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Warrior Alpha QX Stick

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39 minutes ago, stick9 said:

They describe the low kick-point as extending from your bottom hand through the lower shaft and hosel. Kind of sounds more like an exaggerated or extended low kick point. I've been a die hard mid kick guy for a few years now, but I gotta say, I am very curious to try this new Warrior and await it's arrival. My hope is it's the best of both worlds.

It's better to just assimilate, it's easier for everyone involved. :wink:

After demoing it a little bit last December I think even the mid kick guys will like it. 

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I was very pleased to receive a Warrior Alpha QX stick today. I'd like to thank JR, Modsquadhockey and Warrior for allowing me to be part of the VIP program and am looking forward to using the stick and providing my thoughts. I did demo it briefly at Winterfest, but I'll save my thoughts around how it plays until I add my usual Tacki Mac Pro (Kane) grip and a short extension. I plan on using it tomorrow.

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My favourite curve is the Warrior Smyth curve, followed closely by the Gionta, but obviously neither of these curves were available for the VIP program as they're no longer retail curves. I do have a couple sticks with the W28 curve and that's more of a toe curve than the other available retail options (I do wish the lie was slightly lower and it was more closed, but it's a curve I can use); so that's the one I chose when selecting my stick. I'm 6'2", around 225lbs and usually use a 90 to 100 flex stick; either cut or extended to around 60" when measuring from the top of the shaft to the start of the heel. I have used an 85 flex a few times, but most of the sticks I currently own and have used in the past are between 90 and 100 flex. When ordering the stick the W28 didn't show up as a right handed option in 100 flex (only the W03 was available), but was available in the 85 flex; so I selected an 85 flex stick with the W28 curve. I don't think dropping down to 85 flex will be a bad thing for me as I've used that flex before and am a forward who rarely takes slap shots; the lighter flex should make it easier to load quick snap and wrist shots. 

The first thing I did after taking it out of the box and snapping a few pictures was put it on the small postal scale I have to weigh it at the stock length untaped. It weighs 417grams. When I balanced it on the scale for weighing I tried placing the centre of the stick on the scale first, but the blade would tip down that way. The balance point seems to be about 65% of the way down the shaft and that's where the stick ended up laying flat on the scale. That suggests that the stick is more blade heavy, however; it feels very balanced in my hands. My main ice hockey stick has been a longer (by close to 2 inches), taped QR Pro with the Tacki Mac grip on it and that comes in at 485 grams. The weight of the QX reminds me of the Sherwood EK15 stick I used to own - it's definitely noticeably light when you pick up the stick. 

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I then measured the stick from the top of the shaft to the start of the heel and it is approximately 58" long (the Warrior site indicates that the stock length is 60"; so they must measure it differently than I did). The length is similar to the stock weight of some old Inno Mania sticks I have that I add a small end plug to before using. It's about 1" shorter than the stock length of the Easton Mako stick I have and just under 2" shorter than where I cut my Warrior QR Pro stick (the QR Pro is longer than most retail sticks). So it looks like I'll have to add a small plug to the stick before putting on a Tacki Mac grip. 

The Warrior QR Pro I've been using is a 100 flex stick, but also has a W28 curve so will allow me to compare the dagger taper to the sabre taper directly. I took a picture with the taper of the QX, QR Pro and a DT1 ST - you can see that the taper of the QX (in the middle of the picture) isn't as drastic as the other two, but it's still more pronounced that the old Inno mania (I believe it's a  painted dolomite), Easton Mako, Sherwood N10 and all the other non-dagger taper sticks I own. 

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The grip on the stick isn't as pronounced as most other grip sticks. It has a noticeably less tacky feel than the QR Pro, however; it does have raised tactile grip on the corners which the QR Pro does not have. I think it's a nice balance, however; I did love the feel of the QX Pro (I believe that's the model) I picked up at Winterfest which had the tactile grip on the corners, but more of a matte finish rather than a grip or a clear coat. While I prefer the QX grip to the grip on the QR Pro, I think I like the QX Pro grip a bit better. I definitely like that it's less tacky than most grip sticks. It's not super sticky, but it's far from slippery. They've used a matte finish on the QX blade. 

