choosing a hockey stick?

[goobergo 0]

alright, I am fairly new to ice hockey and just broke both my primary and my backup sticks last week. Both were wood sticks that my father purchased for me 6+ years ago and I now need to by a stick on my own. I think I want to get into a composite shaft and purchase a blade. However, I am quickly finding out that I know nothing about, flex, different blade types, and whether I need to spend a lot of money to get a good stick. I am 5'7, 150 lbs., 23 year old intermediate player. I play forward and usually default to my wrist shot because I am more confident with placement than power. Can anyone lead me in the right direction or help me make a decision. I don't have a ton of money to spend but I don't want to buy a crappy stick either.

Thanks for your help guys.

[EBondo 242]

Judging from your height and weight, you should be strong enough to use an 85 flex stick. A 2-piece tapered shaft/blade combination is favored highly by members on MSH. TPS makes a fine tapered shaft, as does Warrior with it's Dolomite. If you want to go the one-piece stick route, and do not want to break a leg for a stick, you may be better off finding a close-out OPS from some online retailers. The Bauer Vapor XXX is a good choice, many people like that stick. If you don't want to go that way, CCM's Vector 8.0 is a fantastic mid-level stick, from what I've heard.

Hope this helps.

[Knuckles 0]

just to get different opinions, here goes:

I'm 5'7 around 180lbs. I play D and my style is strictly stay at home, clear the net and play the body. I use my stick alot to pokeckeck and what not. you know the style.

my current stick is a Louisville TPS Response XN10 OPS (I love the weight). my stick height when I'm on skates is about chin height.

let's say I want to change sticks, what should I go for? what flex? keep in mind I'd rather stay with an OPS

thanx

[Chadd 916]

just to get different opinions, here goes:

I'm 5'7 around 180lbs. I play D and my style is strictly stay at home, clear the net and play the body. I use my stick alot to pokeckeck and what not. you know the style.

my current stick is a Louisville TPS Response XN10 OPS (I love the weight). my stick height when I'm on skates is about chin height.

let's say I want to change sticks, what should I go for? what flex? keep in mind I'd rather stay with an OPS

thanx

What flex do you currently use and how are your wrist and slap shots?

[Knuckles 0]

Chadd, my current stick flex is a regular flex...that's all it says on the stick. my wrister is good and my slapshot is average.

[bulletproof_funk 0]

alright, I am fairly new to ice hockey and just broke both my primary and my backup  sticks last week.  Both were wood sticks that my father purchased for me 6+ years ago and I now need to by a stick on my own.  I think I want to get into a composite shaft and purchase a blade.  However, I am quickly finding out that I know nothing about, flex, different blade types, and whether I need to spend a lot of money to get a good stick.  I am 5'7, 150 lbs., 23 year old intermediate player.  I play forward and usually default to my wrist shot because I  am more confident with placement than power.  Can anyone lead me in the right direction or help me make a decision.  I don't have a ton of money to spend but I don't want to buy a crappy stick either.

Thanks for your help guys.

I am about your size, I use 85 flex. I find it gives me just enough flex on shots, and just stiff enough it doesn't make my stickhandling too unreponsive or lagging. This is after I've cut 3-4" off the shaft as well (which makes it stiffer). I use a Mission M-2 shaft (now called the Ion) that's pretty decent and probably won't bust your wallet. If you want even more flex, try a TPS Redlite in a Whip flex. Both these are standard shafts and will cost you less overall in the long run than tapered shafts/blades because tapered blades/shafts are generally more expensive and not as much blade selection in comparison to standard. The nice thing about tapered shafts is the flex feels more even, but being cost is a concern for you, I'd say the minor difference in feel/performance isn't worth the extra money.

[Chadd 916]

Chadd, my current stick flex is a regular flex...that's all it says on the stick. my wrister is good and my slapshot is average.

A slightly stiffer stick may improve your slapper, then again it may not. If possible try a 100 from a teammate before buying one. I would suggest a Bauer XV on closeout in 87. It's tapered and an excellent shaft and you can still swap out blades if you have to.

[Knuckles 0]

Chadd, my current stick flex is a regular flex...that's all it says on the stick. my wrister is good and my slapshot is average.

A slightly stiffer stick may improve your slapper, then again it may not. If possible try a 100 from a teammate before buying one. I would suggest a Bauer XV on closeout in 87. It's tapered and an excellent shaft and you can still swap out blades if you have to.

thanx

[Knuckles 0]

I'm not that sold on the shaft/blade combo. I dunno, but it feels like the blade will pop up at any moment when I have the puck.

I'd prefer a OPS

[KYHockey3 0]

i would reccomend an easton 75 flex or 85 flex.

hockeymonkey had synthesis's on sale for like 50$ + like 15 for a blade.

i would highly reccomend this combo, especially for the price.it is what i am currently using at the moment.

