Am I Paranoid?

[Neo5370 132]

The old Z-bubbles, UL's, and Synergies seemed to be of much higher quality than their current counter parts i.e. s17/ST shafts, Synergy ST's......even the old z-carb blades seemed to be lighter, thinner....

....does anyone think a) this is true and they're doing it on purpose B) this is true because the new technology makes the old stuff seem heavier/worse performing c) there is no difference and I'm crazy d) there is a difference but easton is just slacking?

[jkud 0]

Don't know about the s17/ST shafts, but the Synergy ST's are good quality I think. They are very durable, kinda heavy mind you. I think it the case of the new technology making the old tech seem inferior. The tech in the S19 is off the charts. Although I think it is too much (favorite twig ever being the Synergy Elite Grip Sakic 100!)

[Husker 0]

I loved Ultra Lites my favorite stick ever. The AK27 with a normal wood blade was another great stick. I always felt I was most consistent with a traditional 2-piece stick. Of course I don't think their was as much a focus on sticks whipping out or blades getting soft. I wish I was as good on the technical side of equipment when I was younger it would of made a large difference.

I think a huge factor in retail sticks is people often don't get the correct lie or curve for their shooting style. I recently got a X60 p92 lie 6 and have been shooting and stick handling the best I have in a long time.

[Monty22 833]

Kind of related, I've always felt there was "engineered breakage" after the first couple of generations of OPS. My old Easton Synergy gold was as close to industructable as you can get in an ops. JUstlike everything else made today i think companies realized you can sell more units if they break sooner.

[Jarick 5]

Well it doesn't help everyone's obsessed with the lightest weight sticks possible. I'm sure if there was an Ultra Lite with a wood blade and end plug sitting on the shelf painted like a OPS with a $150 price tag it wouldn't fly off the shelves.

[usahockey22 0]

I've got two old T-Flex shafts and an old Z-Bubble shaft...they've all been through hell, and are years old, but still going strong.

I recently broke a SE16 in under 3 months. So, my limited experience seems to agree with you. Add to that the number of snapping OPS I have witnessed in games and pickup sessions...I never used to see that with the old composite Easton shafts.

[greech 4]

Kind of related, I've always felt there was "engineered breakage" after the first couple of generations of OPS. My old Easton Synergy gold was as close to industructable as you can get in an ops. JUstlike everything else made today i think companies realized you can sell more units if they break sooner.

Its called planned obsolescence. It is, in essence, designing a product to only work properly for so long. Weather or not they do this in composite sticks is something the manufacturers only would know. You also have to remember that sticks are made to break under certain amounts of stress as a safety measure.

[shotty 7]

i think its more about the ultimate goal of making things faster and lighter.... it comes with a cost.

think of it as a triangle, evenly balanced between weight, durability and performance. the more you put into one category, the less you have in the others... its like the old saying with automobiles: fast, reliable, cheap. pick two.

[Jarick 5]

I'd say a large part of that is driven by low prices. People would rather spend half as much money on something and take the risk of having to replace it. But yes, as consumers, who wants to drive the same car for 15 years? Or have the same TV for 15 years?

[shotty 7]

sorry jarick, i edited my post. but in response: low prices are the byproduct of consumerism. the more money there is in the economy, the cheaper things are.