Cheaper OPS vs shaft/blade

[Cunndies 0]

Looking for folks' opinions here. I'm 23, and I play rec/semi competitive roller and ice hockey. For a few years I've been using various shaft/blade combos. I liked the fact that I could change the blade, and it worked for me as well as I rarely break shafts.

I've used a Mission L-2 (cracked the bottom of the shaft after about 2 years), and more recently, a RBK 5k with a variety of standard composite blades. I loved the L-2 as it was tapered, and the feel was great, however where I live (Scotland), tapered blades are nearly impossible to find, so I went back to standard shafts afterwards rather than get another tapered one. They don't kick quite as nicely, but it's been fine.

I'm thinking of changing things up though. First things first, I'm not going to be going for really high-end sticks or shafts. They're prohibitively expensive here, and I'm not up for spending that amount of cash on sticks. My local hockey shop has some lower priced OPS (TPS Response R1 and R2, and CCM Octoguns) which I was thinking of trying out. They're not top of the line, so I know that they use cheaper materials (more fibreglass, not 100% carbon etc...) but what are they like? Most of the talk on here is the high-end stuff, and having searched I can't find much on it.

Bottom line for me is that I'm currently using a low/mid range shaft blade combo, and I'm thinking of changing to one-piece sticks in the same kind of price bracket. Same sort of materials/construction but with the benefit of the taper. Basically I want to know what cheaper OPS are like in terms of durability and feel.

Any advice? What should I stay away from? Any recommendations?

Cheers.

[Jarick 5]

I'd just stay away from them. The feel and performance is pretty terrible. A better option would be to get a high end shaft like a One95 or AK27 and whatever blades you can get your hands on.

[Cunndies 0]

The thing is that high end sticks/shafts are very expensive here. One of those shafts could cost me the equivalent of 200 dollars, and I can't spend that much on sticks.

Example, an Easton ST shaft is £100, roughly $170. Would be great but I'm looking to spend less than that. I'm not using high-end stuff at the moment, and am looking for the best option without spending loads.

[stick9 892]

Look for tapered shafts on closeout. You can probably find some really good shafts under $70 US. A decent tapered set up will outperform a cheap OPS any day of the week. I paid $50 for my Easton Synergy II shaft and $30 for the Warrior Dolo2 blade. The deals are out there, just gotta look.

[Cunndies 0]

They are, but not in the UK. I can see good deals on Hockeymonkey but it'd cost me about a hundred bucks in shipping and taxes. And as I said, tapered blades are near impossible to find where I live. And high end stuff is very expensive. Closeout doesn't really happen either (there are places in the UK that still sell Z Bubbles for £90 ($150)

My choice is pretty limited. I wish we has the number of stores as North America or could ship stuff for cheap but it ain't happening!

I've also looked on the gear exchange here- got in touch with a few guys but shipping is wildly expensive.

[yrhmblnr8r 69]

I've used a Mission L-2 (cracked the bottom of the shaft after about 2 years), and more recently, a RBK 5k with a variety of standard composite blades. I loved the L-2 as it was tapered, and the feel was great, however where I live (Scotland), tapered blades are nearly impossible to find, so I went back to standard shafts afterwards rather than get another tapered one. They don't kick quite as nicely, but it's been fine.

How high up is the crack on the L-2? If you cut off the taper, you could turn it into a standard shaft with an extension. I know it affects flex/balance/etc. but you said tapered blades are hard to come by in your area.

Keep an eye out for broken OPS or make friends with the Zamboni driver. Then read this thread.

If you're ambitious, you can shave a standard blade down to a tapered. More details here.

[Cunndies 0]

Higher than would make it possible to use as a standard shaft sadly.

Thanks for the suggestions so far, particularly the last one. But like I said, my options are pretty limited!

[Chadd 916]

You would be better off with a low-mid shaft and decent blade than a low end OPS. The difference in feel is pretty significant between the good blades and the cheap ones.

[sarmalidu 1]

+1 - A cheap shaft paired with a high-end blade makes for great, blade-light balance and still provides good feel. If you're looking to save money, it's usually best to save on the shaft IMO

[swede 49]

a suggestion from me... take a look att the sportewa.se store here in sweden.. in the outlet section they have old tps adrenaline shafts (tapered), and old tapered tps R2 blades (the golden ones).. i have a adrenaline/r2 combo and i love it

[Kezetto 0]

you could have a look at hockeymonkey.eu . the eu shop of the american hockeymonkey. they have a couple things on close out and have a better selection, so more choice.

they have a few high end warrior stick including ak27 two piece, the kronik and a few more. they all range from 130-80 pounds. postage is around 15 pounds. here's the link http://www.hockeymonkey.eu/closeout/sticks...es-c-593-1.aspx

[Cunndies 0]

Thanks guys. I've had a look at Hockeymonkey.eu before, and their choice is good, but it still ups the price to get it shipped here. Even for a shaft I'm looking at adding £30 onto the price (between 50-60 dollars if you're reading in the States, for comparison)

I've looked at Hockeyoffice.com (based in Germany), and their prices are more reasonable, but for a lot of sticks for some reason you are unable to choose which flex or pattern you'd like, so it makes ordering sticks difficult. Great site for everything else though.

My main point is price though - in the UK, sticks are expensive. For comparison, my local shop has the following

Easton ST (OPS) - £129. That's $215 (compared to $139 on hockeymonkey)

RBK 7k shaft - £99. That's $167 (hockeymonkey has it for 80. Half the price)

Composite blades start at about £40 upwards (just under $70), and their selection of patterns is woeful.

