Flex Question

[Sav25 1]

Hey all

Looking at a couple of RM19 sherwood sticks on ebay, both are 115 Flex and very long (63.5 inches)

I'll probably need to cut 4 inches off of them, which will increase the flex number even more.

Will that be too high a flex rating? What are the pros/cons on hgaving a very stiff stick

Cheers

[stuie7 6]

Will that be too high a flex rating? What are the pros/cons on hgaving a very stiff stick

Depends how good you're technique is and how much power you can get behind your shots, flex would probs got to 120-125.

[Sav25 1]

I have a lot of power behind my shots, lot of weight to go with it = i snap low flex sticks quite easily which is a pain so i normally go for something stiff - but is the 120+ mark going to be like playing with scaffold?

[raganblink 82]

with this stick, don't worry about it. their 105 flex acted and felt more like a 95, 95 like an 85, 85 like a 75, etc. It will probably be more around the 110 that you europeans can get. really great stick though for the price, you should get it.

[Sav25 1]

Ok sounds like a sale top me then, i'll use these exact same excuses to convince the girlfriend it was a good idea lol

Hey anyone know anything about the 'Gill' curve (left) - cant find anything?

[ZombieAttack27 1]

check ebay often

[stuie7 6]

check ebay often

Check it for what? He's found the sticks he wants :P

http://patterndb.org/main.php?g2_itemId=6274

http://patterndb.org/main.php?g2_itemId=3118

2 examples of his pro curve, dunno if hal gill had a retail pattern?

[ZombieAttack27 1]

haha.. good point, didn't see that

[syko_hockey 0]

Not trying to hijack the thread ok getting back on the topic of too high of a flex. I'm 5'2 105 lbs and use junior sticks (52 flex). I mainly take wrist shots and if I got a int stick around 65-70 flex would it hinder my shot or play? (I'm a forward)

[Sav25 1]

check ebay often

Check it for what? He's found the sticks he wants :P

http://patterndb.org/main.php?g2_itemId=6274

http://patterndb.org/main.php?g2_itemId=3118

2 examples of his pro curve, dunno if hal gill had a retail pattern?

Cheers buddy appreciate it

I normally play with a Crosby or a Spezza - dya reckon it's anything liike those? Looks a bit more like the Crosby to me

[stuie7 6]

http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/hockeymonkey_2082_76560374

Looks to me like the Gill is a little more of a mid-heel than a heel like Crosby or Spezza.

Doesn't look a million miles away from a Crosby, not as open as Spezza.

Check your PM's.

[Xero117 7]

Not trying to hijack the thread ok getting back on the topic of too high of a flex. I'm 5'2 105 lbs and use junior sticks (52 flex). I mainly take wrist shots and if I got a int stick around 65-70 flex would it hinder my shot or play? (I'm a forward)

I have the same build as you and I found that my wristers suffered a bit (couldn't feel the stick load up as much) but my snapshots were great when I moved up to an INT stick

[syko_hockey 0]

Not trying to hijack the thread ok getting back on the topic of too high of a flex. I'm 5'2 105 lbs and use junior sticks (52 flex). I mainly take wrist shots and if I got a int stick around 65-70 flex would it hinder my shot or play? (I'm a forward)

I have the same build as you and I found that my wristers suffered a bit (couldn't feel the stick load up as much) but my snapshots were great when I moved up to an INT stick

I just don't know if I'm strong enough to still flex the stick on my wristers. I am known for having a hard and accurate wrist shot, I just don't want to mess my shot up.

[Xero117 7]

Not trying to hijack the thread ok getting back on the topic of too high of a flex. I'm 5'2 105 lbs and use junior sticks (52 flex). I mainly take wrist shots and if I got a int stick around 65-70 flex would it hinder my shot or play? (I'm a forward)

I have the same build as you and I found that my wristers suffered a bit (couldn't feel the stick load up as much) but my snapshots were great when I moved up to an INT stick

I just don't know if I'm strong enough to still flex the stick on my wristers. I am known for having a hard and accurate wrist shot, I just don't want to mess my shot up.

If you have a teammate that has an INT stick around your length ask to try it out during warmup to see if it benefits you in anyway, otherwise just stick to jr sticks

[syko_hockey 0]

Not trying to hijack the thread ok getting back on the topic of too high of a flex. I'm 5'2 105 lbs and use junior sticks (52 flex). I mainly take wrist shots and if I got a int stick around 65-70 flex would it hinder my shot or play? (I'm a forward)

I have the same build as you and I found that my wristers suffered a bit (couldn't feel the stick load up as much) but my snapshots were great when I moved up to an INT stick

I just don't know if I'm strong enough to still flex the stick on my wristers. I am known for having a hard and accurate wrist shot, I just don't want to mess my shot up.

