Warrior Bentley

[JR Boucicaut 3802]

Open

[AnthonyJTa 0]

8/18/09:

First off, I wanted to extend a thank you to JR, Chadd, and the moderators at Modsquadhockey for giving me the opportunity to give back to a great site, and outstanding online community. Also thanks to the kind folks at Warrior!

“Out of box Impressions”:

Aesthetics are A++, the nice clean black with white, silver and maroon logos make this guy a real looker- if you’re a sucker for that sort of thing. The white/silver shadow striped accents are a reflection of Bentley’s pure class, and is a step away from Warriors eye-catching neon colors, and tongue-in-cheek model names like Johnson, and Dolomite. There is also no visible composite weave on the stick or blade.

The non-grip is a plus for me, but we’ll just chalk that up to personal preference, as I’m not really a grip guy. Out of box, the stick does feel heavier than the Missions (V-Hex, Fuels, and Fuel TI) I’m currently using, but I’ve never been one to really focus on weight, as long as the stick has a nice balanced feel to it, and in this case- the Bentley feels a tad on the blade heavy side, but not as blade dense as most of the price point OPS I’ve looked at in the past. The Bentley also feels like it has a slight convex shaft shape to it, in comparison to my 2 current favorites I’m using (my Mission Fuel TI has a slight concave feel, and my Mission Titanium pro stock has the same concave feel with just a tad more girth). This shaft shape is another nice little change of pace for me.

“Post Cut & Tape”

I needed to take a little more than half an inch off of the Bentley, which concerned me because the stick I was sent was a 95 flex. I’m an 85 guy, and didn’t want to stiffen it up anymore, but in order to use the product to the best of my ability I sawed off what I needed to. After cutting and taping, the stick really doesn’t feel as blade heavy as it did fresh out of the box. A plus if you ask me. I’m actually anxious to get back on the ice to check this stick out, so I may have to come off summer hiatus a little sooner than expected. Until then I’ve provided a few pictures of the product both pre, and post cut. Thanks for checking in, and stay tuned for further updates!

Warrior Bentley 8/18/09

[AnthonyJTa 0]

So after a summer long hiatus, I got back on the ice with the Warrior Bentley. As I mentioned in the previous post- it felt just a tad blade heavy. I've never been too concerned with weight, but I've always been drawn to higher end sticks due to the better feel and materials. Well after the first use of the Bentley, I'm starting to feel like I've subconsciously been a 'weight queen' the last 2 years. The Bentley has an eccentric feel to it so to speak, in comparison to other sticks I've used. It just seemed like one moment I was surprised with the puck feel while stick handling, and the next minute it would feel like pop bottles taking a crisp pass. This may also be a little bit of rust on my part.. as I haven't skated all summer. A plus of this endeavor being a long term review.

Shooting was so so... I'm not a heavy shooter- I'm a wrister and snap shot guy. I rarely wind up, let alone unleash a backscratcher. It didn't really have that nice pop other sticks tend to bring with a nice snap shot. Accuracy wasn't an issue - I clanged the post about 7 times in warmups... completely unintentional, yet usual for me (haha). My pickup hour is pretty laid back, with the "we all have to work tomorrow" mantra, so guys rarely take 2 handers or hook the hell out of you- so the stick hasn't taken anymore abuse aside from a few stick lifts, or having another stick forced atop of it. No physical damage aside from paint marks so far. I usually skate a few times before re-taping the blade, so I won't fully examine the blade for review until I re-tape.

Back to the weight... while I've never cruised the LHS looking for the lightest, most expensive twig in the store- I can see why people would. Using some relatively lighter weight sticks.... I found the weight of the Bentley to be a little cumbersome after awhile. "Windsheild wipering", and trying to lay the stick in passing lanes got a little tiresome at times. Damn playing defense! But as mentioned before, I don't know if this is rust on my part- time will tell.

A little intangible: I did get a lot of guys saying the stick was quite the looker. As far as Warrior is concerned - mission accomplished. A lot of guys complimented the fact that it wasn't blindingly-bright-colored like Warrior's other offerings. A guy I skated with asked if he could take a peek... He's not to big of a gear guy considering he's 27 and using 'protective' equipment he got when he was 14 or 15. (I used quotes because the validity of saying it's indeed protective is questionable..) He stickhandled a bit, took about 6 wristers, and 4 or 5 slappers with it..... Just for curiosity's sake, I asked him, and a few other guys how much they thought the stick run. They said "About $99-$100 bucks"... not bad considering it's modest $70 price tag.

So far, I'm relatively pleased with this first endeavor into a price-point stick. Considering average guys in my pick up hours tend to save their money for beers as opposed to gear. Being a newly married man, saving for a house, etc. - one can rest easy knowing there's a moderately priced solution when his Missions all go to 'hockey stick heaven'... 'Til next time.