I've currently got a decent TPS blade in my 5k shaft, and it's fine, but the blade is getting pretty worn, so I'm looking at what's gonna replace it. My current set up is good, but it's not exactly top-of-the-range. It does the job for me though. Having heard the advice on here I'm gonna keep looking to see what I can find, but honestly, are cheap OPS really that bad? Obviously they're not as good as top-end ones, but are they completely worthless?

you could have a look at hockeymonkey.eu . the eu shop of the american hockeymonkey. they have a couple things on close out and have a better selection, so more choice.

they have a few high end warrior stick including ak27 two piece, the kronik and a few more. they all range from 130-80 pounds. postage is around 15 pounds. here's the link http://www.hockeymonkey.eu/closeout/sticks...es-c-593-1.aspx

Thanks for looking, much appreciated. Only problem currently is that the AK27 is only in 100 flex (ideally I'd like 85!), and I'm getting a shipping quote much higher than that (about £35), making the total for an AK27 shaft + blade upwards of £120. Still more than I can justify spending on a single stick at the moment.

I really don't want to sound like a cheapskate, but for what I'm doing, I'm not dropping hundreds on sticks if I can avoid it.

[diablo42 0]

I live in Spain and I've bought several things from the U.S. on Ebay.

I've bought 5 pairs of Nikebauer XXVR skates, for me and my teammates, blades, girdles, an Easton Typhoon shaft, and always paid very low prices for the products and shippment and never paid customs. (via USPS)

I think the key is the sellers always look for cheapest way to shipp (USPS).

P.S.: Fedex and Ups have their own custom system and always charge you the custom taxes.

[Chadd 916]

a suggestion from me... take a look att the sportewa.se store here in sweden.. in the outlet section they have old tps adrenaline shafts (tapered), and old tapered tps R2 blades (the golden ones).. i have a adrenaline/r2 combo and i love it

Those R2 blades are from the Response Armor era shafts, not the original R2 blades for what it is worth.

The Fury shaft comes in around 40 GBP before shipping and the TPS standard blades come in at 12 and a half GBP. Even the TPS R1 shaft comes in around 52 GBP before shipping. That's not bad at all.

[Cunndies 0]

a suggestion from me... take a look att the sportewa.se store here in sweden.. in the outlet section they have old tps adrenaline shafts (tapered), and old tapered tps R2 blades (the golden ones).. i have a adrenaline/r2 combo and i love it

Those R2 blades are from the Response Armor era shafts, not the original R2 blades for what it is worth.

The Fury shaft comes in around 40 GBP before shipping and the TPS standard blades come in at 12 and a half GBP. Even the TPS R1 shaft comes in around 52 GBP before shipping. That's not bad at all.

Can I ask where you're getting those prices? If they're in the US the problem is that shipping is pretty expensive at the moment (80 bucks plus import tax for a shaft from hockeymonkey!).

Do I assume that the "problem" with cheap OPS is the blades in them? The R1 I can get here for £40 as an OPS (totally affordable, and kind of started this whole search!) but the feeling here is that's a bad plan...

Apologies if I'm asking obvious questions - never used one-pieces before, and not looked at buying sticks seriously in a while. Have searched as much as I can, before anybody jumps on me!

[Chadd 916]

a suggestion from me... take a look att the sportewa.se store here in sweden.. in the outlet section they have old tps adrenaline shafts (tapered), and old tapered tps R2 blades (the golden ones).. i have a adrenaline/r2 combo and i love it

Those R2 blades are from the Response Armor era shafts, not the original R2 blades for what it is worth.

The Fury shaft comes in around 40 GBP before shipping and the TPS standard blades come in at 12 and a half GBP. Even the TPS R1 shaft comes in around 52 GBP before shipping. That's not bad at all.

Can I ask where you're getting those prices? If they're in the US the problem is that shipping is pretty expensive at the moment (80 bucks plus import tax for a shaft from hockeymonkey!).

Do I assume that the "problem" with cheap OPS is the blades in them? The R1 I can get here for £40 as an OPS (totally affordable, and kind of started this whole search!) but the feeling here is that's a bad plan...

Apologies if I'm asking obvious questions - never used one-pieces before, and not looked at buying sticks seriously in a while. Have searched as much as I can, before anybody jumps on me!

See the bold type above for the shop.

I've never liked the feel of the blades in low end OPS. I'd rather have good feel and less performance. You might as well try it and see what you think.

[Kezetto 0]

yeah i know what you mean about the hockeymonkey.eu prices being a bit steep, i live i cardiff so i know what mean. Maybe you should go with what chad said higher end blade and then a low/mid range shaft so you arn't loosing feel. Here's a shot how tall are you ? Because you could go with a Intermediate stick then you could go with high end for low prices ?

[diablo42 0]

http://stores.ebay.com/HockeyPlusMore_Hock...tpos=&gbr=1

[metalwinger13 1]

Not sure if hockeygiant or hockey overstock will ship international but the TPS rubber shaft is pretty decent for the 30 bucks. Its tapered and for regular flex has a nice kick to it. ive picked up 2 and thinking about picking a few more up just in case

[Sav25 1]

Hey I live near London in the UK and have exactly the same problem. And was also looking at the TPS R1 because of price.

Obvioussly it's not the way to go from what people have said. HockeyMonkey need a UK store!

I normally buy online from prolineskates.com or crazy kennys. Ken from Crazy Kennys will try and get stuff in for you if you want it.

Will hockeymonkey post USPS? As they have 15% off at the moment, helping save a few nuggets which can then be used to cover cost of shipping.