Ballistik 22 Caliber

[JR Boucicaut 3799]

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Previous Sticks: Easton CNT, Warrior Dolomite, NBH One95, RBK 7k, CCM U+, Easton SE

Specs: Ballistik 22 Caliber – 100/HRC curve

Thank you to MSH and Ballistik for letting me review this stick.

I did receive my stick yesterday, quickly un-wrapped it like I was a 7 year old boy on Christmas morning and said ooooo cool. I was impressed with the graphic package Ballistik put on the Caliber 22. It instantly took me down memory lane of my first one piece the Mission M1 with its bright baby blue. First thing I though is this stick will not go un-noticed. When I examined the graphics in more detail I did notice that a lot of the silver was bubbly, which is probably from how they were applied. All of the graphics do look like they are stickers, which could mean they will fall/chip off quite quickly.

I did notice it was heavier then all of my current gamers, (the heaviest being an Easton ST with an extension) but lighter than other entry level sticks I have picked up in the past. Other things that jumped out at me was how thick the blade was. It was notably thicker then any other stick I own and at the bottom it was actually flat. This may affect stick handling depending on the angle the blade sits on the ice.

The other part of the stick that really caught my attention was the taper, and how thin it was. I did compare it to my U+ and it was pretty close the same if not thinner, which will hopefully transfer into some blistering snap/wrist shots.

The pattern that I received was the HRC curve, which is suppose to be the closest thing Ballistik has to an Easton Durry. The blade is a tad longer then my Easton Durry, and it looks like the curve is not exactly the same. Ballistik didn’t say it was supposed to be a Durry clone; it was just part of my own expectations that it would be very close if not the same. The flex does seem to be a bit softer than anything I have. Every stick I own is reg/100 flex except for Bauer and CCM/Reebok which are stiff. This could be because of the taper, and where it puts the kick point. The shaft feels very round (…that’s what she said). Not exactly my cup of tea. It reminds me of a Sher-wood RM7, or a Salming Diablo right off the bat.

The technology page on the Ballisistik web site (www.ballistikhockey.com) takes me to a form for a contest so I am not sure what each piece of technology is supposed to do. When I do try to balance the stick on my finger, if I place my finger between the “A” and “T” of Combat it will wobble a bit, but not to the extent where it is falling off smashing against the floor. This point is towards the blade of the stick.

I did take a look into where I can buy a Ballistik Stick in my area. The closest location is actually the Pro Shop at the rink I play at every week. I did go in there the other day and all they had was 3 sticks. Two of them were Caliber 52 and one 50. The next closest location is too far away. There are about 4-5 other LHS I rather go to that are closer.

I don’t hit the ice until Friday. So until then….

22 Cal on the left...CNT on the right...

U+ on the left....22 Cal on the right...

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I have been on the ice once since un-wrapping the stick. It was 2 hours at my bi-weekly shinny. Decent hockey, a couple of d3 and ex jr guys so mostly everyone out there knew what they were doing.

First thing I noticed was how much the stick flexed. I could even feel lit flex a little bit while stick-handling which bothered me a lot. I was just not use to a stick flexing while handling the puck and it showed. Snap shots/wrist shots were good. Everything went right were I aimed it…when I was aiming, and I did not notice a loss of speed off those 2 shots. Slap shots are another story. I really lean into my slap shots and since this stick was whippier then what I was use to the puck decided to go were it wanted to go. I didn’t take too many clappers, only a couple in warm ups so I didn’t really have enough practice time to make an adjustment. It was shinny after all.

Giving passes was good, but only when I made hard passes. Anything soft didn’t go were I wanted it to go, and if I attempted a soft saucer pass it fluttered every time. Usually it only happens once in a while. Receiving passes was a breeze. No matter how hard they came, the puck just didn’t move once it hit the blade of the stick. No other stick I have used has been this good when receiving hard passes. Soft passes got loss. This was because of the sticks lack of feel, or just the type of feel it produced.

The blade felt very dead. This could be apart of a blade/shaft combination, or how it was fused together, or it could be just the way the blade was constructed. Either way I found it very difficult to feel the puck on the blade. That also cause me to look down at the puck more often, missing a lot of playmaking opportunities, and if I was playing contact….setting myself up to be hit. \

The Shaft….To start off, I do prefer boxier sticks. Not because I have bigger hands but the corners tell me where the stick is in my hands, and the direction the blade is in. It also provides some grip. The 22 Caliber is not square at all. All the corners are rounded, and the side walls are not concave. The shaft also has a very glossy/glassy feel to it. The only texture on the shaft is the bumps from the graphics that are applied. This when combined with sweat and water is a disaster. I found the stick slipping all over the place in my hands, and it made it really hard to stick handle and shoot. It could also attribute to my soft passing troubles as well.

The durability is so far so good. All of the graphics are in once piece which I was surprised by. Not a lot of chips in the shaft. The blade had some paint chips but that is about it. I do tape my blade the entire length, so there is not a lot of the blade exposed.

First impression from “the guys” was good. I didn’t tell anyone that it was a new stick, or what kind of stick it was. First thing I heard someone said was….”Is that a new Easton?” Which I would think is a compliment. Easton has always had really nice looking sticks, and this Ballistik is no different.

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So played a couple of games since the last update so hear it is…. I won’t get as much puck time as I would get in shinny, but it will be put to the durability test.

I do play defense so there is a lot of time spend in front of the net, and in the corners. I also do find myself making a lot of break out passes, and quick transition passes. Once in a while I do find myself jumping up in the play.

Stick handling and shooting were about the same. No noticeable difference from the first time I was on the ice. Passing I did notice when making a long breakout pass that the stick was lagging. The same lag that the stick had when I was shooting, and this meant that passes ended up in guys’ feet, or if they were already going in their feet the pass ended up behind them

No goals or assists, but we did win both our games so I guess everything went well. One thing I noticed after the second game was a rattling. It sounded like dried up glue that got loose, but I was suspicious since that hasn’t happened to me in I don’t know how long. Next day I took my but end out and a black piece of composite, or fiberglass, or something (says 100% composite on the stick) came out from inside the stick. I was talking to a friend at work about it, and we figured it could be 3 things:

• A piece from the sidewall/ corner of the stick,

• Just some extra residue that ended up inside the stick, or

• Material that broke off from the fuse point of the stick.

It is about 1.5 inches long and 1 inch wide. There is no physical damage on the outside. All of the graphics are still in order, and no big chunks are missing. I am not sure what this is going to do to the durability of the stick. Hear are some pictures of both sides of the piece that fell out.