Modo9

By looking at the Easton 2004 catalogue, you would think the Stealth, SL and ST were all the same handle shape and size. This statement could not be further from the truth. I put a butt-end that was flush against the shaft walls of an '04 Synergy in my Stealth, and the wood sides stuck out so far on all four sides. It was a crying Hazard on the Ice.

I just called. They have Modano SL lefty in 110 and 85 flex, no 100 though.

If Easton has truly perfected the technology of Nano-Tube construction and implemented it properly they could offer a five year warranty with all sticks because you would need a very, very extreme force to break it. Like dropping it off the Empire State building.

I love TPS, don't get me wrong, but who are they fooling by saying: "While others attempt to match the length of our taper - ours has always been 11"." The CCM V130 has a 24" taper . . .

The description of the Adrenaline is very contradictory. Amorphous XN10 Carbon has a lower failure rate than kevlar, yet they are using kevlar? From the way they phrased it, it also leads me to believe that they only used kevlar in the "slash zones."

Yikes...

Why the heck wouldn't they offer an XN10 Grip? It's been over a year now and we still do not have a retail sub-400 gram grip one piece available in the marketplace!

Player: 190 lbs, 5'10", left-handed shot Model: GI XN10, PM9, regular flex; Retail Tkachuk, regular flex; Retail Nash, regular flex Duration: GI used six games (broke); Retail Tkachuck 20 games+(broke); Retail Nash 15 games+ Initial thoughts: I highly anticipated getting my hands on the first below 400 gram one-piece, and seeing them spread like wildfire among NHL players at the start of the '03/'04 season only increased my desire to get one of these sticks. Weight/Balance: As labeled on the retail, and later pro issued sticks, "Pure Balance" is a more than appropriate description for this stick. This stick is far and away the lightest one-piece I have ever used (have not used a Stealth), and just as importantly the blade-lightest stick I have used. The lighter, stiffer blade allows for lightning quick poke checks and the quickest shot release and fastest swing velocity of any hockey stick I have ever used. Note: the GI stick I used was noticeably lighter in the blade than both retail versions, however the retail versions are still lighter in the blade than any other one-piece retail or GI that I have used. 9.5/10 Aesthetics: Many players do not care what their stick looks like. And granted, performance is obviosuly much, much more important than appearance. However, when I drop $150+ on a piece of high-end equipment, I like it to look as well as it performs! The original unreleased logo--a simple, giant "XN10", was much more appealing to me than the retail, crammed together "Response XN10" logo. I wished they would have ran with the original one. But atleast the entire shaft is paint, no cheesystickers! Overall the XN10 is a slight alteration of the original TPS Response yellowish/orange, with the large white TPS lettering, which I have always been a big fan of. 9/10 Stickhandling/Passing: Catching passes with an XN10 is a dream. It's amazing how such a stiff, thin blade is so forgiving when receiving a rocket hard pass. Blade feel is also translated exceptionally well up through the shaft to your hands helping to keep your head up more. The only aspect where I feel the XN10 is too light is in stick-handling. Once in a while, when stickhandling in tight, it almost feels like I am holding a wiffle ball bat and I over maneuver with the stick causing the puck to fly off my blade. But take that with a grain of salt because I am a c+ stickhandler at best. Overall the XN10's ceramic feeling blade receives and returns accurate, rocket hard passes with unbelievable ease. 9.5/10 Shooting: Just shy of having a laser scope on this puppy, the XN10 allows for the hardest, quickest, pin-point accurate shot of any high-end one-piece period. Whether it's the decreased overall weight, lighter blade, extreme quadruple concave walls (allowing for spring-like action), or the new amorphous carbon composition (minus kevlar), the XN10 has more Snap Crackle and Pop on slap-shots, snap shots, back-handers and wrist shots than I have ever experienced with any other one-piece. And just as important, due to whatever reason, it has the quickest reload response of any stick. It has zero lag when shooting and then re-shooting a rebound that comes right back at you, or when repetively shooting in close--it's like the bionic stick. 11/10 Durability: Like any piece of equipment you drop $180.00 bucks on, you would like for it to last forever! Yeah, in theory. But this is the real world, and sticks break and break often. MY GI XN10 lasted a whopping 6 games before I took too much ice on a clearing attempt late in a game and sent half the taper and blade bobsledding passed center ice. My retail Tkachuck lasted less than two dozen games before meeting a similar fate--breaking on a shot a'la Sundin-style. I am still adjusting to the curve on my Nash and because I do not use it as much will likely last longer. Shaft durability (top and middle) has been phenomenal for me, and the new pre-preg ceramic blades hold up scary-well. The tapered part of the shaft, "kick-point area", however is a very questionable area in terms of strength. 7/10 Conclusion (Pro's vs. Cons): Kudos to Louisville for being the first out of the gate with a senior opc weighing in (according to "industry standards") below the 400 gram mark. As always durability is an issue, hopefully TPS headquarters will continue to work on this and so long as they do not compromise performance to do so! Stickhandling, for me, is sometimes affected negatively due to the lightness of the stick, but the incredible balance, pass catching ability, and shot performance of the XN10 far, far outweigh this. If Louisville could somehow increase durability along the taper--primarily, while maintaining the weight, and offer the XN10 with a subtle, lite tacky grip (God, not Rubber!) I think they just might have the Perfect Stick. Overall Rating: Louisville Response XN10- 9.5/10 UPDATE 10/12/04: After using the Easton Stealth for a month, I am still recommending the XN10 as a superior stick. The handle on the Stealth is closer to a countoured shape, like on the Vector 120C. Not as contoured, but the Stealth feels more like a V120C than a standard handle shape. For me, this detracts from my shot. The concavity of the XN10 shaft, while maintaining a more traditional handle shape, allows for an equal grip while stick-handling and a much, much better grip while shooting--resulting in a harder shot (atleast for me and my playing style.) Supposedly equal in weight, the XN10 still "plays" like a regular composite stick in the corners and when stick-checking, where the Stealth "plays" way too light for my liking. The pre-preg blade on the XN10 also still shoots harder and the shaft feels like it has more pop.