Shaft and Blade vs OPS

[tooomey 1]

Im having a stick buying delema. Should I get a ops like u+, one95. Or go stick and blade, xxxx, easton. I have never had a 2piece and im using a xxx-lite and warrior mac right now. I dont break sticks very often but after I use my ops for about 4-6 months they seems to loose that crisp new feeling. If I go to a shaft and blade and buy a new blade every 4-6 months will it give me that crisp feel again? Any help or opinions would be great.

[lampliter87 8]

There will be a softening of the blade of any OPS after extended use, which will be helped by a blade and shaft combo because as you said, you can just switch out the blade if it wears down. There will be some performance drop from an OPS to a two piece, however.

[interpathway 9]

and of course the flex of a shaft used for an extended period of time will change slightly, chances are youll lose some kick after heavy extended use. changing out a $20 blade is a great way to lessen your investments though

[stuie7 6]

There will be some performance drop from an OPS to a two piece, however.

Surely that would depend on what ops/blade and shaft you're talking about. I'm extremely skeptical that certainly a 'fused' ops would be any better then the equivalent shaft/blade combo of the same make & model.

[Law Goalie 147]

I wonder about that too.

If we're talking about a REAL one-piece (Busch, Inno True-1, and...?), maybe it would have different properties. If it's fused, then we're talking about the performance difference between tiny layers of hot glue and epoxy. The shaft is still the shaft, the blade is still the blade. An RM9 is the same as an RM19 shaft+blade: the only difference is the adhesive.

Plus, there are too many ways to qualify "performance." If you're obsessed with puck-feel, a wood blade is probably better than any OPS.

[stick9 897]

I agree, I don't see there being a drop off in performance if the OP went with a tapered shaft/blade combo. I have two tapered set ups, both of which perform every bit as good as any of the OPS's I've owned.

[tooomey 1]

Thanks for the info on preformance guys, but lets get back to the question. Am I gonna get that new crisp feeling when I change the blade." Someone who is using a 2 piece and has switched blades recently or often. I have tried a 2 piece in warm ups and it seems to be a little blade heavy and doesent seem to have as good feel, as my mac or xxx but its nothing i cant live with or get used to.

[lampliter87 8]

There will be a softening of the blade of any OPS after extended use, which will be helped by a blade and shaft combo because as you said, you can just switch out the blade if it wears down.

This will get you your "crisp" feeling.

I have tried a 2 piece in warm ups and it seems to be a little blade heavy and doesent seem to have as good feel, as my mac or xxx but its nothing i cant live with or get used to.

If you find the right shaft/blade balance (weight isn't the key here) a combo will feel as good as an OPS.

[Chadd 916]

There will be some performance drop from an OPS to a two piece, however.

Surely that would depend on what ops/blade and shaft you're talking about. I'm extremely skeptical that certainly a 'fused' ops would be any better then the equivalent shaft/blade combo of the same make & model.

Innovative used to explicitly state that there was no difference in performance between their fused and two piece 1100s (dolomites). Most new ops still don't hold a candle to the R2 XN10 as far as I'm concerned.

I wonder about that too.

If we're talking about a REAL one-piece (Busch, Inno True-1, and...?),

true-1, XXX, Mac, Kronik is not made like the busch, it's just attached differently that the fusing method originally used by Easton, TPS, etc...

[Law Goalie 147]

^^ Thanks for the correction. I wasn't entirely sure I was on solid ground.

[stick9 897]

Both tapered set ups I own aren't a matched set, the blades are different then the shafts. This impacts the overall balance of the stick. Both are still very light, but end up being a bit blade heavy. Then again, all the OPS's I've ever own end up blade heavy once I cut em down. I end putting a wood plug in and cutting it flush to help balance things out.

[the_sock 1]

I use two piece, mainly because of price. I've been lucky to demo and use many OPS, and I find that, like said before, get the right combo, you can have almost the same weight and balance of an OPS. My current stick rivals many OPS (not the extreme light OPS though) in weight and performance. Many OPS are really fused two pieces, again said before.

Just remember to get a tapered shaft and blade if you go that route. Lower kick point for faster and more velocity shots. I prefer my Z-Bubble with ST blade though right now, great set up, and the ST blade from this year is the exact same as all of the high end Easton OPS blades (save the S17 blade). My RBK (or Reebok) shaft with pro stock synthesis blade rivals many OPS for weight and performance, it felt and played exactly like the Synergy Elite (save a bit blade heavy, but I use a heavy grip so it balances out).

Go with what you can afford, the two vs one is almost level now.

[stuie7 6]

true-1, XXX, Mac, Kronik is not made like the busch, it's just attached differently that the fusing method originally used by Easton, TPS, etc...

when i cut my rbk 7kv, it definitely had a fuse point but it was different to the easton sl and se that i cut a few months later, it seemed to be more like a true one piece. would i be right in assuming the 7k is fused using this "alternate method" you mentioned.

back on topic though, i went from easton ops' to warrior shaft and mission blade combo (with wooden plug) and they're more balanced, slightly heavier but ive just cracked my first mission blade after 6 months. whereas the blades on my sl and se cracked after about 2 months each.

its not a true reflection on one vs two piece because ive never tried an easton two piece (nor do i intend on doing so), but for players of my low standard, its impossible to justify paying a premium for a one piece.