Finally got it!

[Johnny Confident 0]

October 18, 2003

ha ha... that is priceless.

[ghockey11 0]

how can you make the picture bigger i cant really makeout the stick

[tips09 0]

how can you make the picture bigger i cant really makeout the stick

should be able to just click on it and it will bring up the full picture... Quite funny i never knew he actually did that.

[EBondo 233]

I would kill to find another 340 flex AK-27 shaft. That shaft and an AK blade were dynamite for me. Still have the shaft but now with a Vapor XVI blade. If anyone comes across any, PM me.

I finally got what feels like an honest to God 75 flex...marked 340 on the inside of my Dolomite. Just enough flex for me to load up in traffic but just stiff enough so that my shots are going where I want. This is after the 100-flex feeling Bauer 77, 65-flex feeling Mission 75, 65-flex feeling TPS whip, 70-flex feeling Easton 70, and 85-flex feeling Warrior 315.

I'm starting to recommend to my friends and teammates flexes based on height and stick length. I really think that's more important than your weight. A 5'8" guy who weighs 175 and a 6'2" guy who weighs 175 could have a difference of 15-20 flex when the stick is cut down, even if the short guy is stronger.

[KevinVu19 0]

lol that's a funny stick

[Law Goalie 147]

Another curious point to add on flex... this will seem like a goalie-specific post, but it really has to do with stick flex in general...

I was poking around my LHS the other day, and headed into the goalie side. Chatted with the guy there for a bit, then in a little lightbulb moment, asked if goalie sticks came in different flexes. The answer was, of course, no (would be a stock/sales nightmare) - but we then tried to figure out what flex most goalie sticks were made in. Since we both coach, we decided it would be good to know roughly what we were using so we could better inform our non-goalie stick purchases.

TPS seems to be the only company that labels any flex information for goalies, and ALL of their retail goalie sticks appear to be Whip. Took a couple of those over to the TPS player rack, and started testing. Although a goalie stick tapers in thickness through the paddle, the overall effect is more like a standard stick than a tapered. And it turns out a goalie stick is noticeably below a stock TPS Whip flex. There were a few goalie sticks that were stiffer (Toskala's Montreal pro-stocks, the model with the carbon shaft), but almost as a rule, whether wood or composite, goalie sticks worked out to around 65-75 flex.

So in my case, dropping flex significantly should result in a more comfortable and accurate shot.

[HkY_GuY 2]

i am 6,5 on skates and weight 185lbs i always used a 100 flex. recently i wanted to try a lower flex i went and bought ak27 retail 85 flex and boy that was way to soft the stick would flex to easy i noticed it right away on pases and my shot where not as accurate, i did not like it at all maybe something a bit less then 100 like 95 who make those flex?

[kovalchuk71 212]

Pro stocks.

[malcb33 97]

You could try a TPS R flex which is about 95

[Law Goalie 147]

Sherwood makes a 95 flex in their RM9 OPS and RM19 shafts - feels a touch softer than that, IME.

[Zac911 317]

i am 6,5 on skates and weight 185lbs i always used a 100 flex. recently i wanted to try a lower flex i went and bought ak27 retail 85 flex and boy that was way to soft the stick would flex to easy i noticed it right away on pases and my shot where not as accurate, i did not like it at all maybe something a bit less then 100 like 95 who make those flex?

my question is did you try shooting/passing the softer flex the exact same way you shot your 100?

[fatwabbit 93]

I used to have a stiff flex 95-100, and then switched to a 85 Cyclone silver tip which was money...

Somehow along the line I switched to a 75 flex which was pretty good. Used that flex for about 3 years before I decided to switch back to 85 flex (had a great deal on some ultralites). I feel that I should have stuck with the 85 flex all along. I found my 75 flex and whip flex shafts to torque too much these days.

Its all about getting that right combo... once you do, its money from then on.

[Elwood 0]

lol that's a funny stick

Mission Bauer should make that stick. I'd buy a few... :D

-E

[HkY_GuY 2]

i am 6,5 on skates and weight 185lbs i always used a 100 flex. recently i wanted to try a lower flex i went and bought ak27 retail 85 flex and boy that was way to soft the stick would flex to easy i noticed it right away on pases and my shot where not as accurate, i did not like it at all maybe something a bit less then 100 like 95 who make those flex?

my question is did you try shooting/passing the softer flex the exact same way you shot your 100?

yes why would i change my way of passing and shooting... i played with the 85 flex for a 2 hour session on ice and realy could not get use to the softer flex.

[kovalchuk71 212]

Another curious point to add on flex... this will seem like a goalie-specific post, but it really has to do with stick flex in general...

