33 posts | Understandable Gary, but the sheer quantity of bats that are breaking, without much use, is astonishing compared to the other brands. When consumers are left holding the bag, or in this case the broken bat, there is something wrong. After all, if there wasn't, then Miken wouldn't have eliminated their replacement program...everything for a reason! Believe me, I am in no way advocating a law suit, or anything to do with attorneys, I just believe that if you're spending $200 - $250 on a bat it should last longer than a few weeks! |
| July 28, 2006 Bobby Buggs 90 posts | Well I am not promising you anything but a solution to this is not far behind. Get ready to say Bye Bye to that Ultra. |
| July 28, 2006 Hit the gap Men's 70 154 posts | I have an original U2. On it's third year. Still hitting bombs. I will say that it doesn't have quite the pop it originally had. Or, maybe I don't have the pop I used to have. |
| July 29, 2006 Bobby Buggs 90 posts | Its not the older ones that people seem to be having problems with. |
| July 29, 2006 JTS2 Men's 55 88 posts | Let's look at this from Mikens point of view. The only people using the UII are the seniors so they have to justify a production run. One way to make sure the bats continue to sell is to make sure they break quicker so seniors will buy another. It used to be you had to break in a UII now they are hot right out of the box. Since no one test these bats they can make them as ht and thin as possible. It is crazy to have to spend $200 a pop a couple of times or more a season just to be able to compete. |
| July 30, 2006 bashbro1 Men's 70 267 posts | Gary(19) has a point but... Caveat emptor is Latin for "let the buyer beware". Under the old doctrine of Caveat Emptor, the buyer (seniors on fixed incomes) could not recover from the seller (Miken Sports) for defects on the property (U2’s) that renders the property unfit for ordinary purposes unless seller (Miken?) actively concealed patent defects. A more recent law doctrine deals with an “Implied Warrant” that has precedent set in recent court decisions; you buy something it should work in a reasonable fashion within reasonable expectations of an arm’s length agreement. In most jurisdictions law requires that goods (U2’s) must be of "merchantable quality". However, this implied warranty can be difficult to enforce, and may not apply to all products (U2’s). Hence, buyers are still advised to be cautious (i.e. “let the buyer beware”). In addition to an implied “quality” of the merchandise, Implied Warranty /Caveat Emptor also applies to having a reasonable return policy as well (U2’s NONE). However, in many jurisdictions, there is no legal requirement for the vendor to provide a refund or exchange program. In some cases, the vendor will not provide a refund but will provide a credit (Huh?). As many of us senior softballers know and have personally experience with a purchase of an Ultra II bat, there are not known for their derivability even when the bat sold for $299.00 and we accepted the trade-off between POP and CRACK. But in today’s marked the bat is being offered for about 1/3 less than originally but now it’s durability stinks! Maybe you get what you pay for I don’t know but $200 buck plus is a sizable dent in my wallet. A possible action to be taken to substantially improve the quality of the Ultra II is to STOP buying PERIOD! Thereby putting the manufacturer in a position to maybe reconsider it’s product’s viability in the market place. How about the Ultra II coming with a label warning “Beware of Dog”, as we’re all getting bitten in the hind-end with every breakage? No class action suit necessary in my opine, and just let the market pressures of supply and demand dictate the quality of the Ultra II. Bashbro1 is not an attorney but he could play one on TV! |
| July 30, 2006 CAT 200 posts | the NRG 500 & 600's are just as good as the U2s. Takes little longer for the break in period but once you do...look out...In my mind what is the difference between a 305' pop and one that is 345' ??!! Good warranty...good bat....My feeling is that the U2s will either be phased out or be reduced in price even further.... |
| July 30, 2006 biggeorge Men's 60 25 posts | Planned Obsolence has been around forever. This is a shinning example. |
| July 31, 2006 Stones 1B Men's 55 52 posts | I know and can tell BashBro1 is not an attorney and could play one on TV, it's just that he stayed at a Holiday Inn last night. All that said about the Miken's are true but hey what are you going to do. Use it or lose it. Save money and get another stick or try and keep up with the Jones and keep getting another one. Either way you pay. |
