Easton SE16 and Bauer One95 Stick 'um

[UMWhockey 0]

Going to do a review of the Easton SE16 here. I have used a lot of the easton sticks and reviewed them on the site, so this is my next in line. I just got the stick yesterday and haven't had a chance to use it yet, but will be playing in a tournament this weekend and it will get a lot of work.

Easton SE 16 non grip 85 Flex Zett

[UMWhockey 0]

Well since my replacement for my Fuel Ti grip came in as well I will do a side by side compairson of the Bauer One95 and the SE16. I have had a chance to use the SE16 twice so far and here is a little of what I think.

The SE16 seems a little stiffer right off the bat then the SE did. Almost like I needed a session to "break it in" before it really started to load well. After that the puck war really jumping off the blade. I feel as though the SE16 has a little bit better puck feel over the SE as it is a little easier for me to feel where on the blade the puck is for stickhandling with my head up and also getting quick shots off. It's only one game, but I will be playing in the Labatt tournament in Laurel this weekend and should have a chance to use both the SE16 and the One95 and see how they compair.

The One95 is a Malkin curve 87 flex stick-um

[UMWhockey 0]

Ok, so I have played with, and broke both sticks as of yesterday. Here is my little comparison of the two.

Bauer One95 - This stick has the best kick right off the shelf I have ever used before. I used an 87 cut down a little and with most 85 flex Easton sticks I use I tend to have to play with them a little to get a little more whip in them before I get the flex I am looking for. Not the case with this stick. From the first snap shot, the puck was jumping off the blade. What I liked the most was I could feel the flex in the stick. Some sticks I feel like I have to really go down into in order to get that flex and snap on my shot, but this stick seemed real easy to flex and the shots were effortless. The shape and grip of the shaft were right on as well. Not too tacky like the original XX Stick-ums, but still enough that when I grip the stick to shoot, my hands don't slip at all. My eagle palms are real slick, so a non grip stick just doesn't work for me. The downside of the stick is the durability. From day one the blade started to chip and it wasn't long before the blade started to go soft and eventually crack on the bottom towards the heel of the blade.

Easton SE16 - This stick was a little different for me as compared to the previous SE that I had used (and loved) I broke this stick in about a month of use while both my SE sticks lasted over 6 months. I don't take a lot of slap shots, so I am not all that hard on sticks, just tend to whip them out. Compared to previous Easton sticks I have used, I really didn't like the SE16. It was the complete opposite of the Bauer where even when it broke, I just didn't really feel the nice smooth flex in the stick to really load it before shooting. It is almost like the SE16 was made stiffer then the previous SE or even the first run 100 flex S17 sticks (that were really more like an 85 flex). Maybe my stick was mis-labeled an 85 flex but was really a 100 flex. In order to really get the puck to jump off the stick, I had to really go down into a snap shot to get the flex required to get the shot speed I was looking for. That makes off balance and other quick shots much harder to take with the velocity I like.

Overall I was impressed with the Bauer stick as I haven't really liked any of their previous sticks. The biggest disappointment for me was the SE16. If you read back through any other reviews that I have done, I have always spoke very highly of the Easton sticks I have used, but I was truly disappointed in the SE16. Hopefully I just got a bad stick off the production line, but I was not impressed.

~Mike