Easton Stealth S17

[JR Boucicaut 3799]

Open

[DamnLocust 0]

After hearing all the hype about the S17 and being intrigued by the elliptical taper design, I knew that I wanted to give the stick a shot. A number of factors had kept me away from the original and CNT stealths. The original was just far too light, especially in the blade for me. I also found it ridiculous to spend $200+ on a stick at the time. I almost picked up a CNT when they came out, but the shaft shape just was not for me, as I prefer a more rounded shape. I went into my LHS on friday to pick up a jersey order and the S17 had just come in. I picked it up off the rack and knew I'd be walking out of the shop with a lighter wallet. I walked out with a 100 flex LH Forsberg nongrip and a smile on my face.

Initial Impressions:

Knowing the concept of the stick, the first thing I went for was the taper area. I checked it out, and inspected the area where the taper begins to see that a clean transition from the soft box shape (similar to an SL/SE) into the elliptical taper. I could also see the spot where the blade had been attached to the taper area during construction, but this joint was also very neat and clean. I joked with the guy in the LHS that I knew where the stick will break, but I'm actually pretty confident that it will hold up.

The weight of the stick is lighter than most anything else I've used, but it certainly didn't feel "too" light. The balance is very similar to a CNT or the original Vapor XXX. There is no dead weight on the stick. I gave the stick a light bend just to get a feel for what it takes to load it up. As has been a consensus, it felt much closer to an 85 flex than the other 100s I normally use. When I got home, I compared the S17 to 2 87 flex shafts that I have (vaporXX broken OPS and Vapor XV) and the S17 actually takes less effort to load than the XV shaft and is about on par with the XX which is a bit more used. Easton has always been very good when it comes to the finishes of their sticks, and the S17 is no different. Even better, there's no chrome to get chipped and peel off.

First uses:

I had three games this weekend and also had a weekly rink rental on friday night. I play in beer leagues in D division, so it's not a very high level of play, but there is a fair amount of stickplay. Still, I'm usually pretty easy on my sticks and they tend to last me a long time.

As I got out for warmups for my game on friday night, I wasn't sure if I was going to use the stealth in game. There is a good deal less weight in the blade of the S17 than in my dolomite, and I was afraid that the feel of the stick would suffer because of it. I had been using my warriors just about exclusively lately, as other sticks that I have (ONE90, Adrenaline, Vapor XX, various tapered combos) just don't have the same feel. When I got a puck on the stick, however, my worries were eased. While not quite perfect, I could easily handle the puck but it felt a bit off. When I went to the rink rental later that night, I missed a few moves that I normally pull off pretty easily. I blamed it on the lighter weight blade at the time, but it could have been fatigue/lack of focus from playing two games in a row. I also used the stick in games saturday and sunday night and am already used to the lighter weight of the stick. After four icetimes, I feel very comfortable with the stick.

Moving the puck takes very little effort, and the puck flies straight and true pretty much every time. This holds true for passing as well as shooting. I wish I could take all the credit for this, but it's likely more about the taper which also allows the stick to play like a lighter flex. Saucer passes and breakout passes are crisp and on target every time. I have had no issues receiving passes with the stick. Shots are no different in this regard. Wristers and snappers come off the stick with good velocity, and a lot of spin on the puck. Even when I rush a shot, it flies straight and true. My slapshot has been a bit inconsistent with the stick though, so I'll be working on it a bit more in warmups and at drop in. The shots are coming off with a bit less velocity than they do with my warriors, but are accurate.

One thing that I noticed about the stick is that although it shoots like an 85 flex, it plays very much like a 100 flex. This probably doesn't sound like it makes any sense, but I'll explain. With my 85 flex sticks, every time I take a faceoff, it feels like the stick is going to snap in my hands. Other times during play, 85 flex sticks just feel flimsy in my hands. The S17 feels solid like every other 100 flex stick I've used, but gets that extra whip on the shots like an 85. When messing around with the stick, it seems to do a better job of concentrating the flex down low than other tapered combos/OPS I've used. The elliptical taper not only cuts down on torquing, but the softer edges also seem to make it less stiff than the upper shaft. Reminds me of the old mission sticks and their dual flex zones.

Issues/Problems:

As noted above, the velocity of my slapshots seems to have come down a bit.

Also, initially I wasn't feeling the puck as well as I would have liked due to the lighter blade. (I had this issue when going from a Vapor XX to Vapor XXX a few years back, but it passed quickly and I think I'm already over it at this point.)

The graphics on the stick chip pretty easliy, but that doesn't bother me at all. Under the graphics it's just black anyway, so at least it blends in as opposed to showing through gray like with the SLs or the ONE90.

One thing that does have me a bit worried is that the blade and taper area seem to get scratched up pretty easily. Nothing deep or structurally damaging, but the top finishing layer seems to come off easily.

My next game is on Thursday and I will be using the S17 for that again. I will be skating at a rink rental on friday as well, and I'll put the S17 on the shelf (for a little while at least) and go back to my dolomite for comparison's sake and update afterwards.

