Sticking with the wrong way of thinking just because it's always been that way is silly. It's like saying I know the Earth goes around the Sun, but we'll just keep saying it's the other way around because it's easier for me to comprehend.
You know what's really confusing if you don't know any better? Seeing two Vapor sticks, both 85flex, but one is 3 inches taller. By the old way of thinking, if I cut three inches off the longer stick, it's 100 flex compared to the shorter one that remains 85flex. Imagine buying a stick based on that way of thinking? Oh this is a 100 flex, why is it so whippy?
True makes 65 senior sticks now. Imagine trying to compare a senior 65 flex at 60 inches tall to a 70 flex intermediate that's 57 inches tall. By the old way of thinking, If I cut three inches off that senior stick, it's an 80 flex. So if I normally us a 70 flex at 57 inches and want to try an 80 flex stick, I should by that senior 65 flex and simply cut, right? And gosh forbid, what if they they change the stock height of a stick line I like? If I normally cut three inches off, but now it's only one or two, does that mean the new sticks might too whippy for me? Should I go up in flex?
That's the kind of crap people have to deal with when thinking that way. And I bet companies like Bauer and CCM love it, because the confusion means more errors when choosing a stick. More errors in purchases means more sales, because there's no returns once you cut and play with the stick.
Knowing flex is an absolute number and simply thinking of length as leverage, means less variables to worry about, and it makes all that confusion above go away. if cut a stick my preferred height I lose leverage, so I have to choose a flex that allows me to bend the stick. Simple as that. No need to do math to get a pseudo flex rating. No need to worry about all the different lengths from all the different brands. No need to deal with the change in stock heights of sticks changing the calculated flex rating.