Wood sticks becoming obsolete?

[VECHKIN08 0]

I know that wood sticks are a tradition in this sport. Hell it's how the sport began and have been a mainstay forever. But now more than ever I can see that wood sticks may end up in the back of the locker room or in a trashcan next to $200 synthetic,composite,graphite sticks with speed holes in them.

I've been thinking about it for a while a now and making a lot of observations. Almost nobody in the NHL uses an entirely wood stick anymore. People I play hockey with including myself, choose "ligher,stronger,faster" composite sticks. Honestly it's been probably about 2 years since I've bought one. It's just incredible how the composite sticks spread like wildfire over the hockey industry and literally torched the wood sticks in it's wake. Even in hockey shops over the past years I've seen it change dramatically. You used to only be able to handle the wood sticks while the holy grail of OPS were behind lock and key. Now the wood stick shelf has greatly diminished and has far less sticks on it then the composite self.

So basically what I'm getting at is do people feel the same way I do? I truly feel that possibly within the next 5-6 years wood sticks will almost completely disappear from the shelves. It's just crazy to me that the "twig" or "stick" that everyone plays with doesn't even retain the properties of its name. Haha maybe instead of twig, people will be saying "hey check out my new composite hockey rod!" Well probably not but it's funny to think about...

How does everybody else feel? Anybody feel that maybe wood can make a comeback?

[Eazy_b97 1]

I doubt a comeback, but there is a market for it. Greatly diminished, but it is there. It's techology, look at "woods" in golf.

[barrett 0]

AHH. I don't think they will ever get rid of them because of the fact there is still alot of people using them . Maybe not compare to those using composite but enough to justify still makin them. I obviously do not believe they will ever be considred top of the line , or replace composite sticks because it will simply not make sense to do that. I think people will always use them , but you will never see them more popular than composite. The same thing will happen to composite when they star using differentmaterials. That's just how things like this go!

[Fixxer 0]

Beer league is the biggest market for them IMO.

My guess is many people rasing families dont want to drop $200 on a new stick every 3 months.

[Allsmokenopancake 0]

Exactly Fixxer.

The only OPS, Shaft/blade combos I have are ones I got for the price of a wood stick here in the sell section.

Until my play gets a whole lot better, I won't be dropping big money on composite sticks.

I play in adult beginners level leagues, composite sticks are wasted on me at the minute.

As I get better I will probably pick up something, but I see me as a wood user with the occasional foray into the OPS market for quite a while.

For me, I'm waaaay past being a highly competitive player, so just want to enjoy the sport.

I will spend on what I want to, like gloves, skates, good protection for now, and sticks later.

I think will lower levels of play, there will always be a market for the wood sticks

[daca 0]

i can't see them ever being phased out. i still like to buy wood if i'm curious about a certain pattern.

[roadrunner 12]

I'd rather buy a good wood stick rather than some of these price point OPS.

[daca 0]

I'd rather buy a good wood stick rather than some of these price point OPS.

definitely.

[voss 0]

i think there will still be a market for wood blades at least, i prefer the softer feel of the wood blade. they have yet to make a composite that can replicate that feel imo

[Jarick 5]

Not obsolete, but they can stand to be better.

Lighter and flexier wood sticks would be great. But they lose their "kick" and performance even faster. Not to mention most of the wood stick selections are terrible. Why a company needs several "tiers" of wood sticks is beyond me.

Once you get past the point of "learning the basics," I think there are numerous benefits to moving towards a shaft-blade combo. Trying different curves, lighter weight, more flex, those help a lot.

[All Torhs Team 0]

They stopped making some of the best ones IMO. That really pissed me off because I use wood sticks most of the season, so do some of the guys on my teams. They arn't completly getting rid of them yet, but its just really hard to find a make that you like, then the right curve, then with my luck it always the wrong side.

I wish you could still get your hands on the ones you wanted.

[nni 0]

i refused to make the switch until i was going through a wood stick about once every 3 games and they were becoming increasingly hard to find. i still use a wood blade, so i hope that at least stays.

[jokerit1967 0]

in the long run wood is more likely to cost more to manufacture. It happened in golf wood heads... metals, composites, and titanium were easier to make because of casting, and molds. The older a composite technology is the cheaper it becomes to purchase, manufacture, and manipulate. (see also golf shafts). Plus the quality control due to the consistency (i.e. non-organic materials) of the material itself.

one thing that keeps prices high (aside from manufacturer desire and marketing) is that they gradually try to improve things such as strength to weight ratio... and even changes in performance categories... where for example as golf shafts have evolved.... originally low torque meant heavier graphite/composite shafts that were much stiffer... with a low launch angle... over the years you could then find super low torque with high or low launch angle in superlight weight with variable flexes.... the composite world just yields more options... whereas normally in something like wood.. to make it stronger...it would likely get stiffer (given the same type of wood is used, etc)

