TPS sticks

[BK 0]

Seems like TPS sticks are rare and in between around here. I have even had questions about my RLxn10 like people have never heard of the brand (other than from baseball).

Why is this company so under-rated? Every stick I have used with them has been amazing. Is it marketing? Lack of presence? No funny commercials like nikebauer?

Even seems like the only time you hear about their sticks on the board is when Chadd mentions them or in the SELL forum.

[blues_91 0]

Maybe it is just your area? Around here almost everyone has or had a TPS stick at one point. I know my first OPS was the Response, I chose it over the Synergy easily.

[JR Boucicaut 3801]

Seems like TPS sticks are rare and in between around here. I have even had questions about my RLxn10 like people have never heard of the brand (other than from baseball).

Why is this company so under-rated? Every stick I have used with them has been amazing. Is it marketing? Lack of presence? No funny commercials like nikebauer?

Even seems like the only time you hear about their sticks on the board is when Chadd mentions them or in the SELL forum.

See that Mission thread about product placement in stores.

[BK 0]

What kills them are shops who are afraid to stock their product - and that's not Mission's fault. It's the shops who would rather rest on their laurels and stock NBH skates because they know they would clerk every sale instead of pushing a skate they believe in. I order hockey for a 11-store chain of stores and I don't stock Mission high-end skates. Does this make me a hypocrite? No. If I stocked Mission high-end just in my store, I won't have a problem - I had zero probs selling Pure Flys and S500s when I stocked them in Orlando. Nobody came into my store and asked specifically for Mission - they were looking for another skate and I had to beg and grovel for them to throw them on. But once they did...

This was pulled from the mission thread that JR was talking about in the previous thread. I think it holds true for TPS too.

I really think that people have a set mind on gear. I am a great example of this. Thinking back to my last few trips to my LHS, I knew exactly what I wanted before I even walked through the door. I bought an XXX lite the last time and the only other stick I even picked up was a One90. When I bought my skates, I walked in wanting a new pair of tacks. I walked out with a new pair of tacks. I actually saw some AG's on the shelf and asked the clerk about them, but they only stocked 2 sizes and neither were mine. He even mentioned to me afterwards that if I could fit in tacks, there was no way I would fit in missions because of the toecap.

I think that a lot of people have this frame of mind. They walk into their LHS and get exactly what they were looking for. Very few people walk into their shop wanting to buy a stick (not knowing which one). Even if they do, most of the time they have 2 in their mind that they will try. Online shopping made it even worse because all you get is some generic description and or crappy cut and paste review (ala epuck).

Guess theres not much companies like TPS and Mission can do about that eh?..

[mack 44]

They don't name sticks like Kronik or Mac Daddy; have stuff called "nipple grip" or have really cheesy, out-of-touch advertising that kids eat up.

[jimmy 194]

The TPS sales rep has never set foot in my store. Not going to sell many sticks that way. Usually sales reps are bugging the crap out of you to sell their products. Having said that, I get about 1 request per season from someone looking for a TPS, they're just not popular in my area. People want easton, Bauer and RBK, the other brands, while they all make decent sticks, are not good sellers.

[trevor13478 1]

the proshop at my rink carries easton almost exclusively, with a few ccm woodies occasionaly, and rbk helmets and pants. i think there are a few of the original responses there as well that haven't sold. Easton is by far the biggest brand in my area but still, it's a little rediculous that the other brands haven't even made a dent.

[Doctor Hook 0]

I just don't consider the brand when I am shopping for gear. I'm more of a NBH/Easton man.

[mack 44]

Man I would hate to ever stop and see what's on the sides of the tunnel I'm walking thru.

[TBLfan 25]

I think it's sad really. I'm a fan on Mission and TPS sticks, they seem to give you the most bang for your buck, not just their sticks but across the board.

[DEATHTRON 19]

I think it's sad really. I'm a fan on Mission and TPS sticks, they seem to give you the most bang for your buck, not just their sticks but across the board.

I dont know about bang for the buck, but as far as Im concerned TPS builds the best shafts out there by far. They are light, and for their weight they are very durable.

Zach

[gymmonster 4]

I love tps sticks.......have a response+ ops, xn10 ops, and now moved on to a R6 shaft but even here in Vancouver I had to ask the LHS to order the ops in a curve and flex I wanted because they didn't have it readily in stock

[TBLfan 25]

I think it's sad really. I'm a fan on Mission and TPS sticks, they seem to give you the most bang for your buck, not just their sticks but across the board.

I dont know about bang for the buck, but as far as Im concerned TPS builds the best shafts out there by far. They are light, and for their weight they are very durable.

