One Piece Sticks Going Soft

[Jason91 0]

If the 5030 doesn't work out for ya, i would suggest a One90 shaft. I've had mine for a while (Pro flex 102) and it still feels pretty strong. Keep in mind though, i weigh 15 pounds or so less than you do.

To each their own though.

[Law Goalie 147]

OK, side question:

In material terms, what actually happens to a shaft when it 'breaks down' and becomes more flexible?

It's obviously undergoing some kind of concrete change. Are the fibres being aligned differently? Is some material being powdered and lost from the stick?

[interpathway 9]

OK, side question:

In material terms, what actually happens to a shaft when it 'breaks down' and becomes more flexible?

I believe it is the stretching of the material, whether it is wood/composite. If you look at a shaft, when you flex it on a shot, one side of the shaft (side facing the goalie) gets elongated/stretched, and the side facing away from the goalie gets compressed (much like a bow and arrow). Through repeated stretching and compression the stick begins to have a permanent stretch in the shaft. It may be microscopic, but through repeated bends and snaps the materials just wont be able to "snap" back to their perfectly straight/aligned position as quickly as when they were first bought. Think of a paper clip, if you stack a thick sheet of papers in it for a couple minutes then take them out, the paper clip doesn't reset itself back to perfectly flat, there is a permanent bend in it. Same applies to shafts, after awhile they just wear out. If it's a shaft you could always flip it around so the side that used to be compressed is now the elongated side, and vice versa.

[Rustpot 1]

OK, side question:

In material terms, what actually happens to a shaft when it 'breaks down' and becomes more flexible?

I believe it is the stretching of the material, whether it is wood/composite. If you look at a shaft, when you flex it on a shot, one side of the shaft (side facing the goalie) gets elongated/stretched, and the side facing away from the goalie gets compressed (much like a bow and arrow). Through repeated stretching and compression the stick begins to have a permanent stretch in the shaft. It may be microscopic, but through repeated bends and snaps the materials just wont be able to "snap" back to their perfectly straight/aligned position as quickly as when they were first bought. Think of a paper clip, if you stack a thick sheet of papers in it for a couple minutes then take them out, the paper clip doesn't reset itself back to perfectly flat, there is a permanent bend in it. Same applies to shafts, after awhile they just wear out. If it's a shaft you could always flip it around so the side that used to be compressed is now the elongated side, and vice versa.

Moreso breaking down the resins holding things together. Paper clips deform because metals have a low elastic limit. If that were true your shaft would be bowed, which happened with aluminum shafts.

I would equate the shaft more like a slinky in jello, the slinky being the carbon fibers, jello being resin. As you flex the system the slinky will slice through a bit, making room while still taking the jello with it. After a while you've got less resistance from the resin and the weave is more free to flex.

If the fibers were getting stretched out, overflexing a shaft would make it bend in half. Instead, the carbon reaches its elastic limit and will tear and break the stick.

If you look at the elasticity curve for composites, they fail very soon after hitting the peak, unlike metals that deform. The big engineering in these sticks is getting the pancaked layers of carbon to flex consistenty in a weave, balance the hardness of the resin, make it all hard and durable, and not tear in half.

*This is all just supposition, I don't have a degree in hockey sticks

[Law Goalie 147]

Interesting... thanks guys.

I guess the origin of my question was an attempt to figure out why certain sticks (S17, say) lose flex rapidly, while others (XN10) 'break in' to a stable level and stay there seemingly forever, and some others (Aldila Missions, maybe?) stay pretty consistent. I can say that I've noticed a fairly direct correlation between shaft-wall thickness and the endurance of flex, in my limited experience - which would be explained by either theory.

Maybe I should start flipping my shafts as religiously as a mattress in order to prevent one side/face or end of the stick getting deformed - heh.

[Jarick 5]

My Aldila Missions dropped from 75 to 65 flex fairly quickly, then stayed consistent. My Dolomites haven't really dropped much in flex, but never had the "pop" that a brand new Easton did. Then again, I never liked the "pop" either. The XN10 seemed to drop a bit in flex but stayed consistent, can't remember the amount of pop it had.