RBK 9k O-Tech Stick (pics added by JR)

[Hidious 0]

All of that said, if someone came out with the best OPS on the planet and retailed it for $99 a lot of people would write it off because it was only a $99 stick.

Very good and true statement. If tend to judge a player i've never played with by looking at his stick/equipment. Do i need to see i often am surprise by what i see?

[DarkStar50 679]

When does price outweigh performance? The reason to use a OPS is for performance, not durability. Everyone still gets that confused but that is old news. So, when do you say no to a product due to its price, even if it adds something to your shot and your game? That is the question. what is the threshold?

At the moment, we are all a bunch of rats on crack looking for the next OPS high! Face it, most of us are addicted to OPS. "My name is DarkStar50 and I use a Vapor XXX. At the moment, I'm headed for a breakdown since NBH no longer carries my pattern, P02(Lidstrom)in a 77 flex. I'm going to really need help when this last one breaks. The Easton 85 flex just doesn't do it for me."

[jimmy 194]

A friend of mine has a interview with Bobby Orr back when he was playing and in it Orr was telling the kids, no need to buy the fancy $7.00 sticks, that the $3.00 were just fine. :-)

[AnthonyJTa 0]

I think it's funny... and I've even fallen victim. I have about 5 ops' in my room right now... no way I can use 5 of them at a time.... I buy them for the sake of trying something new out. But I'll be the first to complain if they aren't as "durable" as I feel they should be. I've gotten out of such a mindframe...

[usahockey22 0]

Oh boy, extra performance from an incredibly light, 200 dollar stick? Shit, there better be. Although the average joe will not notice any difference. Anyone playing high level hockey can shoot and stick handle better than most people on this board, with a 10 dollar wood stick. Performance comes only from talent and practice. Sure, if you are a sponsored NHL player or college team, you might as well get free top of the line gear to pimp for the sponsor on TV...but the actual difference it will make in an already top player's performance is negligible...but still more difference than it will make for someone who can't use their stick properly to begin with. And of course if they break one, they don't shell out the cash every time...because the people being duped by watching them, and use the said gear, are paying enough to supply the whole league.

Ehh, my cousin is a top player for a top D3 team, and he and many of his teammates use the $80 ultra-lite sticks, and he has consistently told other people in the family not to waste the cash on the OPS. I could go out and buy this O-Stick today, hand him a 20 year old banged and cracked up sherwood, and he would still own me, and most other people, in any game situation...but I bet my OPS would increase my performance a bit, right? Doesn't matter.

[DarkStar50 679]

I think a OPS does increase your performance when shooting for the player with enough skill to know what he is doing. That is the only explanation I have for the reason I can shoot the puck harder now than when I was 20 years younger using a Sher-Wood 5030 or 7000. I know I'm not stronger now than I was 20 years ago, but my shot is helluva lot better(harder and faster) than it was back then. I vote for the OPS as being "the difference."

Sure Joe D3 can play with an old woody and do whatever he wants with the biscuit. But those guys looking for a little something extra on their shot, without the talent of Joe D3, then the OPS will provide it as long as you know how to take advantage of it. So, the payoff is in the performance.

[odp 0]

We can argue all day about non-tanglible advantages of OPS, but one can't really argue against the weight savings at the end of the day. For kicks, I weighed some old woodies, all very close to the length of stick that I use. They varied from 640g to 708g. My ST goes into the rink just under 500g. That's a 30% difference at the low end and 40% difference at the high end.

Of course many will say "suck it up/work out" or "pro NHL players are alot stronger than you are" but I sure know that I can swing my stick faster, poke check faster, and stick handle faster with a lighter stick. After all, there's a reason guys train with heavier sticks and pucks.

Just my 2c.

[Chadd 916]

There is no doubt that composite, tapered sticks perform better than wood or standard shafts in terms of release. It also allows for better performance and more durability, especially in lighter flexes.

The area that is open for debate is if that is enough to make up for the poor feel of composite compared to wood.

[usahockey22 0]

Well, how about I weigh some friends of mine...they might vary from 150 to 220 pounds, but myself goes into that rink at around 185 pounds. Does that mean anything? No. And you really think that a difference of 150 grams (that's about 5 ounces) is going to make a big difference in your playing, big enough to where it's worth 150-200 dollars for the stick? At the rate some guys break those things, they could just invest in a gym membership and maybe learn to deal with the extra 5 ounces, still coming out ahead of the OPS buyer. Of course we all have the right to purchase whatever we want, but this is just one of those things I can't figure out. For pro-level players who do this as a job, then it makes sense, but otherwise...

I would bet a lot of the "advantages" seen by recreational players using these sticks are explainable by the ol' placebo effect...you know you've got a 200 dollar, 500 gram stick, so you "know" you will perform better, and you do. But of course it's a very effective marketing ploy (the latest and best "thing" that will help you do whatever it is you want to do, better), and as they say, a sucker is born every minute.

[DarkStar50 679]

usahockey22,

Just curious...What is your twig of choice? How long have you been playing hockey?

[usahockey22 0]

usahockey22,

Just curious...What is your twig of choice? How long have you been playing hockey?

