Ballistik 50 Caliber..

[Theo 1]

Background:

I have been using the Ballistic 50 caliber for three or so months now which has entailed roughly 24 ice times- Although most of the playing has been done more recently within the past month. I can't say I had any pre-conceived notions on the company since I have never used their product, so I took everything in with open arms and an inpartial mind. Although as an observer, I do realize this company is not as large as an Easton, Bauer-Nike, etc.

First Impressions out of the box

I have to admit, when I first handled the box and opened it I was shocked at the lightness of the ballistic. Unfortunately, I do not have a scale but it seemed to be in the lower to mid 400 gram range, which is pretty much perfect for me. I am not too fond of the extreme lightest sticks, but at the other end of the spectrum I do want something relatively light. So this left a good balance between the two. The stick felt very nice and balanced, which was pleasing. The shaft itself was noticeably sturdy and felt very strong in my hands. Also, the shaft of the stick had an evident rectangular shape with slightly rounded edges which fit nice my palms. The surface of the shaft has tiny ridges and bubbles which helped with the grip factor when dry, although the stick itself had no kind of grip coating on it.

The most important factor with any stick for me is the blade sturdiness. I want the strongest blades possible- which goes without saying. Without going to any extreme, I tested it myself with my hands and it certainly passed. I have had OPS/ composite blades in the past that made cracking sounds or actually bended when doing this, so I was pleased to notice the results for Ballistic (Just to note, I do this with minimal force and common sense).

The only drawback I can find is that I am very picky with patterns at this point in time and while it was close to Modano/Forsberg, it seemed to have a tiny bit of an open face and curved more at the heel.

Onto the Ice I go

Shooting and stickhandling

On the ice this stick delivered very well. What I first noticed was a nice crisp feel when stick handling, although it did take me a while to get used to the stick because of the different pattern than what I was used too. Shots went a little higher with this specific curve, so I made the appropriate adjustments in my technique. While I like to pretend I am a pretty versatile player, it took me quite a few ice times to really get used to the small differences in the pattern. Having said that, the shots came off with zest and with superb power and I felt the 80 flex working for me as I put weight into my shots. I don't think my shot was faster than any other given stick I have used, but I did feel a lot of power or "heaviness" behind them, so to say.

Slippery when wet

If I had one issue, I would say the shaft can become rather slippery when it or my gloves get wet. But to be honest I am not a fan of grip coated sticks (which I believe are offered by Ballistic) and I would rather use a regular coated on anyways. And I have had this problem on most regular coated shafts and OPS's, so it comes with the territory.

More on the blade

As I noted, the blade was very stiff, which I love, so the puck felt nice and crisp on it, and with this I had to make a little extra effort early on in accepting strong passes, but this dissipated quickly as I got used to it. Other than that, the stick felt like an extension of my arms which is all I can ask for, as it provided a direct-like feel from the blade into my hands.

The durability factor

Where this stick has really shined during the last three months is durability. There are spots where the paint has been nicked, of course, but overall it has held up brilliantly. I play a strong power game along the boards at times and take a beaten as I battle pretty regularly, but this stick came out of these situations like a champ. And I tell you this- some of these guys really slash the hell out of me. To put it into perspective, the three month period prior to using the Warrior, I used an Inno AK27 combo. And the stick broke twice on me all from opposition slashes on spots where it was pretty much rendered useless. So I was very pleased just to have this Ballistic still performing well into three months. And even more, the blade showed little sign of weakening.

Last thoughts

Overall, as light and balanced as this stick is, it feels just as sturdy and well built on the ice and that is really what most players are probably looking for. The shooting, handling, and passes rank right up to the other OPS I have used from the larger manufacturers.