Easton EQ50 Stick

[chippa13 1844]

The point was that NHL guys aren't necessarily wooed by the latest tech so much as sticking with what works. Sure, Shanahan and Green were extreme examples but there are still guys like Rolston using essentially the original Synergy/ST. Sounds like more of the pro usage has to do with options, turn-around time, and love from the rep than it does from the latest tweak of an advance that has folks around here drooling. As long as Easton has pros using whatever it is they use dressed up like their latest retails, Easton will do fine.

[MattKingDelToro 2]

I don't understand why Easton couldn't make Mike Green more CNTs. Why can they make certain old sticks but not others?

[chippa13 1844]

They probably scrapped the production equipment for the CNT and/or no longer had production space/materials to make CNTs any longer. There was probably a business decision made weighing demand against the space/production costs of a small, limited production of a stick.

[TBLfan 25]

The point was that NHL guys aren't necessarily wooed by the latest tech so much as sticking with what works. Sure, Shanahan and Green were extreme examples but there are still guys like Rolston using essentially the original Synergy/ST. Sounds like more of the pro usage has to do with options, turn-around time, and love from the rep than it does from the latest tweak of an advance that has folks around here drooling. As long as Easton has pros using whatever it is they use dressed up like their latest retails, Easton will do fine.

Like I just said, if the technology gap continues to widen more pros are likely (to continue) to stray away from Warrior and Easton. If you have two products that perform similar to each other it doesn't take a genius to figure out people will gravitate to the companies willing to accommodate their wants/needs. As a product becomes apparently better than others, the desire to get the better product becomes more attractive than the accommodations. You see the genesis of this kind of trend here where MSH has been on the ground floor of FBV technology. MSH members have been continually going out of their way to find a way to get FBV over standard hollows.

Trends even show in the Pros. Notice how many pros have started using an Ovechkin pattern. Good results lead to more players trying a product/design and that leads to new users of that product/design.

[Chadd 916]

A lot of players don't care about technology. For reference, see how many guys are still using STs.

[gxc999 7]

A lot of players don't care about technology. For reference, see how many guys are still using STs.

And if you have something that works really well, why should you? My all time favorite stick is the old pro-stock CNT, 4+ years old. So many of the new technology products fail or are disappointing, why rush to adopt them?

[Chadd 916]

They probably scrapped the production equipment for the CNT and/or no longer had production space/materials to make CNTs any longer. There was probably a business decision made weighing demand against the space/production costs of a small, limited production of a stick.

It's more likely that it was just time to change the lineup. The biggest mistake manufacturers make in my mind is changing a product for the sake of change and not because the new product performs better. The XN10 was a perfect example. The sticks that followed weren't any better and the change was made because the XN10 had been around for a few years and "it was time for something different". I'm all for tweaking designs and making things better, I'm just against wholesale changes to product if the new version isn't going to be any better.

[TBLfan 25]

A lot of players don't care about technology. For reference, see how many guys are still using STs.

Again, like I said, when technology advances to a point where it begins to become apparent more guys will switch. How many holdouts continued to use wood sticks after composites came out only to ditch them later on when the advantages became apparent?

Again, I'm not talking about an issue today or this year, I'm talking down the road. In 2-3 years, this could be an issue for Easton. Especially with the new generation of athletes that are much more open to technological advances than those in the past.

[Chadd 916]

Again, like I said, when technology advances to a point where it begins to become apparent more guys will switch. How many holdouts continued to use wood sticks after composites came out only to ditch them later on when the advantages became apparent?

Again, I'm not talking about an issue today or this year, I'm talking down the road. In 2-3 years, this could be an issue for Easton. Especially with the new generation of athletes that are much more open to technological advances than those in the past.

Having used top end product from Easton and Bauer recently, I don't see where you think there is such a huge gap, or even even the expectation of one. The new Supreme sticks are a quantum leap above what Bauer used to sell, but they were a pretty fair way behind Easton at that time. In fact, I think the new supreme blade is a step backwards over the O-95. The S19 I used at the MSH skate was my favorite stick that day, and I haven't liked anything from Easton in a long time. I think the weighting they are working with shows an attempt to address some of the issues created by lighter sticks in an innovative way.

In any case, this really isn't the appropriate place to be debating what may or may not happen in the industry a few years down the road. Any company could put out a product that changes things dramatically and we could be looking at a far different landscape at that point. This topic is about one Easton stick, that's it.

[DarkStar50 679]

And a two hour session is nothing to make any sound decision about stick performance. As lkptiger mentioned, at least blast away with the twig for a good long time before beginning to understand if that may be a good stick for you, the individual player. Everyone has PPs!!

[Chadd 916]

And a two hour session is nothing to make any sound decision about stick performance. As lkptiger mentioned, at least blast away with the twig for a good long time before beginning to understand if that may be a good stick for you, the individual player. Everyone has PPs!!

My PP is still an XN10, but it is good to see that performance on new sticks is starting to catch up.

[DarkStar50 679]

I agree and it still amazes me how the top end sticks can feel so different from brand to brand.

[TBLfan 25]

Chadd, basically what I'm saying is that Bauer has advanced a lot more than Easton has in a similar, actually greater, amount of time. The X:60 is basically where the SL/SE stick should have evolved into, instead they've taken it more towards the ST.

Although, I probably come off as though I'm bashing Easton, it's more of a plea. I really wish Easton was more aggresive about advancing their stick technology. It's a shame that they haven't had a stick on the market since the SE/CNT that I actually liked. Aaand here I'm hearing that the newest in the line is rather unspectacular after the rather unspectacular SE16.

[Scotty 8]

Chadd, basically what I'm saying is that Bauer has advanced a lot more than Easton has in a similar, actually greater, amount of time. The X:60 is basically where the SL/SE stick should have evolved into, instead they've taken it more towards the ST.

Although, I probably come off as though I'm bashing Easton, it's more of a plea. I really wish Easton was more aggresive about advancing their stick technology. It's a shame that they haven't had a stick on the market since the SE/CNT that I actually liked. Aaand here I'm hearing that the newest in the line is rather unspectacular after the rather unspectacular SE16.

Is Bauer pushing it too far, too fast though? Maybe it's just around here, but NO ONE'S X:60s last very long here. Shafts, OPS, all of the X:60 sticks seem to be snapping off around the upper blade or somewhere in the shaft. I know Eastons break as well, but in general I've seen far less Eastons break over the years. And I don't want to get into a debate about which sticks are more brittle, but it seems in this area that the X:60s have a reputation of being fragile. Some of that was verified here as well. Personally, I happen to think that Bauer uses rather lackluster methods to produce their top-end sticks: bladder molding as opposed to compression molding.

Not sure where I'm going with any of this, but let's just say that I'm excited to see how the EQ50 pans out. It seems that so many manufacturers have gone down the "Let's make it even lighter!" path and now are exploring different avenues such as increased balance (One95), less torquing issues (S19), and things such as customization now (EQ50).

On a side note, I'm completely with Chadd in that I'm tired of manufacturers changing things up simply in an attempt to sell more. TPS ran away from the XN10, Easton away from the CNT, Bauer is supposedly moving away from the One95 and its legendary blade feel, etc. Ridiculous. Instead of all these top end $200 sticks being the ones full of all the newest technology and/or gimmicks, I'd rather the most expensive ones be those with the best materials, feel, and hardest kick.

[Chadd 916]

Ok, this has gone completely off topic and really has nothing to do with the EQ50 anymore.