I'm just using an easton t-flex right now, but once I break it I will probably just go back to wood...certainly better for muscular endurance, plus I do prefer the feel of the wood stick. I started playing hockey 12 years ago.

Also, I do not deny that there probably are some slight advantages to using these sticks, and they probably do help some people (placebo or not), but I just think it's ridiculous that kids are using them, and that people can actually justify the cash for a STICK. I tell you, it's a great way for the companies to make money...comparable to selling snake oil supplements in my book.

[TBLfan 25]

I can agree, I'm not good enough or play at a high enough level to justify a $300 stick. Hell, I wouldn't buy a $200 stick.

Does everyone need a composite stick? no.

Can everyone seen all the benefits of a composite stick? of course not.

Is it ok to buy and use a composite no matter what level you play? of course.

It's your money(or your parent's), spend it the way you want. No one needs a BMW M3 E46, but if I could afford one I'd buy it. I see no problem spoiling yourself and getting something you want. Most of us work hard for our money and we deserve to be able to spend it the way we want without getting reprimanded from our peers.

[usahockey22 0]

Yea TBL, I completely agree with you. My problem is not with people buying them really, but with how these sticks are marketed and sold at such high prices. It just smells like a scam to me.

[G60 0]

No one needs a BMW M3 E46

you're right. E30>E46 :P

[tokes 0]

No one needs a BMW M3 E46

you're right. E30>E46 :P

Yeah! Older, less stiff, less powerful, less potential, uglier, worse build quality :P If an E30 and an E46 were priced the exact same, nobody would buy an E30.

[DarkStar50 679]

Yea TBL, I completely agree with you. My problem is not with people buying them really, but with how these sticks are marketed and sold at such high prices. It just smells like a scam to me.

Its amazing that the stick companies scammed every player in the NHL with OPS except Bobby Holik. They must have some really good snake oil salesmen working these pro players into believing a OPS is any good. The blind leading the blind.

[bigdaddykane 0]

its the coolest stick ever, i want to buy one,i cant wait for it to come out

[usahockey22 0]

Its amazing that the stick companies scammed every player in the NHL with OPS except Bobby Holik. They must have some really good snake oil salesmen working these pro players into believing a OPS is any good. The blind leading the blind.

They get them for free, never having to shell out 200 for every time it breaks. Of course you would use the latest stick technology when you have a ready supply of them to use, for FREE.

[DarkStar50 679]

Then the technology must work in a OPS, whether or not they get them for FREE. If a woody was better, then all pros would use woodies, since they are also FREE. Why should you bother to buy RBK 9K Pump skates or Pro Tacks skates if the RBK 5K Pump skates or CCM 652 skates do the same job? If there is a benefit to pro model skates and you pay for it, why not pay for a OPS, which also provides a benefit?

How much have you used a OPS? And how old is that Easton T-flex shaft you are using?

[Guest OSTOR]

I'am going with darkstar on this one

USA you seriously need to use a one piece before you can bash it

[furlanitalia 1]

I find that with wood sticks there are far to many inconsistencies. I went back to wood after breaking my first ops (vapor xx) and ploughed through 4 or 5 of them in the 3 month span before christmas. After awhile they become weak, soft, and your shot just gets sloppy. And at almost 50 bucks a twig, thats more then a good ops. So for that simple fact alone (and i'm not ignoring the fact that ops tend to break quite often in the nhl) a ops has a far higher performance then wood. Cause even in Uni hockey and junior, they're not breaking anywhere near like the nhl.

[usahockey22 0]

Then the technology must work in a OPS, whether or not they get them for FREE. If a woody was better, then all pros would use woodies, since they are also FREE. Why should you bother to buy RBK 9K Pump skates or Pro Tacks skates if the RBK 5K Pump skates or CCM 652 skates do the same job? If there is a benefit to pro model skates and you pay for it, why not pay for a OPS, which also provides a benefit?

How much have you used a OPS? And how old is that Easton T-flex shaft you are using?

Yea, but would all the NHLers still use the OPS if they had to shell out 200 each time they broke one? Skates are one thing, to me, that is worth spending a lot of money on...because if you play competitively, you need good skates. Good skates are a solid investment, and should last at least a year, or many. I know a lot of top college players who stopped using those one pieces because of the cost...

Anyway, I do admit, I haven't spent a lot of time using one, so maybe if I ever do I could change my mind if they really make that much of a difference. Some people say that they break all the time (I heard some of the synergys are terrible about breaking), and others say that they last long enough to be worth the price of however many cheap sticks they would buy. But I haven't yet decided to drop 200 on a stick and give it a real evaluation..

[furlanitalia 1]

Would an nhler shell out 200 for their sticks? If it performs why not? Lets break this down and say they went through 2 a game. Thats 164 sticks. So roughly 33,000 a year, not including playoffs. Now most players would probably buy them in packs, or large quantities, so they'd probably only pay about 150 at the most per stick. That drops the price to just under 25,000. And considering the average salary is 1.46 million (as of last nov), i'm pretty sure they'd shell it out, even if they were going through 4-5 of them a game. Its like you said about skates, its a solid investment, and in the nhl they need to perform.

[slapshot19 0]

any more game play pictures to post...anyone???

[DarkStar50 679]

The equipment managers at your friends' colleges might have had something to do with that.