i recently tried out a new wood for my bats, which is beech

it's pretty sturdy (no breaks over a comp), and extremely light, and the best part is the stick doesn't get water logged; the timber naturally doesn't absorb a lot of water - so with a thin coat of watered down varish it doesn't get waterlogged.

it furs up quite alot after it's cut out, and with the coat of varish and after painting it gives it a rough edge, it gripped the puck really well without any sanding or anything needed

the only drawback that came with the lightness was the inability to hit with as much power