Worth getting a composite stick?

[Leif 160]

I'm a beginner, playing ice hockey once a week now since the end of March 2017. Anyway, I use a Warrior wooden stick which is fine for learning the basics. I recently noticed that composite sticks are much lighter. Would a composite stick provide noticeable benefit to someone like me who has the shooting ability of a bowl of soup? I used to think that it wouldn't, cos I'm learning stick skills, but it struck me that composite sticks are much lighter, so it might help my balance, when skating with/without the puck.

[Kgbeast 195]

58 minutes ago, Leif said:

I'm a beginner, playing ice hockey once a week now since the end of March 2017. Anyway, I use a Warrior wooden stick which is fine for learning the basics. I recently noticed that composite sticks are much lighter. Would a composite stick provide noticeable benefit to someone like me who has the shooting ability of a bowl of soup? I used to think that it wouldn't, cos I'm learning stick skills, but it struck me that composite sticks are much lighter, so it might help my balance, when skating with/without the puck.

composite stick behaves differently from wooden and requires some skill to use it.  You should switch to composite and start learning it's ways. If you continue to play, you will have to switch anyway, so sooner is better.

[hawkeyfan 36]

just to note...wood like composites there are different levels of sticks.  There is heavy wood and then lighter wood sticks (a.k.a. sherwood featherlight) which are not as light as graphite, but also not total phone poles.

I would note...as a beginner you will not need a top of the line graphite...

I was out at rat hockey and we had only 6 skaters, so went 3 on 3 cross-ice. (Note: I play 2 peice sticks) I have a new true A6.0 coupled with a warrior Dolomite smyth curve and then I have a Balistik 45 Cal. with a harrow 300 blade.  My point is that the 2 sticks have a remarkable difference in weight.  I started out with the True A6.0, but then switched....THEN I switched back and quickly switched back again.

 

I realized that the heavier of the 2 sticks worked better for me in the game conditions I was playing in  AND I didn't want to destroy my better stick playing 3 on 3.

[Jamarquan 201]

2 hours ago, Leif said:

I'm a beginner, playing ice hockey once a week now since the end of March 2017. Anyway, I use a Warrior wooden stick which is fine for learning the basics. I recently noticed that composite sticks are much lighter. Would a composite stick provide noticeable benefit to someone like me who has the shooting ability of a bowl of soup? I used to think that it wouldn't, cos I'm learning stick skills, but it struck me that composite sticks are much lighter, so it might help my balance, when skating with/without the puck.

I absolutely would. Buy a clearance model with your specs - it'll be better than buying an entry level stick at full retail.

[DRR 112]

Yes, buy last year's model on clearance . The weight is a nice side benefit but even a low end composite should outperform, and be much more consistent than, a wooden stick. 

Depending on your size I would probably recommend an intermediate stick versus a senior stick.

 

[Leif 160]

Thanks all. I popped in to the local shop and bought a CCM 47K stick, it is an outgoing model so it was reduced to £100 from about £135. I thought I'd go for a mid price rather than cheap or expensive. And hopefully I'll use it tomorrow evening. 

[Jamarquan 201]

39 minutes ago, Leif said:

Thanks all. I popped in to the local shop and bought a CCM 47K stick, it is an outgoing model so it was reduced to £100 from about £135. I thought I'd go for a mid price rather than cheap or expensive. And hopefully I'll use it tomorrow evening. 

Hope you enjoy it! What curve and flex did you get? 

[Leif 160]

Thanks. It's an 85 P29. 

[puckpilot 312]

1 hour ago, Leif said:

Thanks. It's an 85 P29. 

 

As other's have asked, what's your height and weight? Depending on your size and skill, 85 flex might be a little too stiff for you. Right now, the most tangible difference to you is the weight, but in terms of shot and developing your shot, flex plays a big part in helping/hindering. If you can't flex the stick properly, then you won't be able to shoot properly and use the stick to its full potential. IMHO beginners tend to pick sticks that are too stiff for them.

The general rule of thumb for picking a starting flex for a stick is half your body weight, but IMHO, the rule of thumb should be 35-40% of body weight. I think for beginners it's better to have a stick that's a little too whippy than one that's a little too stiff. And yep, 5 flex can make a big difference.