[KYHockey3 0]

I'm not that sold on the shaft/blade combo. I dunno, but it feels like the blade will pop up at any moment when I have the puck.

I'd prefer a OPS

if you get a tapered shaft/blade combo,its just the same as an ops, just with a glued in blade.

if you glue it and put the blade in correctly it shouldnt "pop up"

[Chadd 916]

I'm not that sold on the shaft/blade combo. I dunno, but it feels like the blade will pop up at any moment when I have the puck.

I'd prefer a OPS

That's one of the dumbest things I've ever heard. A properly inserted blade will be fine.

[Knuckles 0]

I'm not that sold on the shaft/blade combo. I dunno, but it feels like the blade will pop up at any moment when I have the puck.

I'd prefer a OPS

That's one of the dumbest things I've ever heard. A properly inserted blade will be fine.

sorry, but that's the feeling I get. I dunno, it doesn't get me the same feeling I have with a OPS.

I get the feeling the stick will break or something. I tried a shaft/blade from a friend and didn't feel comfortable with it.

[Andoy 5]

Prior to my Synergy ST, i have been using an TPS R2 shaft for the last 2 years. It's been used and abused but still holding up strong (it's just really whippy now) Since then I've gone through two"super toughs" in the last 4 months and i'm a beer leaguer at best.

When my second ST breaks i will definately go back to the tapered shaft/blade combo.

[Oberon 0]

I'm not that sold on the shaft/blade combo. I dunno, but it feels like the blade will pop up at any moment when I have the puck.

I'd prefer a OPS

That's one of the dumbest things I've ever heard. A properly inserted blade will be fine.

sorry, but that's the feeling I get. I dunno, it doesn't get me the same feeling I have with a OPS.

I get the feeling the stick will break or something. I tried a shaft/blade from a friend and didn't feel comfortable with it.

Your TPS Response is a shaft/blade combo painted to look like it is one piece. Most OPS are. You can duplicate the stick you have now with TPS shafts and blades, and it will give you the flexibility to try different flexes and curves for less money than buying OPS.

[sabre09923 0]

I would go with a standard shaft/blade combo. The performance difference between a tapered combo and a standard combo is marginal and plus, standard blades are a lot easier to find so he can experiment with a variety of curves. You could probably go with an Easton Ultra-Lite or a TPS Red Lite and throw in a wood blade or a cheap composite blade (Nike/Bauer Vapor V2, Easton Synergy ST) in the bottom, since you might want to switch curves. I reccomend that you start with an Easton Forsberg (or equivalent, which includes the Mission Elias, Bauer PM9, the TPS Tkachuk, the RBK Modano, or the Warrior Fedorov), and then adjust to your needs. For example, if you buy your blade and you find that you need more loft on your shot, you can switch to an Easton Drury or a Mission Carter. To help choose curves based on your needs, you can check out the Pattern Database at the top right corner of the page, and you can check out the Epuck blade tool, which is located on the right side of This Page. The blade tool will tell you what the properties (like curve depth, curve size, lie, etc.) of a particular curve mean.

[Knuckles 0]

thanx for the help guys. guess I'll start checking out some combos mentionned in the thread ;)

[Chadd 916]

I'm not that sold on the shaft/blade combo. I dunno, but it feels like the blade will pop up at any moment when I have the puck.

I'd prefer a OPS

That's one of the dumbest things I've ever heard. A properly inserted blade will be fine.

sorry, but that's the feeling I get. I dunno, it doesn't get me the same feeling I have with a OPS.

I get the feeling the stick will break or something. I tried a shaft/blade from a friend and didn't feel comfortable with it.

You shouldn't be thinking about your gear at all when you're playing. Having to think about your gear will slow you down. If you can't get it out of your head, try switching to a wood stick.

[SWP27 0]

If you're worried about the stick, try starting off with an ST for a OPS .. I know its a bit expensive but its really hard to break. I have been using the same stick from July til now and I take a lot of hard shots with it (85 flex if it helps)

[DamnLocust 0]

I've had issues with blades getting loose in the hosel in the past and it's probably one of the most annoying things to happen (other than a wheel getting loose/falling out) while in the middle of play.

To prevent it from happening, I got a pack of hot glue sticks from a craft store and put extra glue on the tenon before inserting it into the shaft. A friend of mine uses nearly a whole stick of glue for every blade because he's so paranoid of them falling out. Another trick is to put a strip of tape on the tenon before inserting it. Tapered shafts seem to fit a bit tighter than standards. I rarely havs issues with blades coming loose anymore.

edit: And I've heard of blades in OPS coming loose, as well. Namely Dolomites, and I could see it happening with a TPS since they don't epoxy their blades on.