[DamnLocust 0]

I used the S17 in my game on thursday and it continued to perform as it did the previous outings- straight shooting, great snap on long passes, and perfect saucers that land flat on the ice throughout the game. I did miss the net 3 feet wide on one shot (from the point), but realized that it was of no fault of the stick. Usually when I rush a shot and pull it wide like I did that time, it winds up either end over end or fluttering a bit (if I'm really lucky it'll fly on its side a bit and make for an odd bounce off the backboards). This time, although I pulled it a bit, It flew straight and stayed level with good spin on it.

On friday at my weekly rink rental, I used my dolomite in warmups to try to get a bit of a comparison going, especially in regards to puckfeel. I had planned to use the dolo throughout the skate, but soon after starting up, I was reaching for the S17, and finished the night with it.

Although the lighter blade on the S17 had bothered me at first, the heavier blade on the dolo posed no problems for me. I expected to get a bit more puckfeel from the dolomite, but was surprised to find that there was no vast improvement. I did find, however, that the S17 may have made me lazy in my shooting, and I had to put more into the shot with the dolomite to get the same results. Passing with the dolomite was also not as crisp nor as smooth as it was with the S17.

I think much of the reason I went back for the S17 is due to the difference in the "feel" of the flex. The S17 when stickhandling or taking a faceoff feels solid like a 100 flex, but when taking a shot or making a long hard pass the extra whip helps the puck to get to where you're sending it. I may have to take out another 85 flex stick to do another

It also seems that I'm finding my slapshot with this stick, although it's still not as accurate as I'd like. The velocity is returning, but I can't quite place what it is that has resolved the issue.

[DamnLocust 0]

It's been about three weeks since my last post, so I thought it's about time to give an update. I've been playing about twice a week lately- one men's league game plus one rink rental pickup session. I'll be getting some additional use out of it with another one of my teams starting up again next week.

I am now completely comfortable with the S17. More importantly, the comfort level I get from the stick has caused a boost in my confidence and it's been showing up on the ice. Playing D, I find myself leading the rush a lot more than usual, as well as jumping into the rush and being much more involved offensively, and seeing results from it.

As corny/cliche as it sounds, the stick feels like an extension of my hands at this point. The balance of it, while a bit awkward at first due to the light blade, has definitely grown on me, and my stickhandling, especially shorter moves and moves in close has improved- I'm pulling moves smoother and probably a bit quicker as well.

Passing with the stick continues to be crisp and right on the money. Wrist/snap shot still come off the blade quickly, with a lot of spin on the puck. By choking up on the stick a bit with my lower hand, I have also brought back some of the accuracy with my slapshot. I've also been able to get slappers off quicker with the same velocity by shortening my windup a bit (this is likely more to do with the softer flex of the stick than anything else). When I really lay into one though, this thing booms. I took one in warmups tonight that my goalie gloved and I saw him shaking his hand. He said the shot actually pulled his arm back when he caught it.

I'll update again in a few weeks. I play Center on my 2nd team, so I'll get a bit more shooting use out of the stick when that starts up, and hopefully I'll have more to add to the review.

[DamnLocust 0]

I've had a run of a couple of bad games, more due to me being overworked and not getting enough sleep than anything else. I'm not going to blame the stick for my poor play though. Not yet anyway.

While the stick still feels great on shots and when making passes (especially long breakout passes), I seem to be losing some of feel for the puck with it. I've had a hard time handling passes and keeping the puck on my blade lately. I had gotten lazy with changing the tape on it, but I had 2 games on friday and re-taped before the first one and it seemed to help a little bit, but I think it's more of a placebo than anything else.

When I flex the blade, I do get a bit of a crackling sound coming from it, so it very well may be on its way out already. It still plays like a stiff blade, but I'm afraid it will only continue to deteriorate at this point.

[DamnLocust 0]

I blocked a shot with the stick about 2 weeks ago, which left a small crack on the backhand side of the shaft. A small chip at the top of the toe had also developed, and was spreading into a split toe. These two things had relegated it to backup/open hockey only duty. I got to the rink for our weekly rental and was using it in warmups, mostly stickhandling and wristers snappers. The goalie stepped in, and I took a slapper and here's the result:

Despite the chipped/split toe, the blade retained much of its stiffness, but I was pretty much waiting on it to fall apart completely. before it became a two piece, the stick was still playing very well and performance was pretty good considering.

The ellipse area which has been an issue for many is still in very good shape. even before I had heard of people having issues with the ellipse, I thought it would break at the joint. it actually broke about 10" above that point. I'd be more wary about the blade than anything else if I decided to buy another one.

All in all, I'm satisfied with the stick, and may pick up another one. I just found an XN10 at my LHS though, so that's what I'll be using for at least a little while. I'm also considering SRS or stick fix for it, but I'd have to do the shaft fix AND the blade fix. I'll have to see how much it will cost me first. It went strong for about 2 months of 3 times a week before it cracked from the blocked shot. If it wasn't for that, it would definitely still be intact. If I decide to do SRS/Stick fix, I'll be sure to update this.