 

My 2 cents.

[Leif 160]

I'm 5'11"/1.8m and 11 stone or 140 lb or 70Kg. I am sure it will do me for a year, when I will have more idea about my preferences. I asked at the shop for a stick that would suit me. I am surprised the woman I dealt with, who is a high level hockey player, did not talk about flex. Then again she said that most pros in the UK are ignorant about the differences between sticks. 

[stick9 881]

In response to your initial question, no, I wouldn't recommend getting a composite stick. Stick with the wood sticks until you're more experienced.

If you're dead set on getting something other than wood. I would go with a composite shaft with a wood blade. This allows you to experiment with curves, blade lies & rocker without buying a whole new stick. Once you find something that works you can upgrade to a composite blade.

That 85 flex stick you bought is most likely way too stiff for you. You'll never see the advantages composite has over wood with that stick. 

In the end, it's not the tools that make the carpenter, it's the skills he possesses.

[start_today 757]

To repeat what stick9 says, I'd recommend learning with a wood stick. It has better feel, so , so you can practice knowing where the puck is without always staring down at it. Also, buying a few wood sticks allows you to experiment with blades, rather than dropping $100 on something you have no idea if you'll like.

Your shot might be less hard, and the stick will be heavier, but it's a better learning tool. 

The idea that "you'll use one eventually so just start using it now" seems short sited. You have to learn to crawl before you learn to walk, etc. 

[Davideo 99]

It seems that many suggesting wood sticks for the purpose of experimenting more easily are also contradicting the reality of the situation. Wood stick selection is very limited. Finding different curves to experiment can be challenging and unless the idea is to use a JR stick or wait until it weakens a bit, getting a 75 flex will be very difficult. And if the poster who suggested wood blades can suggest a place to find them new I would love to know as I'd get some myself.

I'd personally suggest a low-end composite to play around with different flexes and curves, but I'd probably suggest a 75 flex PM9 type curve as a starting point.

Just my 2 pence.

[Leif 160]

We had an hour session last night at 10:15pm, and all I can say is this stick has made a huge difference. I was able to do crossovers and hockey stops while controlling the puck, and skate backwards with the puck, whereas previously I struggled. Other lads my size were using sticks with the same flex. Perhaps a more flexible stick might be better, I can't say I know, but the weight reduction has noticeably improved my balance. I weighed both sticks and the difference is about half a pound. Perhaps the composite has less weight in the blade end relatively speaking. 

[stick9 881]

I did a quick search on one online retailer. They carry six different sher-wood wood sticks, the most expensive being the 5030 featherlite at $35. I also looked for blades. Eight different companies still offer replacement blades. So they're out there and you don't really need to look very hard.

Once again, it's all about technique, not the stick. 

 

 

 

[itslunchtime 17]

The weight savings alone is huge - I totally recommend getting one, and for me I was able to feel the sticks load/ flex better when learning different shooting techniques. 

 

[stick9 881]

This guy scored a couple of goals with wood twigs...

 

[DRR 112]

17 minutes ago, stick9 said:

This guy scored a couple of goals with wood twigs...

 

And yet, you don't use one?

[stick9 881]

38 minutes ago, DRR said:

 

And yet, you don't use one?

Grew up using them, played in HS with one, even started playing men's league with one. I went to shaft/blades a little while later. I was fairly happy with that setup. I eventually switched to a one piece, probably more so just to try one. The problem was, curves I used kept getting discontinued. I hated buying composites only to find out I hated the blade. I switched back to shaft and blades. I didn't go back to one piece sticks until I settled on a single pattern and that was right about when the curve game started settling out.

For perspective, right now there are 8 high end composites in my basement. Of those 8, 4 of which I never touch, 2 more are nothing more than back ups. Not because they are broken, because I've switched patterns. I've sold at least 4 others most of which I used once or twice. The curve or blade lie just didn't work. I remember getting a really nice True pro-stock, was pumped to try it. I used it for 5 minutes in warmup. The blade lie was way off.

So how much cash have I shat down the drain on composite sticks...more than I care to remember. And none of which actually made me a better player.

To be clear. I am not saying don't buy one. Just saying it's not a good investment for a beginner and it's not going to help your game. 

