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Karly14

Sport Chek Easton Sticks

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Sport Chek has had a dodgy history of selling 'last year's top of line' sticks for half the price.  A lot of the time, the sticks been labelled as an RS2, Mako II, RBZ, etc., but then when purchased (or even held), something feels off about them. In other cases, MSH members (myself included) have found objective proof that they weren't the product they were dressed as...  

The Easton HTX is my favourite stick in recent memory, and now Sport Chek has them on for 139.99.  I went to check them out, and they felt legit, except they have a sticker on the heel that says "made for FGL/Sport Chek." Obviously, this raised some red flags.  Being a stupid person, I have risked these deals more than once, and would say I've been burned about the half the time, but have had luck with the 'real deal' sticks the other half of time.  

My question: Is there any way to tell if the stick is actually an HTX? Markings inside the shaft, labelling indicators etc?  Or should I just do the logical thing, and stay away... Thanks for the input.

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I have no clue what you are talking about, i have purchased many Easton over the years from SportChek, never had any issues or never did it raise any red flags. I have purchased that exact HTX (more than one and i paid 129.99$ Each) i cannot fnd anywhere "made for FGL sports". I purchase my sticks across Ottawa. 

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There have been Mako sticks without the textured blades sold there before. I have seen the Easton sticks with the FGL stickers on them before, it kinda makes sense since they had RS and Mako sticks around and were constantly stocked years after every other store.

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HockeyMonkey has these stick at $85 right now. I just bought 2 myself as this is also one of my favorite sticks at one of the lowest prices I have seen. 

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28 minutes ago, Bakum said:

HockeyMonkey has these stick at $85 right now. I just bought 2 myself as this is also one of my favorite sticks at one of the lowest prices I have seen. 

We do not have such deals in Canada, we are lucky to have SportChek to come up with good deals from time to time. 

20 minutes ago, Travislicious said:

Heh. I didn't know there was ever anything shady about Sport Chek sticks. I just assumed they wanted to clear out old stock to make way for the new

There is nothing shady, I have purchased many sticks from them, most recently HTX's, v9, v7's, all amazing sticks and at amazing prices, all from sportchek. I will stock up on the CX's if they ever decide to liquidate them too, the CX is just on another level and I find in general Easton sticks have been super underrated and left aside by customers, mainly due to CCM's big push in the last 2-3 years and Bauer's ever so loyal customers. 

Some of my Easton sticks :

 

IMG_6011.jpg

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Yeah I thought so. Although most of my sticks came from other sources, I bought a Reebok Ribcor and a Warrior DT1 from Sport Chek in the past and both have performed very well. 

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There was reported fishyness going on with the Easton sticks at Sport Chek.

CCM advertising and Bauer fandom isn't the only reason Easton wasn't doing amazing. People who don't like their sticks going soft in 3 months of use is another.

I've seen more broken VX and VXE sticks around here than all others combined. It is comical how fragile they are.

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I have not had more issues than other brands, I do find that the blade delaminate faster than CCM, but by the time the blade delaminates both the CCM and Easton are soft and not usable for me (Easton still last me 10 times more over any warrior stick out there FYI).

For some of us, to get 3 months out of a stick is amazing, I play with guys that replace their fancy 300$ Bauer sticks every months or so, while my Eastons last me 3-4 months getting the same abuse, but we are all on a different levels and arguing how long our sticks last on the internet is not the best. 

To be clear, I am not advertising Easton by any means, I have many times expressed how bad their durability in skates and equipment is, but their latest sticks are just that good for me. 

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You can't really tell based on labelling/codes. That group gets special runs (SMUs) made for them for previous year top-end sticks that some (myself included) found off compared to the 'normal' product run. Off the top of my head, I would put down a run of RSIIs they once had, and the Mako 2 family like someone mentioned above. I was told they were made (as in, not necessarily excess inventory) as a unique run, sometimes from excess materials. Other details remain murky.

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18 hours ago, icewalker_bg said:

There is nothing shady, I have purchased many sticks from them, most recently HTX's, v9, v7's, all amazing sticks and at amazing prices, all from sportchek. I will stock up on the CX's if they ever decide to liquidate them too, the CX is just on another level and I find in general Easton sticks have been super underrated and left aside by customers, mainly due to CCM's big push in the last 2-3 years and Bauer's ever so loyal customers. 

 

I snapped a Synergy 60 and sent it back for Warranty replacement and Easton sent me one of the CX ST's. You're absolutely right about it. It's a great stick. However, I snapped that one too because a shot went right off the shaft and cracked it. 

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I'd stay away from them myself. I still remember years ago Sport Chek trying to sell TPS Response Plus sticks for around $100 and it was painfully obvious those were low-end price point repaints. Ever since then, I've always been skeptical of their high-end closeouts.

