bwp bats

Stopped by on a weekday to find the line wasn't operating. Attendant still could have given a lesson in bat-making but seemed more interested in having us leave. Had to insist on seeing the room where bats are made, which is just that -- a good size room with a lathe -- not operating on this day.

I am not that interested in sports, but it was somewhat interesting to see this small company and the bat-making process. They custom make baseball bats for many teams and players - from the national level to local teams to commemorative bats. Very low key (we were there on a Saturday when production was not in operation). There is a bat show room and you can buy bats too. Our tour guide used to play for one of the national farm teams.

We went here for the free factory tour which was interesting although the guide could have been better if he didn't mumble so much. He was very knowledgeable when you could understand what he was saying. It is a fairly small operation especially when compared to Louisville Slugger (which we visited a few years ago) but you get to see all stages of bat making and the machines they use. The bats seem to be well made and come in a large range of sizes and colour combinations. The bats can also be personalised and engraved with all matter of things including logos.They are made from Pennsylvanian timber that they harvest themselves. We found this very interesting and unique. I like that they are a small company trying to compete with bigger competitors while still using local timber and labour.Our main gripe about the tour was that there was a really hard sell at the end to get you to buy a bat. Being from overseas, it isn't really viable for us to take a baseball bat home with us. If they had some small souvenir size bats about 8"-12" long for a reasonable price we may have bought one as a momento. At Louisville Slugger, they give you one as part of the tour (although you pay for the tour). Even stickers or a fridge magnet with their logo would be OK as a souvenir for people (who don't want or need a bat) to buy.If they only want people buying a bat to do the tour they should say so up front or they could charge a small amount for the tour to cover their costs (however, if they did this they would have to get a guide that is easy to understand). It is a little out of the way and the last part of the road is gravel. Also, you are likely to be the only one(s) on the tour. There are steep stairs on the tour but no elevator/lift.We found the tour interesting despite all this but were relieved when we left to have finally gotten away from the hard sell. I would have rated it higher if I could have understood the guide better and higher still without the hard sell.

The factory is very interesting, there is a lot of hands on work to make and finish a bat. The tour guide was the worst ever. She didn't talk loud enough to hear, and seemed to not want to be there. But the factory is still worth the stop.

We have seen the billboards for BWP for several years on I-80. I'm glad we finally stopped. It is a little off the beaten path (gravel road entrance). They were very friendly and we got a personal tour from a knowledgable guide. Not a large facility but it was very interesting to see the bat making process. My son was able to select his bats from stock and had them personalized (engraved) while we were there.