R2 XN10

[Chadd 916]

Open for review.

[Perry94 0]

Reviewer Background:

5' 4', 140lbs

Shaft: R2XN10 Whip Flex (70~75 flex in easton terms)

Blade Used: R2Wood Nash

Initial Impression:

Okay, the first time I held this in my hands, it felt really nice. I couldn't really notice the double concave, so it just felt like a boxy shaft. Didn't like the way the black 'fades' into the yellow; it just looked like a crappy paint job. The decal/sticker saying "R2XN10" was folded when I got it, but it being the only whip flex in the store, I was like 'screw it', paid for it, and was on my merry way.

Stick Feel:

I took this thing outside (yah outside...that's why I have the wood blade), and the first thing I noticed was that the wood blade felt out of place. A bit more bottom heavy that I'd like, but I quickly got used to it. Love the TPS Nash, it is an awesome curve. Before I forget, let me say that this shaft is really, really light. It's advertised 5 grams lighter than the Cyclone (265 grams for the R2XN10, as opposed to the 270 of the Cyclone), but it's gotta be lighter than that. This thing feels practically weightless. Which is probably why the wood blade's so bottom heavy (the R2Wood is actually fairly lightweight. I actually have complaints about the feel, but it fits under stickhandling, so it'll go there. 10/10

Shooting:

Ok, BAM! is the word. This thing launches rockets. Seriously. I have nothing but good things to say. Accuracy was above my par, and I can feel this stick flex when I shoot. I really haven't experienced anything like this before, coming up from a cyclone. 10/10

Stickhandling:

Ok, here's the bulk of my complaints. Although it is a light stick, I really didn't like the way the puck felt. I need more of a radiused shaft shape. I don't know, maybe it's me, but I seem to use my fingertips to hold the stick when I'm stickhandling (don't ask) and the doulbe concave just got in the way. Just can't handle the double concave, so that's more of a personal preference thing. Being a person who likes to stickhandle, I found this really limiting. Also, this stick didn't feel overly solid. When you squeeze the sides of the shaft, you can feel it give. 8/10

Durability:

Can't really comment on the durability, since it's only seen 1 game along with a couple of shooting practices. There's a couple of small paint chips, but hey, what do you expect from a shaft? 8/10 (estimation)

Conclusion:

Well, I dumped $180cdn plus BC's ridiculous 14.5% tax on a shaft that I didn't overly enjoy. Whatever, you live and you learn. I personally compare this shaft to a rocket laucher; powerful but cumbersome (for me anyways). If I had liked the double concave, however, this would be my dream stick.

9.5/10

[Chadd 916]

TPS R2XN10 shaft

Usage before review: 2 months+

Shaft shape/flex: R flex is probably my favorite flex on the market, so obviously it was exactly what I like. The flex on the XN10 sticks seem to be a little more flexy than the older designs. The shaft shape is not really a major factor for me, I guess that's a good thing. 9.5/10

Stickhandling/Passing: Very little of the stickhandling and passing come from the shaft and changing blades, changed the feel of the stick. 9/10

Weight/Balance: The shaft is very light so a heavy blade will change the balance. Having tried several blades in the shaft, I had the best luck with my Christian tapered wood blade. It's very light and is wonderfully balanced. 9/10

Shooting: This is where the shaft excells. Wristers seem to really explode with this shaft with virtually no effort. Slappers are good, but snappers and wristers are fantastic. 9.5/10

Durability: This is my only area of concern with this stick. I have seen friends break them on seemingly routine plays. Mine has held up fairly well but I don't use it as much in chippy games. 7/10

Conclusion: Great kick on shots, very light, an excellent shaft for guys who don't play in a lot of traffic and take a lot of wristers. I wouldn't use it if you spend a lot of time in front of the net at either end, or if you use your stick to keep the other guys in line.

Final score: 8.6 out of 10

[troybruins89 0]

Reviewer Background:

5'2" 115 lbs

Used Shaft for 3+ months

Blade used: Synthesis Shanahan (current) and R2 wood nash (1 game)

Shaft size: int.

