Wood sticks and Pros. Why?

[#96 0]

For those in the know...what is it about wood sticks that players stay with them? Do they not like the lighter weight of composite sticks, puckfeel? I'm sure along the way, players have commented why they won't switch when everyone else will.

[mack 44]

From the few that I'd use, my shots have more velocity with wood. The con to that is that it won't retain its flex for long. The feel is better as well, but the general inconsistency of wood is frustrating.

[Bruin88 0]

stickhandling and passing is much much softer too

[slaw 1]

the Veteran pros like Peca, Niewendyk grew up with the wood thats the only reason I can still see them using them. It works both ways though cause Vet's like Yzerman use them and he's got his own Easton Retail Pattern.

[tokes 0]

The worst thing for me was actually the reliability. Instead of spending 50 bucks for a new wood stick every couple of weeks I can spend 50 bucks to replace the blade in a two-piece stick spread over much more time. I'm easy on blades, but the wood sticks just blow out on you after so long. I actually like the snappiness of carbon blades better too, so that's another plus. For NHL players I doubt it's for cost, so they must just like the feel and balance of it better. It's just personal preference, kinda like curves.

[SR27 0]

I´ve grown up with wood as most of us did but honestly I haven´t really used one since about 5 years. Either 2-piece or OPS ever since for me. I have recently picked up a Nike v12 Woodie for cheap and used it for the first time in a game today. Honestly I´m asking myself how I could ever have performed well with wood. I tell you composite all the way. The woodies are twice as heavy as everything else I got. I´ve thrown the V12 into the stands after the first cause I was pissed about about my game.

[jbyun04 7]

I´ve grown up with wood as most of us did but honestly I haven´t really used one since about 5 years. Either 2-piece or OPS ever since for me. I have recently picked up a Nike v12 Woodie for cheap and used it for the first time in a game today. Honestly I´m asking myself how I could ever have performed well with wood. I tell you composite all the way. The woodies are twice as heavy as everything else I got. I´ve thrown the V12 into the stands after the first cause I was pissed about about my game.

where did you get the V12?!?!?!?$?!?!#!%! And for how much?!!

I picked up the Flexlite 12 woodie and have yet to try it. I know for a fact that Naslund's pro stock wood is hella light, and I'm talking COMPOSITE light. Since I'm a righty and my brothers a lefty, the Flexlite 12 is the closest thing i'll probably ever get to a prostock nike wood unless I can find a Zero-G or that V-12.

[nazzy19 0]

if you pick up the flexlite 12 and compare it to the flexlite 10, the 10 is actually lighter.

[jbyun04 7]

if you pick up the flexlite 12 and compare it to the flexlite 10, the 10 is actually lighter.

yeah but when I got my FLexlite 12 they didn't have any Flexlite 10s in Sr. Plus with the whole carbon dealy I thought it would be lighter than the 10.. unfortunately not but I'm going to go and test the 12 out. I'll give my thoughts later.

[Buzz_LightBeer 973]

I enjoy wood sticks because ive found that i can use a larger, more open curve, and kep control of the puck much better, as far as shooting

[Ogie Oglethorpe 14]

PRO/CONS OF WOOD STICKS

PROs

* Puck feel is far better. The natural "resonance", if you will, makes it easier to tell when the puck is on your blade (and where it is).

* Easier to recieve passes: with composites many complain of the "trampoline" like effect where the puck springs off your twig before your hands can register that you have rec'd the puck.

* Easier to customize: players love customizing their twigs (from reshaping their curves to customizing whether it is boxed at the toe, rounded, etc).

* Cheaper! You can likely get 5 wood sticks for the price of one composite. This is especially nice as some NHL teams have given the players a "budget" and after they exceed their expenses it's out of pocket.

* Easier to tell when it's going to break. First off, some pros have found the knack for just how to clip a shaft so it will break. You can't really do this with a woodie. Furthermore, it's just easier to see when it's splintered or "ballooning up" (from moisture seaping into the cracks) when it's time to replace.

CONS:

* Not all the wood sticks are cut from the same stock, so flexes vary by batch.

* Since it's wood, curves too can vary by batch (pros often give their equipment guys some extra coin to check out the curves and sticks for them to send the "defects" back).

* (so, in short, consistancy can cover the first 2 points)

* Durability: Composites are said to be more durable (although, see points in the pros as some have figured out just how to hit the shafts to cut down on their life, and it's harder to tell when a composite is about to go which leads to several "Oh $hit" moments when the twig breaks during game play)

* Consistancy: since it's a mold flexes and curves are always the same regardless of batch (well... "always" is a misnomer perhaps, but 98% of the time at least)

* Blade Stiffness:composite blades are far stiffer, which is better for pointing/shooting slapshots.

* Wood breaks down in several ways. The wood stiffness will degrade far earlier than that of composites (which is why a 100 flex wood will feel like a limp noodle after a few months of hard usage).

* Wood and water are enemies. Once the blade gets some openings in the sealant, water can get in there and cause the wood to swell, making it break down faster.

* There's no real way to engineer a kick point in wood (like you can in composites). Also, since the wood varies from batch to batch, any "natural" kick point that might be in the wood will vary each time. Also, it's tough to keep blade/shaft rotation from happening as each stick may depend on the cut.

* Weight: Old school woodies can weigh several hundred grams more than a composite (I think back in the day, a "light" wood stick would be 700-800 grams, which is why the old Busch sticks were considered to be so much light (now, a 500-550 gram Busch stick is considered heavy compared to the 395 gram composites). I'm not a big proponent of lighter is better, but the old Bauer sticks with the metal inlays (I want to say they were the 3090's) were great for stiffness, but weighed over 800 grams.

Just my 2 cents on it all ;)

I think the biggest differences on my list would be puck feel (for the pros), ability to customize, and low cost. Verses the biggest for the composites being consistancy of flex & curve and blade stiffness and durability (I used to go through 1 wood stick a month back in the day, now I have some composites that last 6 to sometimes 12 months of heavy usage).

[JR Boucicaut 3804]

Wood sticks have a constant flex, so need to engineer a kickpoint.

You will get the shot off your stick faster with a composite stick, but you will produce a faster/harder shot with wood.

[Jim A 4]

composite shaft with a low kickpoint and the right wood blade

[chippa13 1844]

I've actually found my shot got faster/harder first when I moved to standard 2 piece sticks and then again when I went to OPS/2 piece tapered sticks.