If you have a teammate that has an INT stick around your length ask to try it out during warmup to see if it benefits you in anyway, otherwise just stick to jr sticks

I tried but they all used seniors and the only one with int. shoots left

[starsfan71 9]

I was pretty close to your size about a year ago, I made the jump to intermediate and liked it, I am now 130 pounds and about 5foot and have switched down to a 60 flex I feel it would be a really go flex for you. Nike bauer 0ne95s in 60 flexes are a good choice for someone who wants some really sick loading capabilities at your size, you might have to cut it down to the 65 mark, or maybe even lower then that but I think you could benefit if you have good technique.

[Sav25 1]

http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/hockeymonkey_2082_76560374

Looks to me like the Gill is a little more of a mid-heel than a heel like Crosby or Spezza.

Doesn't look a million miles away from a Crosby, not as open as Spezza.

Check your PM's.

Thanks mate

Well I won the bid - €119 for 2 pro stock RM19 sticks with the Gill blade - just got to cross my fingers and hope i can get on with the blade and the stiffness.

[Sebastien 0]

I don't get how anyone (normal size) can load up with a 110+ flex stick. Let me know how it performs on wristers.

[Sav25 1]

I don't get how anyone (normal size) can load up with a 110+ flex stick. Let me know how it performs on wristers.

Not a big wrist shot man - more of a defense slapper from the half way line (Roller Hockey) so i need a stick that is tough - think i'm currently on about 115 flex on a sherwood woodie that i cut down - not 100% on that though.

[mack 44]

I don't remember the last time I took a wrister. It's been snapshots and slappers for me for at least 15 years and I don't see that changing. I've tried softer flexes and just don't like rehashing what I'm used to mechanically. The One95s I ordered off MyBauer are 110 so that may work as a happy medium for me.

[Chadd 916]

I don't get how anyone (normal size) can load up with a 110+ flex stick.

Most of those guys either put their entire body into the (slap)shot or they don't load it at all. I've seen one guy be able to actually make a 120 bend on a "normal" wrist shot and he was a former competition-level bodybuilder. He was 6-2 and a little over 300lbs and damn near all of it was muscle. Most guys that use a stick that stiff shoot with quick hands and do not use the flex of the stick. Obviously that doesn't apply to the taller guys.

[Jarick 5]

I had a teammate that could flex an XX-Stiff XN10, but he was well over 350.

Chadd,

you're referring to? Is it necessarily a bad thing? When shooting that way, I could get a decent shot off a chopped down 90 flex stick (normally use 70-75). Didn't really feel it flex much though.

[Chadd 916]

I had a teammate that could flex an XX-Stiff XN10, but he was well over 350.

Chadd,

you're referring to? Is it necessarily a bad thing? When shooting that way, I could get a decent shot off a chopped down 90 flex stick (normally use 70-75). Didn't really feel it flex much though.

Personally, I think you should be pulling back with the top hand on your shot anyway. If you aren't getting your stick to flex on a shot, the only way to improve your shot speed is to make your hands faster. Essentially, you're just using the stick as a lever and not getting anything out of the stick. I wouldn't say that it is wrong, just not optimal for most people, especially considering the capabilities of composite sticks. A lot of it comes from kids learning with sticks that they can't bend or changing models/brands with every new stick. They never really learn to feel the stick load and release or learn the optimal shooting motion for that stick. The lever action is more useful around the net though where the quickness of the release is more important than the pure velocity. Players should have all of those shots in the bag, in golf parlance.

In my experience a stiffer flex (on the same model, with the same curve) will tend to have less velocity and be slightly harder to elevate. Accuracy, other than putting it under the bar, generally isn't impacted that much. A Ryan Smyth type player wouldn't be hindered by a stick that was too stiff as much as an Ovechkin type player.

Here's a good example of someone using a stick that is too stiff. Even on the full windup wrist shot, it doesn't load at all. Because he doesn't feel it load, he doesn't know when to release the puck. The result is an inconsistent shot. If you're not getting flex out of your stick, you might as well shorten up the motion and it will speed up your release.

[Jarick 5]

I think that's where I'm seeing the distinction between wrist and snap shots...the wrist shots seem to get the power generated from the push-pull of the hands and spin on the puck whereas the snap shots get their power from flexing the stick.

Just playing around with that wrist/forearm "exercise" as described in the video I linked, you get more speed and force by putting your hands closer together, and when I was practicing the shots, I found keeping the bottom hand too far down on the stick prevented me from really getting a good push-pull. Maybe that's why Kovalchuk has such a ridiculous wrist shot with his tiny stick.

Usually, I do more of a snap shot, load up the stick a lot, but the release for whatever reason isn't as hard or as quick as I'd like it to be (more like a hard pass than anything else). Playing around with a shorter stick and that push-pull was giving me a harder AND more accurate shot with a quicker release, but I wasn't flexing the stick much at all, which felt strange. Good thing they're flooding the rinks around here as I'd like to find some middle ground.

[chippa13 1844]

If you're taking a snapper then the load and release should be done quickly and your form should be such that it lets the stick release fully.