Aluminum sticks

[captainnifty 0]

Hey folks,

I was just curious for a while as to what happened to the fate of aluminum hockey sticks.

Did they just fade away in popularity?

Ice hockey players get sick of stepping on them?

I haven't seen or heard an offical or really good argument as to why they don't make them anymore.

Any thoughts?

[Chadd 916]

Old technology, composites are lighter and don't bend.

[nummer55 10]

What about the rumor that they didn't break quick enough?

[sdcopp 1]

I'm surprised they never tried to go with Titanium alloys for a lighter, stronger stick.

[sdcopp 1]

What about the rumor that they didn't break quick enough?

they didn't need to break, they deformed and became unuseable.

[Chadd 916]

I'm surprised they never tried to go with Titanium alloys for a lighter, stronger stick.

Much more expensive, still warp and still not as light as the current composites

[JR Boucicaut 3789]

Didn't Pro Kennex have a titanium shaft?

[Nelly 0]

The Pro Kennex composites that they sold years ago were absolute tanks!! It is like twice as heavy than the modern composites, but no one I know has been able to break mine (even some guys I know that are brutle on theirs). Wonder if they still make shafts?

[Chadd 916]

Didn't Pro Kennex have a titanium shaft?

They had a comp model with "Ti" in the name. I know a guy who had one that broke in the third period of the first game. There was a website a long time ago that was pimping titanium sticks but they closed down at least 6-7 years ago. They were $120 or something equally insane.

[captainnifty 0]

I rememer having a pro kennex stick. The tactile feel of the shaft was like an egg shell, and I never could get a straight shot with it. The kevlar whatnot tip that sort of changed colors when it was time to change blades, while heating it that is, was pretty novel though.

[Joker518 0]

I had a mid-range ProKennex shaft as well. Loved the coating the Cap talked about but it indeed quite heavy. Not must consistancy or pop in the shot though. Its probably in my shed somewhere, that thing never broke even after it outlived around 10+ blades.

[TBLfan 25]

Didn't Pro Kennex have a titanium shaft?

They had a comp model with "Ti" in the name. I know a guy who had one that broke in the third period of the first game. There was a website a long time ago that was pimping titanium sticks but they closed down at least 6-7 years ago. They were $120 or something equally insane.

titanium is worth more than silver, I have more than $120 of titanium in my watch. It probably wasn't soo much a titanium stick as it had small particles of titanium in it. Titanium also bends rather easily.

[Chadd 916]

Didn't Pro Kennex have a titanium shaft?

They had a comp model with "Ti" in the name. I know a guy who had one that broke in the third period of the first game. There was a website a long time ago that was pimping titanium sticks but they closed down at least 6-7 years ago. They were $120 or something equally insane.

titanium is worth more than silver, I have more than $120 of titanium in my watch. It probably wasn't soo much a titanium stick as it had small particles of titanium in it. Titanium also bends rather easily.

It was an alloy

[JSchultz 25]

Cool aluminum shafts I remember:

Easton Convex (my first!)

Easton A/C

Easton Classic (The shanahan!)

and The Gretzky one, which was all silver and black.

The good old days!

[captainnifty 0]

When I was starting out, I remember drooling over the Easton Taper-wall and the "silver-tipped" cyclone.

I actually played with the good ol' Street Rush, Easton Instinct, and a Bauer AL3060 (which I hath dubbed "Ol' Faithful").

The Instinct did end up curving like macaroni on me, but it served its life bravely.

The Bauer held up like a champ aside from the puck dents near the bottom.

[yipperzz 28]

When I was starting out, I remember drooling over the Easton Taper-wall and the "silver-tipped" cyclone.

I actually played with the good ol' Street Rush, Easton Instinct, and a Bauer AL3060 (which I hath dubbed "Ol' Faithful").

The Instinct did end up curving like macaroni on me, but it served its life bravely.

The Bauer held up like a champ aside from the puck dents near the bottom.

i had the rush street too. i loved my pro gold stick but it was so damn heavy. i also had the gretzky stick too. man i was just as much of a stick whore back then as i am now :lol:

[TheProfessor 2]

I played with a rush street aluminum for 5 years, then quit playing hockey. When I came back, my first thought was "where are all the aluminum sticks?" MY second thought was "One piece sticks? what the?" . Followed by my jaw dropping at the cost of new sticks.

[KYHockey3 0]

i have a few aluminums i use for outdoor hockey.

they are not very nice at all compared to any other shaft.

one of them is damaged and one dent can screw up putting a new balde or butt end in it forever

[Benchboy 0]

There are still guys here in Australia that use Aluminium sticks every game.

I think I know why the companies stopped making them!

[ash_96 0]

A few guys on my roller hockey team still use the aluminium shafts. one guy's had his 'classic' since it first came out and its hardly bent at all either!

[SailRace 1]

One of the big reasons that composites won out over alluminum or alloy is because of the rebound qualities. Metal, and consequently alloy, is designed to remain stiff and retain its shape, no matter what loads are placed on it. While it will deflect some with force, it is not intended to flex and snap back. Composite on the other hand, inherently has that ability to flex when loaded, and then snap back to its original shape.

Think about high end road bikes - the same rules hold true. Alluminum can be made just as light as carbon composite bikes, but it is stiff as all hell. You ride over uneven pavement or roads, and you feel every little jolt and bump in your bones. Composite frames will absorb some of that shock and give a much gentler ride because it can flex and snap back into place.

The technology of carbon composites just far outweights that of alluminum and alloy when it comes to the physics of shooting a hockey puck. If all people wanted was the stiffest stick avaialble, alloy might be the material of choice, but stiff doesn't mean better. And as for Titanium....solid titanium couldn't be used, not only because its expensive, but because its a very brittle metal. Titanium, while strong and very very stiff, can also shatter on impact. So therefore, no TI sticks.

[Chanimal 0]

I still have a Easton Aluminum t-flex 85 sitting in my closet. I don't think anyone would be interested in it anymore, so I gave up trying to sell it.....

[sdcopp 1]

Titanium alloys are very viable, and are used in top end road bicycles. It certainly may been seem in the future, since alloyed Titanium is lighter than aluminum and stronger than steel. The issue becomes finding the right alloy mix.

[Jim A 4]

cycling stuff..

Aluminum can be made light when its thin walled ala Cannondale etc..could you imagine a Cannondale type shaft? that's what you'd be looking at to get to ~300 grams for Al..

Ti - great for bikes because of its springiness..but not the stiffest alloy out there...it was always a good scene at Interbike back in the day when you would bend it..and then watch it flex back into shape

[sdcopp 1]

Ti - great for bikes because of its springiness..but not the stiffest alloy out there

Do you really want that stiff of a shaft though? Titanium is viable, but R&D for it wouldn't be the most fun I imagine, nor the most cost effective business upfront.