[graflifer16 0]

Yeah I don't think they will ever phase out. I teach young kids who all tend to use them mostly because parents don't want to dish out $200 for a composite. I mean some do but most of them are reasonable and have their kids using wood. Then the beer league at my rink seems to be filled with wood sticks, because there cheaper and half of the guys grew up with them and just stick with them. The one thing I have gone back to is the two-piece. For me it has been more reliable and if I break blades all I have to do is put a new one in. But back to the wood sticks thanks to junior hockey players and the beer league players I don't think they will ever phase out, as mentioned before they are the cheaper option to trying a new pattern.

[Griff 2]

I believe that wood sticks will always be around and we've had quite a bit of success at my shop with getting people to give some of the nicer wood sticks a try as well as educating players and parents on the advantages/disadvantages of each type of stick. My main pet peeve on this subject is how many times a kid has gotten a clueless parent convinced that they really need that expensive ops and I have to step in and lay down the reasoning that "son you don't need a one-piece, you know why? Because you're 9" can anyone really justify an ops for a player before bantams at the earliest? They've become hockey's air jordans they look cool and they're expensive so you've gotta have one but it won't make you any better unless you're already to a certain point skillwise that most kids never reach.

[jimmy 194]

I sold a whole bunch of wood this year, even more than expected. The cold, no snow weather was great for the backyard rink/pond skater and most of them buy wood. Having said that, full-time hockey players are just not buying wood. Once they "convert" to OPS, that's it, they are hooked. in my estimate, less than 5% are using wood and that's dropping fast. I will say, Easton has a new wood stick coming out soon that has composite look, vinyl wrap and a sweet paintjob that makes it look like a ops. It will certainly sell (I think) to a select audience that doesn't want to look "old school" but can't afford OPS.

[Viking 1]

Ewww, I hate those 'OPS-look' wood sticks. I have a real cheapo one that Sher-Wood made, and it's just shameful to look at in my stick wardrobe. It was in my beloved Bourque pattern though, so I would have bought it if it had "I am a homosexual" written on it in neon pink.

[daca 0]

It was in my beloved Bourque pattern though, so I would have bought it if it had "I am a homosexual" written on it in neon pink.

dedication, my friend. what model sherwood was it?

[jmiro 55]

i went from wood to ops back to wood and now a two peice. I love the feel of wood but i go through them to quick. I hate the feel of ops so i settled on a two peice with a wood blade. The beer league i play in is half and half, but the stores here cant keep enough sherwood feather lites in stock. So a two peice allows me to order blades in bulk and not get killed in shipping. Plus the two peice is a lot lighter

[sc37 0]

i went from wood to ops back to wood and now a two peice. I love the feel of wood but i go through them to quick. I hate the feel of ops so i settled on a two peice with a wood blade. The beer league i play in is half and half, but the stores here cant keep enough sherwood feather lites in stock. So a two peice allows me to order blades in bulk and not get killed in shipping. Plus the two peice is a lot lighter

Ditto...just replace the Sherwood with the TPS X-Lite. Only thing I hate about wood is the inconsistancies, but seeing how the blades are made and curved I can see why. Sometimes gotta pick thru a few to find the 'exact' one I want.

[jokerit1967 0]

speaking of wood sticks... anyone know of anywhere i can get the blue & white titan 2020s with Selanne patterns? any LHS out there with some in the back room? a mail order warehouse with them hidden behind boxes of Easton shoulder pads?

NOS? anyone?

thanks!

[kovalchuk71 212]

Theyre probably all dried out by now

[nni 0]

i got tired of trying to find my pattern so i bought that blade curving tool. before i got a chance to actually use it, i switched.

[B-Nads 0]

My favorite stick of all time is the Canadien C45 - the one that had some red on it, in the Verbeek pattern. Second to that was the Canadien in the Neely pattern. If I could still find something like that, I would use it, but I tried going back to wood after using the comps, but it just doesn't feel right anymore. Most of the guys in my league are using woods or 2 pieces.

[hockechamp14 0]

My favorite stick of all time is the Canadien C45 - the one that had some red on it, in the Verbeek pattern. Second to that was the Canadien in the Neely pattern. If I could still find something like that, I would use it, but I tried going back to wood after using the comps, but it just doesn't feel right anymore. Most of the guys in my league are using woods or 2 pieces.

The neely canadien was where it was at. I used one of those for at least 5-6 years in youth hockey. :D

I thought about switching to wood, but I can't afford to find out if it IS more expensive... so I figured I'd go with something that is somewhat reliable. Picked up a couple ultra lites and ST forsbergs yesterday, so hopefully those will last me a while.