| July 31, 2006 the wood Men's 65 1123 posts | I'm glad that it isn't just me... I had noticed that any new U2's that I bought (since Sept 05) were much more vulnerable than the previous ones. I prefer to not run with 'conspiracy theories' but consider this... 1) they sold for $299 w/ one warranty replacement... Miken had to pay someone to receive the broken ones, send out new ones as well as the freight and warehouse space. 2) they now sell for $199 w/o all of the add'l expenses for Miken. If it were my company, and long term reputation was not important to me, I'd do it the same way. I like using them as much as everyone else and do not intend to use anything else as long as they are legal. But I would definitely be happy if they were outlawed and we had to choose from everything left (excluding the U1, U2, original Synergy and titanium). But, and this is a big but, we'd have to use better softballs... .47/500 as an example. Along with this, I'd outlaw the Freak since they don't make them any longer... or I'd allow Miken to manufacture them again so that they could be had for less than $400. I've read your posts and many of you have already bought 2-3 U2s this year. Our team (GSF) has bought about 30 since this season began... and we had quite a few before. Like several of you have said, it's about supply and demand ... until our demand is reduced, Miken has no reason to consider price reductions. Having played for roughly 40 years, the U2 is clearly the best bat I have ever used... kudos to the Miken engineers for this. But the Freak (when you consider durability) is an even better all-around product... but they're essentially unavailable. Would 'Life after U2' be that difficult for us to deal with? |
| July 31, 2006 Gary Heifner 248 posts | I have "3" U2s. One broke after several thousand swings. I apoxy glued this one, wrapped it in duck tape and use it for batting practice. My 1# game bat has well over a 1000 hits on it and is going strong. My #2 has about 300-400 hits on it and is ready to go if #1 breaks. To sum this up, I have experienced great durability. Much better than aluminum bats that dent and cave in after only a few hundred hits. |
| July 31, 2006 softballer Men's 65 594 posts | well guys i just got one not to long ago around 125 to 150 swing on it! i was playing in an unlimited arch tourney this weekend in arnold calif and we used 44/375 balls and mine split opened.. now i'm not saying i don't hit the ball hard but you can tell it doesn't have a lot of swing on it !! wow 180.00 dollars for 150 swing. time for something to be done .... monta litle redwood city reds |
| Aug. 1, 2006 Mitch Men's 50 68 posts | Monta, you're right, something needs to be done and we, as players, hold the key to getting something done. How? Very easy, "don't" buy any more Ultra's. Where's the incentive for Miken to do anything about this problem? They make it, we buy it, we break it, we buy another one, they make more, we buy more, we break more, they make more, etc. etc. The key is, if we don't buy them, they won't make them. They've got a hell of a good deal going for them. Why should they fix the breaking problem if we, as players, keep buying them? If they fixed the breaking problem, they couldn't sell as many bats, so why fix the problem? They know they've got a good thing going because we speak so highly of this bat and they just sit back and rake in "our" money. "If we don't buy it, they won't make it" The key is, is everybody willing to give up their Ultra's because this would have to be a group effort not just a few people. |
| Aug. 1, 2006 JTS2 Men's 55 88 posts | Good luck on getting players to give up the UII. There are a large group of guys who couldn't hit a lick without the UII and will cry the blues if they can't swing it. |
| Aug. 1, 2006 magic Men's 55 16 posts | We need to find a durable replacement that comes reasonably close in pop...any idea's |
| Aug. 1, 2006 magic Men's 55 16 posts | Has anyone contacted Miken to get their response to our complaints about their defective product? |
| Aug. 2, 2006 tattooball 774 posts | Well it is time. Anaconda sports has been working with combat to make a senior bat with excellent durability and performance. Now it is here, it has passed the tests it needed to in order for it to be legal in senior softball. It has unmatched performance and will be available at the senior softball super store on this web site. After testing was completed by Mike macenko, Jim Cary, Kevin Schullstrom, and many other players in senior softball this bat is ready to go. It will be available for shipping in about 10 days. If you would like more info you can contact me at 800-327-0074 ext 210 Fri-sun 845-430-3994 |
| Aug. 2, 2006 magic Men's 55 16 posts | Trumpball, what is the model of this bat? What is it called? Have a link? |
| Aug. 2, 2006 BruceinGa Men's 70 3233 posts | Thanks Kevin, we're looking forward to trying the bat. |
| Aug. 2, 2006 Bobby Buggs 90 posts | Bean spiller |
| Aug. 3, 2006 tattooball 774 posts | JTS If you can remember back that far, the first miken's were no where near the ultraII in performance. It is a new bat maybe not for everyone, but I will assure the performance is as good as any bat that is legal, ANY. The sweet spot and duriblity are spot on so when you get a chance to demo one at a tourny you may be suprised. |
| Aug. 3, 2006 Dbax Men's 65 2100 posts | Sounds like a commercial. |
| Aug. 3, 2006 JMJIT Men's 65 35 posts | Ultra2`s I sent a copy of some what has beening talked about here to Miken.Will they respond,Who knows but maybe someone will read what i sent and give me some feedback.So its a wait and see thing now |
| Aug. 12, 2006 batguyaz 134 posts | I play in Az. At batting pactice one of the guys had a new bat, said it was better than the U2. After we stoned him we all tried the new bat and low and behold, the damm thing was better. Same pop, better feel and a great grip. I can't remember the name but I think it was Rip It, or Elite Rip or something like that. I am trying to find out...will let you know.... |