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32 minutes ago, Scurvy said:

I'd stay away from them myself. I still remember years ago Sport Chek trying to sell TPS Response Plus sticks for around $100 and it was painfully obvious those were low-end price point repaints. Ever since then, I've always been skeptical of their high-end closeouts.

These Eastons are most definitely not low-end price points. You could tell by simply picking it up with the weight.

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Sportchek sticks are perfectly fine.  If a stick sold there is labelled as a an RBZ Stage 2 for example, then that's what it is.  They can't get an smu that is materially different, and label it as a Stage 2, (That is illegal).  Sportchek is not going down that road.  Could it have small differences? Yes, but more along the lines of an "LE" that Bauer is so fond of releasing. 

You can't take a Timex, label it as a Rolex, and sell it it as a Rolex.  Same logic applies here.  

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6 hours ago, boo10 said:

Sportchek sticks are perfectly fine.  If a stick sold there is labelled as a an RBZ Stage 2 for example, then that's what it is.  They can't get an smu that is materially different, and label it as a Stage 2, (That is illegal).  Sportchek is not going down that road.  Could it have small differences? Yes, but more along the lines of an "LE" that Bauer is so fond of releasing. 

You can't take a Timex, label it as a Rolex, and sell it it as a Rolex.  Same logic applies here.  

That is exactly what they did with TPS sticks. However, by using a model that was otherwise out of regular production, there is no legal issue. I will refrain from getting into a discussion of ethics. 

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3 minutes ago, Chadd said:

That is exactly what they did with TPS sticks. However, by using a model that was otherwise out of regular production, there is no legal issue. I will refrain from getting into a discussion of ethics. 

I'm not familiar with the stick you're referring to, so I can't comment directly other than to say..... If they intentionally misrepresented something, it is fraud which is a very serious allegation.  It doesn't matter if the model was previously discontinued, out of production, whatever.  You can't dress a Ford Pinto up as a '68 Mustang and sell it as such.  Now, if you take Coke, tell everyone you've changed the formula, and call it "new" Coke, you're in the clear. 

I'm not questioning the validity of your statement, because I don't have the facts, but If these sticks are materially different than the model they're represented to be, something more is going on.  Sportchek is owned by Canadian Tire, which is not in the habit of perpetrating fraud.

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1 minute ago, boo10 said:

I'm not familiar with the stick you're referring to, so I can't comment directly other than to say..... If they intentionally misrepresented something, it is fraud which is a very serious allegation.  It doesn't matter if the model was previously discontinued, out of production, whatever.  You can't dress a Ford Pinto up as a '68 Mustang and sell it as such.  Now, if you take Coke, tell everyone you've changed the formula, and call it "new" Coke, you're in the clear. 

I'm not questioning the validity of your statement, because I don't have the facts, but If these sticks are materially different than the model they're represented to be, something more is going on.  Sportchek is owned by Canadian Tire, which is not in the habit of perpetrating fraud.

If a manufacturer no longer makes "Stick X", and Sportchek orders an SMU that looks like them and has the same name, there is no reason that it has to have the same specs as the older sticks. As long as they don't represent it as a leftover model, there is no requirement that it have the same specs. 

 

I hope they have changed but the SMU Responses were pretty blatant, and I will give them the benefit of the doubt on all of the Si-Cores missing the inserts. 

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I had one of the si-core's without the si-core. They also released S19's on closeout a few years ago that myself and a few teammates purchased.  All of us felt the sticks were way off... I then compared my 'closeout FGL stick' to an S19 that I had bought while it was the current highest end stealth. The weave was different and so were the shaft dimensions. It even looked like they used a different material for the non-taper part of the shaft then they had used for the original S19s.    

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As much as someone would say they cannot relaunch an item with a different build than original.  That is incorrect and is done in many other sports equipment areas as well.

 

They take a line-up with a popular name and relaunch it under a heritage badge.  Sure its not the same, but is sold to people who identify with that heritage from the company.

I know this is not an apples to apples, but it showcases what I am talking about...

Golf Balls

your will see once great model lines relaunched at Big Boxs and department stores.  The balls cannot be compared with the original launch models made.  This does not apply to all brands and models, but to some...if youve ever bit on one of these and afterwards thought DARN-IT! what was I thinking??

 

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I will reiterate, they cannot represent it to be the same as the original.  They must disclose that it is, "redesigned", version 2, whatever.  If you're unsure, ask before you buy.  If they lie, you have every right to return for a full refund, and you should report them.

I'd also complain to the manufacturer, as their product is being misrepresented. 

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6 minutes ago, boo10 said:

I will reiterate, they cannot represent it to be the same as the original.  They must disclose that it is, "redesigned", version 2, whatever.  If you're unsure, ask before you buy.  If they lie, you have every right to return for a full refund, and you should report them.

I'd also complain to the manufacturer, as their product is being misrepresented. 

Do you really think a minimum wage Sport Chek employee is going to know the difference between a stick labelled a Mako and another stick labelled a Mako and the only difference being the textured blade on the original one?

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