My BASE Stick

[troy 12]

Today i received the two Savoy Special sticks I had ordered exactly a week prior (I did however pay an extra $20 for air shipping). The first detail I noticed about them was quite jarring, they were noticeably shorter than any other companies' senior OPS. I popped off the endcap to see if BASE followed other manufacturers and had stick information inside the top of the shaft, my sticks were labeled SAVINT75 (interesting note, one stick presumably was made by Ricardo, the other by Vic). This, coupled with the height discrepancy, lead me astutely to conclude my sticks had been made as intermediates. Upon measuring shaft dimensions, they are approximately identical to my senior Dolomites. I emailed the woman who had helped assist me in the ordering process, she copied the VP and President, gave an apology and ultimately provided a solution. BASE offered me the use of these sticks while they began making my order correctly, while also stating their intermediates using the same construction and materials as senior models. I have not yet gotten into the cost specific results of this mix up because of the following details.

Where this becomes less of the expected disappointment is that in measuring the stick from the top of the shaft to bottom of the heel, I found its 56" length identical to my game prepared sticks. I've been using a 75 flex for years and now I'll have the opportunity to use an actual 75 flex stick with senior dimensions as opposed to the eventual 90ish flexes I had been using post trimming. At a not-overly-muscular 150 pounds this is appealing to me. I'm going to try to get on the ice as soon as possible to see if playing with a true 75 flex is preferable, which would make this a rather fortunate mistake. I must say however throughout my pre-ordering questioning, order submittal/confirmation, and finally receiving the unanticipated final product Nikki at BASE was always very pleasant, prompt and helpful.

As for the actual stick: I ordered a RH senior 75 with lie 4 Iginla clone pattern, matte finish shaft, sharkskin finish blade and orange graphics. I received everything to my specifications except for the extra length of a senior shaft length. From the initial touch the stick feels comfortably lightweight, though slightly blade heavy. As mentioned prior the shaft dimensions are very similar to my Dolomites and the sidewalls have a slight concavity to them. The matte finish feels slightly less smooth than a current ST, but is exactly as I desired. I do think the application of the matte finish might have led to the overall less than gorgeous finish of the stick. The blade is a fairly standard thickness, and the sharkskin coating is a mimic of Easton's Z-Tac, and I hope it compares favorably. I'm unable to bend it at all in my hands, however the only time I can really flex a blade is once I've sucked the life out of it or I'm toying with a Brooklynite Redeemer in my LHS, so take that as you will. The shaft definitely seems to have a more mid-loading design, but my perception might be skewed as it is the whippiest stick I've handled. I'm reticent to talk about my puck feel impressions as I've only had it on my basement plexi, but it is certainly different than my Dolos, XXX Lites and ONE90s.

Unfortunately my camera is broken, so pics will have to wait. Hopefully this proves somewhat informative, but at least it is overly lengthy.

[HattrickSwayze 3]

Cool, I was hoping to hear some feedback on these. I've been tempted to order a couple, but was holding out on peoples impressions of them.

[kovalchuk71 212]

Troy,when you say "whippiest stick I have handled" how does the flex compare to say a 75 Easton or 77 NBH?

[troy 12]

It's tough for me to say because I haven't dealt with an uncut 75 in about a year, but if I were to hazard I'd say gently more flexible than either of those companies' mid-70s rating.

[Scotty 8]

When you say that the shaft size is comparable to your Dolos, does that mean that the Base sticks have the very rounded corners as well?

[troy 12]

Yes they are rounded. Also the blade weave is of the tighter Easton-esque variety.

[skyscrape 5]

What are these going to be selling for and what was the turnaround time for the customs?

[troy 12]

Fist sentence:

Today i received the two Savoy Special sticks I had ordered exactly a week prior ...

And for an American ordering an intermediate stick at that quantity ~$135.