As far as shaft shape goes, it has slightly rounded corners and a concave shaft wall. The QR Pro has similar slightly rounded corners, but does not have the concave shaft wall. When picking up both sticks with my bare hands I prefer the feel of the QX to the QR Pro when it comes to shaft shape (although there isn't a huge difference). It's not extremely rounded like a Vapor or a unique shape like the STX Surgeon RX2, but it's not a completely boxy or square shaft either - it's strikes a good middle ground.  

Warrior was also nice enough to include a sharp looking hat in the box. I was a little worried it wouldn't fit my fairly large head when I saw it wasn't an adjustable hat, but it stretches quite nicely and expands enough to fit my head comfortably.

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I'm definitely excited to prepare and use the stick and will provide updates after I do!

Edited by althoma1
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I used the QX last night for the first time. Coincidentally, it was also my first time on the rink in about four months after rehabbing a knee injury. Man....it may have only been open hockey, but the QX was everything I loved about the QRL and then injected with steroids. I felt that same pop I got with the QRL blade, which in my own opinion, feels and sounds like how it does on TV (you know how it sounds a bit....different? Livelier?). But the new kickpoint on the QX is perfect. Played with the perfect amount of whip behind it. I'm torn between whether I like mid-kick or low-kick sticks more, having rotated between the Super Tacks, HD1, A6.0, XC9, QRL, 1X and RX2 all intermittently. But the QX may be the winner. Granted it was only my first time using it. But now I'm seeing there's a 65 flex senior option, I'm all giddy inside. May have found my go-to stick for the next few years.

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@althoma1 I went with the same specs, but lefty (VIP but not through MSH). I weighed mine first thing too, and it came in at 409.8g.  interesting how there is variance between twigs, even at this level! 

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3 hours ago, tcraig said:

@althoma1 I went with the same specs, but lefty (VIP but not through MSH). I weighed mine first thing too, and it came in at 409.8g.  interesting how there is variance between twigs, even at this level! 

It could also be that may scale isn't perfectly accurate as it's just a cheap one, however; even if both of our scales are completely accurate, a 7 gram difference isn't huge and likely falls within spec. 

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Just got mine as well, grabbed a family shot. My stick comes in at the same weight as althoma1. I get to use it tomorrow so I am looking forward to it!

XzAcSey.jpg

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Why did you decide to drop down from 100 flex in the QRL to 85 in the QX? I also dropped from the 100 flex in the QR Pro to 85 in the QX, but that was simply because the W28 was not available in 100 flex when I entered my code and placed the order.

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Got mine yesterday as well. Pretty excited to try it out. Which will have to wait until later this weekend.

I went with a 75 flex with the W28 pattern. Which is supposed to be close to the P28. At first glance it looks close, maybe a little shallower, but we'll see. Nice looking stick very clean. Very subtle for a Warrior. Oh, nice lid too. 

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I wanted to see if Warrior's sticks are true to flex rating or not. I always felt like my 100 QRL and DT1LT/ST played like an 85 in everything else, so this should give me a better idea.

Mike the stick looks great from the top down in the last photo there. Your shoes do as well :P Those are nice

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I added a small extension ( aprox. 1.5 inches), a tacki mac grip and then taped and waxed the stick. After that it now weighs 438grams, but still feels very light (the QR Pro that I have that's now the same height without a wood extension, uses the same grip and is taped the same way, weighs 485grams as previously mentioned).

I used it in a lower level coed game on Friday and was comfortable stick handling with it right away - I also enjoy the QR Pro with the same curve, but prefer the slightly less tacky feel of the QX. Oh, and I mentioned in my previous post that I really liked the feel of another QX stick at Winterfest and thought it was the QX Pro - after looking at some preorder pages online, I see the QX Pro has the tacky grip; so now I think it was the non-grip Alpha QX that had the matte like finish with the raised corners. I still like the QX grip finish compared to other grip sticks as it isn't as tacky, but think I'd like a matte like finish with the raised texture even more. I've had clear sticks that feel a little slippery and grip sticks that feel way too tacky, but the QX grip stick provides a good middle ground. 