I was poking around my LHS the other day, and headed into the goalie side. Chatted with the guy there for a bit, then in a little lightbulb moment, asked if goalie sticks came in different flexes. The answer was, of course, no (would be a stock/sales nightmare) - but we then tried to figure out what flex most goalie sticks were made in. Since we both coach, we decided it would be good to know roughly what we were using so we could better inform our non-goalie stick purchases.

TPS seems to be the only company that labels any flex information for goalies, and ALL of their retail goalie sticks appear to be Whip. Took a couple of those over to the TPS player rack, and started testing. Although a goalie stick tapers in thickness through the paddle, the overall effect is more like a standard stick than a tapered. And it turns out a goalie stick is noticeably below a stock TPS Whip flex. There were a few goalie sticks that were stiffer (Toskala's Montreal pro-stocks, the model with the carbon shaft), but almost as a rule, whether wood or composite, goalie sticks worked out to around 65-75 flex.

So in my case, dropping flex significantly should result in a more comfortable and accurate shot.

TPS also makes Reg. Flexes for their goalie sticks. Thats all we have at the shop.

[Law Goalie 147]

Curious - I haven't seen anything but Whip up here in Toronto. If there's a reason for that, it escapes me.

I have noticed a much wider range of flex in pro-stock goalie sticks, but that's not particularly surprising.

[Zac911 317]

i am 6,5 on skates and weight 185lbs i always used a 100 flex. recently i wanted to try a lower flex i went and bought ak27 retail 85 flex and boy that was way to soft the stick would flex to easy i noticed it right away on pases and my shot where not as accurate, i did not like it at all maybe something a bit less then 100 like 95 who make those flex?

my question is did you try shooting/passing the softer flex the exact same way you shot your 100?

yes why would i change my way of passing and shooting... i played with the 85 flex for a 2 hour session on ice and realy could not get use to the softer flex.

if you play an 75 the same way you play an 85 that is the problem. you have to make some adjustments. concentrate more on form than power and let the stick do the work. the puck is only 5.5 ounces-- you don't need to bear into the ice like the puck is 200 lbs. the speeds the game are played at today do not afford you the same amount of time to shoot as you would say in warmups. also more than ever you are shooting and passing while on the fly or off balance, so you need to be able to shoot and pass with less effort. with some minor adaptations the softer flexes work great. the problem lies with treating a 75 like it were an 85- of course it will be different- the change has to come from the user. some players are able to make the adjustment and some are not. of those two crowds guess who sees the benefit?

[Jarick 5]

Along those lines, it took me a while to figure out not to try and flex sticks while shooting. That made my intermediate sticks way too whippy and my regular flex sticks too difficult to use. My 75 flex sticks that are right in the middle whip naturally without any additional effort.

[raygunpk 0]

How do you know if a stick is too stiff or too whippy? Is there any way of knowing while in stores holding one?

[TheBert 0]

Don't matter, ray. You're all about the power moves to the net.

I think at the very least, you should be able to load it around 0.5 - 1.0" when you're taking a quick wrist/snap shot.

[raygunpk 0]

what are you measuring?

[TheBert 0]

Displacement of the shaft when you load up a shot -- the distance between an unloaded stick and when its loaded (flexing).

[raygunpk 0]

how can i measure that when i'm shooting though? is it the same as flexing it in stores?

[Rustpot 1]

how can i measure that when i'm shooting though? is it the same as flexing it in stores?

Not in the least. I can flex a 110 like a toothpick on carpet, all it takes is a little body weight on the bottom hand and to pull up/back on the top. On the ice I can use an 85 well if I concentrate, but at 75 will kick with little effort. I think the only thing you can do on carpet is to feel the wight of the flex and observe the flex profile by giving it a little bit of a bow.

The first time I noticed a big difference was in warmups. Everyone skates at the net and fires off random shots. Before, with a stiffer stick, I would launch the puck by shifting my weight toward the stick and really working the wrists to get puck to roll off the blade and do anything more than slide forward. I got my hands on a 70 flex shaft, took it to the rink, and I was ripping bullets over the net, even up into the netting using the same technique. Now I just have to point the toe and push forward and the shot will go, using the whip and kick to its potential, no force or excessive loading/wind-up needed.

The only issue is the stick torquing out when catching a pass on the last 1/4 or trying to put a lot of force into something. I think this is what TPS is trying to do with their newer 3-zones of flex, stiffen the bottom to give rigidity while softening the top to allow the hands to load the stick.

[DEATHTRON 19]

I also have the same problem when really powering through on a shot as Rustpot. It just feels like the shaft never kicks, the puck just sort of drabbles into the corner, feels like the stick breaks, its just a bad combo. But that rarely happens much anymore, and the quick release with the wrist shots is always money around the net.

Zach