[skyscrape 5]

Do you have a connection with the company or is this standard turnaround. I was not sure if you got hooked up as a long term reviewer, I should have been clearer about my question. The funny thing is I read every part of your post but by the time I got to the end I forgot that you stated this at the beginning.

I have been trying to find info regarding curve selection but I am having a hard time, do you know if they have it up anywhere?

[troy 12]

I was told standard turnaround is 5-7 business days, but I wanted to ensure I got my sticks within a business week. I did not get hooked up in any way. Check your PMs.

[JR Boucicaut 3801]

Troy bought these sticks - they were not supplied as a MSH long-term review.

We'd appreciate a regular review after you've had considerable time with them.

[Konig von Kuhlem 0]

I ordered mine at the beginning of the week, so they said it should take about two weeks to get. I ordered an 85 flex Sakic curve, but they didn't have it in a 5.5 lie (only 6, 5 & 4 lies), so I picked a 5.0 lie. Hopefully the difference in lie doesn't screw me up too bad. Coming from 5.5 lie S19 and Kor sticks, which are both awesome, it will have a tough act to follow. I'll see in about one week's time...

[zachary 2]

Fist sentence:

And for an American ordering an intermediate stick at that quantity ~$135.

So question, $135 each if you buy 2 or for both?

[uclahockey707 1]

$135 each

[troy 12]

Pics:

[NextBobbyOrr 0]

Hey Troy or anyone else, could you possibly compare the shaft feel to the Bauer Supreme or Vapor. Because I've been using those sticks past 3 years, never used a Warrior for very long(If at all).

Reason for edit: Briefly had a Pro Stock Warrior. Don't know if it's actual shaft shape, didn't use it for more than 2 practices.

[troy 12]

Compared to my ONE90, more rounded corners and slightly thinner. Compared to my XXX Lite, similar overall shape but slightly thinner.

[stuie7 6]

Pics:

Interesting.. The blade weave looks exactly like the weave on my old Dolomite blades..

[troy 12]

I have a Dolo from what I believed to be their first run under the Warrior label and it has a checkerboard blade. What vintage 1100 do yo have?

[TBLfan 25]

All "true" dolomites and the Inno 1100 had a checkerboard weave. BUT Warrior was relabeling old Inno stock as "pro stock" Warriors, the smaller weave was on the Vapor XV(tapered shaft/blade)/XX(OPS).

[Aggie 9]

All "true" dolomites and the Inno 1100 had a checkerboard weave. BUT Warrior was relabeling old Inno stock as "pro stock" Warriors, the smaller weave was on the Vapor XV(tapered shaft/blade)/XX(OPS).

I've had some old Innovative 1100 OPS that had the braided weave. I don't remember what year it was, but it was around the time the Innovative Novius OPS was out.

Back to the topic of this thread, I ordered some Base sticks on friday, so I'll try to post my thoughts when I get them.

[Chadd 916]

All "true" dolomites and the Inno 1100 had a checkerboard weave. BUT Warrior was relabeling old Inno stock as "pro stock" Warriors, the smaller weave was on the Vapor XV(tapered shaft/blade)/XX(OPS).

The vast majority of 1100s I've owned/used/seen did not have the checkerboard weave. In fact, I don't recall seeing it on any sticks prior to the true1 first being released.

[troy 12]

Agreed, I remember the True1 being the first stick with a weave producing squares of the larger area.

[TBLfan 25]

The last run(s) of 1100s had checkerboard weaves, either that or it was a popular pro option. All the 1100s I saw near the time of Warrior taking over had the checkerboard weave. Since it would be around the time Warrior coming in(since it was labeled as Warrior) the 1100s would have had that weave on the blade. ...not that it made a difference, the old 1100 was the same thing as the XV and XX.

[C.SLO5 0]

My BASE stick has been ordered today. Went with the grip coating, sharkskin blade and BM 19 (P92/Sakic). 75 flex. I talked to Nikki at BASE and she was super nice and said the stick will be out in 5-7 days. Excited to try this and compare it to my X60's and Easton twigs.