Flex: Coming from a 50 flex Easton the standard int. flex was alittle much for me. I would prefer it to be alittle whippier. But overall I'm getting used to the stiffer feel and its not so bad. 7/10 (just because there isnt any option but the standard int. flex for that size)

Stickhandling/Passing: Not really any complaints here but at the same time it wasnt anything amazing. I love the Shanahan blade i put in and the shaft for the most part feels pretty good. 8.5/10

Weight/Feel: The feel is great. I guess its a PP thing but im really loving it. The shaft feels very light (which it is) and balanced with the syn. blade. 10/10

Shooting: Now this is the best part of the shaft. Shots just fly off the blade. That little extra "zip" that we all know and love just gets better with this shaft. 10/10

Durability: I haven't had any problems yet with durability except for alot of paint chipping. No major problems here 9/10

Conclusion: This shaft seems to be the kinda shaft for the offensive minded type of player. It performs well with shots but i wouldnt use it for hacking around. It was definatly worth the money.

[Eazy_b97 1]

TPS R2XN10 shaft

Usage before review: 2 months+

Shaft shape/flex: I am using an R Flex. After some 85's recently, I thought the R would be a nice change and hopefully solve some the torquing issues I've had and it seems to have worked. I'm not overly fond of the boxy shaft, but I don't notice it during games. 8/10

Stickhandling/Passing: I find blades make the most difference. There isn't any vibrating, flexing or noise when taking a pass so everything that I've felt has been great. 9/10

Weight/Balance: Unbelievably light, and I always find the balance is great with it. I've used a few different blades and made some minor changes with end plugs to help it out, but everything has been great. 10/10

Shooting: This is my third of the three Xn10 products and theres a reason I keep coming back to it. This is by far the best shooting stick I've ever used. No problems with torquing or breakage. I find the Stealth has been the best non-Xn10 product for shooting I've used, but i'd rank the R2 Xn10, Xn10 and RL Xn10 ahead of it and in that order 10/10

Durability: I broke my OPS after a month of usage, but my level and frequency of play has dropped significantly since then. It shows no wear, very few marks and no signs of breaking down. 9/10

Conclusion: This shaft is light, durable (from my experience), has great kick and perfect balance. I'd like a little rounder shaft, but the other aspects make that a non-issue. No product on the market offers everything I want, but this is definately the closest. I'd recommend it to everyone assuming the flex is bearable for them and shaft shape is either what the like, or not the most important factor.

Final score: 9 out of 10

[Chadd 916]

TPS R2XN10 shaft

Usage before review: 2 months+

Shaft shape/flex: R flex is probably my favorite flex on the market, so obviously it was exactly what I like. The flex on the XN10 sticks seem to be a little more flexy than the older designs. The shaft shape is not really a major factor for me, I guess that's a good thing. 9.5/10

Stickhandling/Passing: Very little of the stickhandling and passing come from the shaft and changing blades, changed the feel of the stick. 9/10

Weight/Balance: The shaft is very light so a heavy blade will change the balance. Having tried several blades in the shaft, I had the best luck with my Christian tapered wood blade. It's very light and is wonderfully balanced. 9/10

Shooting: This is where the shaft excells. Wristers seem to really explode with this shaft with virtually no effort. Slappers are good, but snappers and wristers are fantastic. 9.5/10

Durability: This is my only area of concern with this stick. I have seen friends break them on seemingly routine plays. Mine has held up fairly well but I don't use it as much in chippy games. 7/10

Conclusion: Great kick on shots, very light, an excellent shaft for guys who don't play in a lot of traffic and take a lot of wristers. I wouldn't use it if you spend a lot of time in front of the net at either end, or if you use your stick to keep the other guys in line.

Final score: 8.6 out of 10

Update:

Evidently durability shouldn't have been a concern as I finally broke the shaft a couple weeks ago, more than two years after I started using it. I have used a few other sticks from time to time but I have always returned to the R2XN10 because of the performance. I did baby it at first but after a while I became more aggressive than ever with the stick.

I finally paired it with the R2 comp blade to keep my blade expenses down. The balance was quite good, but I also use a full four inch wood plug.