composite or wood stick? what brand?

[striker 0]

which do you use when playing outside? also, what brand do you prefer? by no means am i a pro, but i want a decent stick from a decent brand. easton? rbk? any suggestions for brand and type of stick will be very helpful. thanks in advance.

[#96 0]

Depends on the surface. I would not recommend using a graphite one piece or a blade for that matter on a playground. If you play on a very smooth concrete surface, a graphite blade will last a decent amount of time. But will eventually wear through.

I would STRONGLY recommend a wood stick. Even better, a plastic ABS blade is pretty good. Stiff and lasts on those rougher surfaces. I used to use a Koho ABA, kinda white color, said "Senior" on the hosel. That was actually a pretty darn good blade and decent curve. Nowadays, not too many ABS only blades. I think some companies like CCM, Koho, Easton, Louisville make a half abs/half wood blade that are all pretty decent.

Wood is gonna wear out. Fairly quickly, but they're cheap. I'd say get a decent shaft, maybe like a Easton Typhoon, Ocatane, Grip Lite something like that in the $50-$70 range and put one of those abs/wood blades in.

[stevoc 0]

I use an easton z-bubble shaft with wood easton blades...usually abs blades. This way I can match the blade type (shanahan or sakic) with what I use indoors. Also, since blades wear faster outdoor, it doesn't cost and arm and a leg to replace them.

One last note, I can buy the blades at my local big 5, since I only have one hockey shop anywhere close to me, and their outdoor stuff stock isn't really loaded.

[notorious#29 0]

Even if you are playing outside on something like a smooth concrete rink, I'd still stay away from using a graphite stick, especially and OPS. In my past outdoor playing experiences, the two just don't seem to go together well.

I found that my favorite combo for playing on concrete is a shaft with an ABS or wood blade.

[PJLime 0]

I only use ABS blades outside. We play on some sort of asphalt surface (a little rougher than tennis courts) and all-wood blades end up splintering and splitting pretty fast. ABS always wear down evenly. I just buy whatever ABS blade is laying around at the hockey shop.

Of course it depends on the surface you play on.