Linski

Those TPS gloves are sexy!

Helmet: CCM V10 Shoulders: NBH Supreme 30 Elbows: NBH Supreme 30 Shins: Itech 455 Gloves: TPS R8 Pro Lite Pants: RBK 8k with NBH Shell Skates: NBH Vapor XXII Sticks: TPS R10 Regular-Nash, NBH One 90 87 Flex-Gagne, Easton SE-Clarkson Pro Stock (Coming soon: TPS R8 Lite Regular-Frolov, TPS Xn10 Chrome Regular-Nash)

I love my Summit S5 gloves. Any idea on the price on the R10 gloves?

Product: TPS Response R10, Curve: Nash, Flex: Regular (75, 90, 100) Details: Power Transfer Channel in Blade Hozel: Livelier blade hozel, better puck trajectory New Longer, Thinner Taper: More dynamic shooting, better feel on all styles of shooting Tri-Balanced Flex Zones: Higher modulus graphite in taper and PTC adds a 3rd rate of flex and faster response Thin Blade Design: Livelier shots - better trajectory Ultra Lite Dynamic Weighting: Optimizes balance and weight for lighter "in motion" feel Construction %: 100% Carbon Weight: 425 grams Background: Ice Hockey player, on the ice 2-3 times a week. Coming off a Pro Stock Clarkson Easton SE (blade cracking). The curve is a meathook close to a Sakic retail but a bit more curve. So the Nash is a a lot less curve, an adjustment I'm continuing to make. Shaft Feel/Flex: Blade: The blade is very thin, its about half the thickness of my SE. It is also very stiff and catches passes really well. This blade has great puck feel, I thought the SE was great but this is just as good if not even better feel. I tend to tape the toe of my stick since I have had other blades chip on me there, and even with the tape I got a little chip. Otherwise there isn't even any puck marks on the blade (where I don't tape). It has taken some nice hacks too and no marks. I'm hoping the chipping on the toe of the blade doesn't continue, I may have to put some epoxy on it. For now I'm putting extra tape on the toe. 9/10 Stickhandling, Passing: I like to stickhandle a lot. As soon as I picked up this stick, I noticed it was lighter than my SE. The stick has a concave design with a tactile finish with the lower 2/3 being slightly grippy. This allows me to freely move my hands for stick handling while getting a firm grip for shooting. The puck feel with stickhandling is great and I can easily hold onto the puck with one hand and push forward. Passing is also much better with this stick. The power transfer hosel and thinner blade make the puck flutter less often. My saucer passes have noticeably fluttered less. 10/10 Shooting: When shooting on net this thing is extremely accurate. The power transfer hossel and thin blade make the shots a lot smoother and rifle off. My slapshot is a lot more nicer too. However, there is an adjustment period. Not only for the blade for me, but the different flexzones. The stick marks a "true-balance point" on the shaft where you can balance the stick, but that is without tape and the balance point changes as soon as you tape the stick. Finding the different flexzones for your particular shot is important. My snapshots have a lot of snap. The problem I have been having lately is roofing the puck in close on a breakaway. With my SE, this was my money shot. I'm still trying to find it with this stick. I've noticed I have to have the puck more on my toe, where as with my SE it was closer to the mid point of the blade. 9/10 Weight/Balance: The stick is listed at 425 grams and is considerably lighter than my SE. It has great blade balance. When I first picked up the stick, I thought it was blade heavy. But as soon as I taped it up, it balanced out. It is so easy to keep the puck with one hand on your stick due to the lightness. 10/10 Durability: The stick feels like a tank. I had a guy chop the stick out of my hands, and there wasn't even a mark. I have only chip on the stick and it was from blocking a slapshot. The clear coat on the graphics seems to be keeping the stick look good from all the minor damage, whereas my SE looks like it went through a warzone. The chip on the toe of my blade is a little concerning since its supposed to be really durable, but I think it was a fluke and might have gotten it grabbing the puck along the boards. 9/10 (Now a 7) Intangibles: TPS has really stepped it up with the graphics template on the stick. It doesn't look like a boring stick and it doesn't look overly flashy either. The concave design of the shaft makes it feel like it was meant to be in your hands. Coming from a boxy shaft (which I liked), it was really different but made me really like it. Conclusion: $220 is a little pricey for a stick (the most I have ever dropped on a stick), but I feel like it was worth it. This stick has put a lot of credibility back into TPS in my opinion. The shaft design is top notch, and I hope it springs TPS forward. I am still getting acquainted with the stick, I had the same problem with my SE (which I cut two times) and it seemed the more ice time I got with it the more comfortable I got and the more I liked it. Two similarities I have noticed, both times I first picked up the both sticks, I noticed a jump in my shot. Now its just finding consistency with a new product. I will keep this updated as I get more and more comfortable with the stick, and how long it lasts. Final Rating: 9.5/10 (9 after stick breaking, hopefully it was a fluke). Edit: While playing with this stick, I feel in love with the feel and was really whipping some shots with it. However, the other morning I blocked a slapshot and the blade/shaft snapped right where the fuse point would be. I managed to go to the LHS that I picked it up from and got a copy of the receipt, I broke it on the 29th day of the 30 day warranty, so I lucked out with that. Called TPS and I'm sending it back and they will be sending me a new one. Not sure if this was just bad luck, as the stick barely had any smudges on it and I thought it was a tank at how many shots I would block and how many chops I took without even paint chipping. The worst part of the stick breaking....I would have had a breakaway. Hopefully my second one will last longer.