I received passes easily and had no problem adjusting to or using the stick. I was a little apprehensive about playing centre with the stick as I didn't want it to get hacked off a draw and break in the first game I had a chance to use it, but it made it through the game no worse for wear. I actually didn't notice a huge difference in flex between the 85 Alpha QX and the 100 flex QR Pro I have - the QR might be a touch stiffer, but it's pretty damn close. The weight and balance of the stick is very nice and I had no problem loading up wrist and snap shots. I did not take any slap shots - they're forbidden in that coed league and I rarely take them in leagues that allow them anyway (the odd one timer). I did tuck in a backhand goal five hole with the stick - the blade feel allowed me to make a quick move to the backhand while keeping my head up and then the shot went where I was aiming. The stick did not let me down during the first game.

I'm hoping to get out to a pickup session sometime this week. Those usually have extended warm ups so I'll be able to compare the Alpha QX to the QR Pro more directly. 

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I am looking at this stick just for the fact it comes in a 65 flex senior. Currently using 75 flex 1S intermediates because they are perfect height and are close to a decent flex. I figure cutting a 65 should put it in the 80-90 flex range which would be great for me. 

 

Off topic but is there a way to order either a higher flex intermediate stick or a lower flex (65) from any companies ? 

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16 hours ago, Shane91 said:

I am looking at this stick just for the fact it comes in a 65 flex senior. Currently using 75 flex 1S intermediates because they are perfect height and are close to a decent flex. I figure cutting a 65 should put it in the 80-90 flex range which would be great for me. 

 

Off topic but is there a way to order either a higher flex intermediate stick or a lower flex (65) from any companies ? 

Sher-Wood offers 65 flex senior sticks in the EK60 and the BPM150.

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I got to play a couple of game with my Alpha QX. For reference let me start by saying, I’ve been using 1N’s almost exclusively for about a year now. I have a couple of Supremes (MX3 & S190) and two of the original Tacks, but the S190 and 1N’s are my main sticks.

If I am honest, my first time out with the Alpha QX, I wasn’t impressed. There were some things I liked, like the grip (softer coating with raised edges) and puck feel (very good). But it felt a bit too whippy and the blade seemed a bit pingy (pucks were bouncing of the blade). Also, I have this habit of grabbing the toe of the blade and pushing against the curve between face-offs. No clue why I do this, I don’t take face-offs. Anyway, every time I did this, I could feel the blade give a little. I ended the night feeling a bit underwhelmed. I was playing with my usual team the following night and was iffy on whether or not I was going to use it. I gave it a go in warm-ups and I started coming around a bit. I figured, what the hell I’ll use and see what happens. As the game wore on I started to appreciate it more and more, especially the puck feel. Nice to be able to pick up a puck in the corner and head up ice and know where the puck is because you can feel it. I took some pretty good hacks, not so much as a mark.
 

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Imo its closer to nexus. I was able to use mine last weekend, and thanks to Lady Luck got about 20 minutes of open ice before our game. To start I thought the warrior rep said they were making a 70 flex senior, I was wrong and I'm in an intermediate. That being said I really really like this twig. I was worried about taking slapshots with a 70 flex intermediate but I had zero issues. Puck feel was phenomenal and I really like the raised edges on the corners of the shaft. 

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5 hours ago, mjpisat said:

Is the flex profile closer to supreme or nexus?

Closer to the Nexus but not Nexus like but not low kick like either...least not the low kicks I've used.

Edited by stick9

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2 hours ago, chocks86 said:

Well that's unfortunate. 

The stores that get them early will be able to sell them immediately, so it shouldn’t be that big of an issue. 

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Curious, is the Saber Taper similar or the same taper that we have been seeing on the PROSTOCK HOCKEY QR1 and QRL sticks?

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