BikePolo Mallets
My mallets are the ones that are off-center, the green-taped ski pole with the flesh head is mine. Our club has about 15 mallets all in. Most were made by phillipd. I’ve made 9, of which four are used regularly and two are in use this game. I also made that orange-headed one with the carbon-fiber shaft.
Mallets are thrown in and divided up randomly for 3 on 3 pickup games
I think the off-set ones are lighter and give you more options in actual play. I strike it with either side and I feel like it lets me make nice shots both ways.
When I use the short-side it feels like there’s the whole weight of the back-side right there for striking. Also the point of contact is closer to the shaft so more in line with where I think it should be.
Since my first mallet, every one of them have been off-center. I just don’t think it feels right to have both sides the same. People that play with it evenly balanced wouldn’t think of switching. For me; if I use one of their’s, the backside gets in the way while dribbling. Also the lack of choices just seems dumb.
One thing about this sport is it’s still evolving. It’s still so new that people don’t have it all worked out yet. There are techniques that people are using that any one of these mallet or other mallet concepts could help them be better at it. As I have ideas I make a mallet to try it out, after all, the heads are easily replaceable.
Each of these heads are meant to explore different advantages
We play on a tennis court and it’s pretty rough. The orange head is 2 and 1/4 inch tubing that comes on a roll. I think it’s for putting fiber optics through. It’s light-weight and strong while being slightly flexible material. One thing, heads made from this can be a little tacky when passing. On our old slick court at the Hub this material was perfect. It was lighter and had a great feel on that surface.
I’ve started experimenting with angled heads and I’ve found that with the subtle slant the attack on the club isn’t as straight so it actually glides along the rough surface better, making passes much more controlled and snappier. The down side is that all my shots are about thirty degrees to the right. Maybe I’ll cut the angle of the head to help with that or just give it up.
The flesh colored pipe is high-density plastic and I think may have been used in an outdoor child’s toy. It’s very straight and the inside diamater is larger and helps with ball jointing.
The snub-nosed one has a cap in the snubbed-end giving the user a sharp flat surface to strike the ball. The short front-end with no back-end allows for this wicked ball slinging. To my knowledge it’s a legal shot but it feels kind of wrong. The downside for this mallet is that it’s crap for dribbling and catching.
The flesh colored head on the black carbon-fiber golf club shaft is light quick and delivers and unbelievable wallop on the ball. It feels so incredible to use because it’s just so snappy and just pop the ball fires off. It’s also very light in the hand so even after a full day of playing my wrist doesn’t hurt at all.
The white shaft with the full-sized flesh colored head is probably what I would choose if I only had one mallet. It’s so balanced and strong that I know it’s going to play really well. A six inch head catches the ball well. With the holes it’s not that heavy. It’s a great mallet for beginner to exert. If I was going to be in a tournament tomorrow this is the club I’d use. I’d be torn between the golf club mallet or this one but because of it’s durability I think I’d take this one.
These are the tools I use to make mallets.
I think the off-set ones are lighter and give you more options in actual play. I strike it with either side and I feel like it lets me make nice shots both ways. When I use the back side It feels like there is the whole power of the back side right there for striking.
I think the off-set ones are lighter and give you more options in actual play. I strike it with either side and I feel like it lets me make nice shots both ways. When I use the back side It feels like there is the whole power of the back side right there for striking.