[Davideo 99]

1 hour ago, stick9 said:

I did a quick search on one online retailer. They carry six different sher-wood wood sticks, the most expensive being the 5030 featherlite at $35. I also looked for blades. Eight different companies still offer replacement blades. So they're out there and you don't really need to look very hard.

Once again, it's all about technique, not the stick. 

 

 

 

Did actually look at the stock? Typically most of the available inventory is a few that are a number of years old with very little actual selection. It is true that if you are lefty you can still find decent stock. I'm not sure the exact online retailer you looked at, but when I checked Hockey Monkey yesterday number of total possibilities (permutations for stick, curve, lie, and flex) for a righty looking for a wood stick there were three total options.

And in case I was not clear, I was referring to wood replacement blades as that was explicitly listed as the preferred blade type. I still use a two-piece and have for about 20 years so I'm quite familiar with blade offerings. Hockey Monkey has a single wood blade available for a righty, and amusingly it is a 2014 model.

I don't think anyone is claiming that a wood stick will suddenly reduce your ability. I was merely pointing out that (at least for a righty) the argument to use a wood stick or at least blade and to experiment with different curves and flexes and lies would be difficult to actually do. Perhaps it would be possible to get a retailer to order ones for you specially.

I'm just confused why some folks are tripping over themselves to recommend a wood stick. Puck feel is really the only advantage for a wood stick and that is a relatively nuanced thing.  For a beginner just starting out, its pretty irrelevant in my opinion. (I will also admit that a wood stick is much better for slashing, but I'll assume that doesn't come into play here...) I fully agree that a one piece isn't going suddenly turn a beginner into an all-star and Wayne Gretzky could play with a tree limb and still be pretty good. But I'm not really seeing many advantages for a wood stick. It seems to me that it doesn't matter that much.

And to the OP, it is my opinion, and the opinion of many on the forum, that many players use a stick that is too stiff. I certainly used to as I just used what was "standard" and in retrospect it was much too stiff.

 

[stick9 881]

You don't think puck feel is important to a beginner?

We'll need to agree to disagree. 

[Leif 160]

I seem to have started a discussion here.  I think it's worth pointing out that I'm in the UK and equipment selection here is much more limited, due to a much smaller market as hockey is a minority sport. So the only 'twigs' available are tree trunks such as the one I bought. It was worth buying as at first I had a righty stick, then tried a lefty which turned out to be the right one for me. 

It might indeed be too stiff, I don't know either way, and I'll try and borrow a more flexible stick once I get more adept at shooting. At the moment I'm focussed more on the basics, namely controlling the puck when motoring across the rink and dodging those nice gentlemen, and ladies, on the opposing side who seem intent on spoiling my fun.  But honestly I wish I'd bought a budget composite stick once I knew I was a lefty, I feel learning would have been a little faster. 

I guess for you people hockey is very much part of your culture, and you start young, rather than at 53 as in my case. What a brilliant game though. 

[puckpilot 312]

8 hours ago, Leif said:

It might indeed be too stiff, I don't know either way, and I'll try and borrow a more flexible stick once I get more adept at shooting. At the moment I'm focussed more on the basics, namely controlling the puck when motoring across the rink and dodging those nice gentlemen, and ladies, on the opposing side who seem intent on spoiling my fun.  But honestly I wish I'd bought a budget composite stick once I knew I was a lefty, I feel learning would have been a little faster. 

 

One rule of thumb on how to test if a stick may be too stiff for you or not is to try and flex the stick. You should be able to flex it an inch from normal with next to no effort. If you have to throw your whole weight into it, then it's most likely too stiff. Not an exact science, but a place to start. One advantage you have is height. You'll generally have a easier time flexing sticks because you naturally have more leverage. 

[Leif 160]

On that basis it is too stiff for me. I had a one hour hockey session this morning, and I took a look at the row of sticks outside the changing room. Interestingly they were all 85 or 87 flex, not one less. A few of the lads are much bigger than me (I wear small elbow pads and youth knee pads but a large jersey, but most are about my size. It looks like us 'limeys' are not educated about sticks. However as someone I was chatting too said, this stick will be fine for the time being, except for slap shots.

[kyleo29 58]

Hang on, where did you get a wooden warrior stick?? I feel like I need that