Zach

Pretty good bang for you buck if you can use one XN10/R8 for 6 months instead of buying two or three XXXlites. ;)

[odp 0]

I can't ever recall seeing a TPS commercial on tv.

[A2rhino 62]

Marketing is the key to it all. Lets face it, we deal with this regarding almost everthing we buy all the way down to TP. The sad thing is that what started out as a good possible solution to this all: That being Consumer Reports, has made it worse. I know that in my industry people only look for the so called BRAND NAME or A line items. How soon people forget that all these companies had to start somewhere and usually the bigger ones are the ones making a product that is inferior in quality becuase of the $$ spent on marketing and already having you sold on the name.

[sds 0]

They don't name sticks like Kronik or Mac Daddy; have stuff called "nipple grip" or have really cheesy, out-of-touch advertising that kids eat up.

sarcasm aside, their naming scheme sucks. It seams like a hodge-podge of letters that make it difficult to decipher when you are looking for a stick and almost impossible to remember if you aren't actively researching them...

There is nothing wrong with good marketing if it means your customers have a clear picture of your product line.

[kovalchuk71 212]

Response Lite? Response Armor? Response Red-lite

Really difficult to understand?

[sds 0]

Response Lite? Response Armor? Response Red-lite

Really difficult to understand?

Louisville TPS R2 Response

Louisville TPS C8 Response

Louisville TPS C12C Adrenaline Control

Louisville TPS C4C Response Armor Control

Louisville TPS C4 Response Armor

Louisville TPS C9 Response Plus

Louisville TPS R8 Response Lite

Louisville TPS R6 Response Armor

Louisville TPS R4 Response

this is the list on the senior side from Hockey Giant. The Intermediate sticks have another slew of designations.... I don't even see a "red-lite" listed even though I have heard many people mention it (along with an xn-10 designation)...

Sorry, that's a lot of jumbled up horsehit, especially when all the sticks look a like.

[DamnLocust 0]

for the record, the redlite is a standard shaft. XN10 is TPS' "lighter, stronger" carbon material, and certain sticks/shafts incorporate that technology.

The listings on HG are of sticks from many different years, as well as some SMUs. The Letter-number designation wasn't used until recently, when they went to the R8/R6 etc. format for naming sticks. HG is using the in-house codes from the older sticks (C codes) to make it seem as if they're not old stock.

[kovalchuk71 212]

No, the redlite is also one of TPS's One piece models this year. The "R4" model

[whbd18 0]

for the record, the redlite is a standard shaft. XN10 is TPS' "lighter, stronger" carbon material, and certain sticks/shafts incorporate that technology.

The listings on HG are of sticks from many different years, as well as some SMUs. The Letter-number designation wasn't used until recently, when they went to the R8/R6 etc. format for naming sticks. HG is using the in-house codes from the older sticks (C codes) to make it seem as if they're not old stock.

The New Response R4 OPS is called the Redlite, so its not just a standard shaft anymore.

[Chadd 916]

for the record, the redlite is a standard shaft. XN10 is TPS' "lighter, stronger" carbon material, and certain sticks/shafts incorporate that technology.

The listings on HG are of sticks from many different years, as well as some SMUs. The Letter-number designation wasn't used until recently, when they went to the R8/R6 etc. format for naming sticks. HG is using the in-house codes from the older sticks (C codes) to make it seem as if they're not old stock.

The New Response R4 OPS is called the Redlite, so its not just a standard shaft anymore.

TPS has made it very difficult to follow their changes over the last couple years. Using the names of older products, especially on lower end new products borders on being unethical to me.

That said, it comes back to shops being lazy and not selling product. When you hire teenagers to work in shops, you usually get someone who sits on their ass and waits for you to bring something to the counter. Combined with the excellent job that NBH has done with their marketing and Easton's history in the stick market, most other brands are a risk.

TPS has also made it worse by giving terrible discounts on orders on top of their thin margins at wholesale prices. Look at it from a dealer perspective; you have to work harder for a sale that will net you less profit. It's easy to see why more shops don't stock TPS.

[texanhockey 0]

how many tps ads have you seen in usa hockey magazine? and how many full page warrior and easton ads have you seen? tps just doesnt market there gear well enough. i personaly really like them. mission and tps are my current stick and back up. great company with not so great marketing

[Bmplam 1]

I know this sounds stupid, but I bought my C9 Response Plus because it felt good and was the only choice not made in China or Mexico. Not that the other sticks are in any way cheapened by their respective country of orgin, but I get sick of reading "made in china" on everything on store shelves.

As it turns out, I love the stick. When the blade broke several months later, I put in a tapered Warrior Draper blade and it's still my #1 stick.

Just my silly political statement I guess.

[sabre09923 0]

Now, TPS has moved their production to China.