Battleaxe BX10

[Chadd 916]

Thanks to Yaz for making this happen for me and the other guys that will be posting their reviews soon. My stick is actually a shaft and blade, but they use the same pieces to build the OPS. I asked for it this way, because I'm really picky about blades and wanted to be able to evaluate each piece on its own merits. I'll get some pics up as well as a little more detail in the next day or so.

[Chadd 916]

Been on the road since the stick got here, not much time to get back with my initial impressions and I apologize for that.

Initial impressions:

The appearance isn't that bad for an older guy like myself. It has the tribal thing going on that I think is a bit overdone, but I'm not the target market for that. As it is, the appearance still wouldn't prevent me from buying it. I really liked the idea behind the texture on the shaft for the bottom hand. Stick appears to be well made, no apparent flaws or problems with the construction.

First use:

Wow. Flight was late and missed warmups, but was able to be on the ice to start the game. Wrist and snap shots had a lot of velocity, every one of them. Slappers were all hard and no less accurate than normal. The feel was a little different than I'm used to and the P37 (Drury) is a little different than I usually use, but I seemed to adapt pretty quickly. I had asked for a shaft and blade combo because I tend to be picky about blades, but I am already comfortable with it and see no reason to change it.

I'm really liking this stick so far, the 90 flex is very comfortable coming from my TPS R flex. The load and release is a little different but feels very natural to me, not at all like the sticks with the super-low kickpoints. I am very pleasantly surprised so far, one of the best first on-ice impressions I've ever had with a stick.

[Chadd 916]

Taping up the stick for my game tonight and noticed there were quite a few small nicks and chips in the blade, one is fairly sizable. That may be due to playing center for the first time in a long time, but it is something I will continue to watch.

[Chadd 916]

Used the stick again for about half the game last night, switched to my XN10 in the middle for a while because the lie became a bit of an issue. Looks like I'll cut it down an inch or so to try and get the 5.5 lie to feel more comfortable. I don't think I mentioned this before but the shaft and blade together are as long as my XN10 shaft/blade with a stock plug. I had been thinking of going to a slightly shorter stick anyway, so the higher lie makes it a little more important to do so for the next time out.

As for the use; shots were good, though I fanned on a couple of rushed shots because of the lie. Velocity and accuracy were still very good on the shots where I had time to account for the lie. Shots really do seem to jump off the stick, the flex really is perfect for me. Having the option of a 90 flex shaft is a major positive to me. There weren't any obvious problems with the blade and my tape actually survived the game so I don't plan on removing it for the next game. I will probably check the blade wear after the game next week.

The shaft itself looks almost new, very little paint transfer from other sticks and no obvious chips or major scratches.

So far no negatives regarding the stick, I just wish they offered blades with a lower lie.

[Chadd 916]

Cut the shaft down an inch and it seems to feel better at that length with the higher lie. Shooting is still like it was before, no changes there at all. The only negative is that the shaft and blade are sized slightly differently, you will probably need to put a strip of tape on the blades so they don't work themselves loose over time. If that's the biggest accommodation I have to make, I'll gladly deal with it.

[Chadd 916]

I had to take a few weeks off because of a nagging ankle injury, back on the ice tonight, though. I missed warmups and didn't even bother taking another stick out of the bag, played with the BX10 all night long again. The shorter length is just about perfect now and I'm used to the differences with the Drury-style blade. Shots were consistent, passes were as accurate as I've ever been and I cold feel the puck any time it was on my stick. Took a couple shots without any fluttering and when I had a mostly empty net to shoot at, the stick fired through like it always does.

I had a guy set up in front of the net and I threaded a pass to him for a tip/deflection and it ended up hitting the goalie in the face. Both the goalie and the other player both said it had some zip on it, even though I didn't really put all that much into it. Guys have mentioned that my passes and snappers feel a little harder the last couple games, even though I feel that I've been taking a little off the passes in order to help them control the puck.

All in all, things are still going swimmingly with the BX10.

[Chadd 916]

I've been spotty on my updates, mostly due to my work schedule and I apologize to the folks at Battleaxe for that.

The stick continues to work well for me, shots have been very consistent in both velocity and accuracy. I did have to put some tape over the end of the tenon to hold the blade a bit more securely, but I've had to do that with quite a few other brands as well. There are a few paint chips at the bottom from contact, but no structural problems at all. In a game last week a player on the other team had a battleaxe shaft, it's the first other person I've seen using one.

All in all, the stick continues to perform as it has from day one without any problems. I will do my best to post updates a little more frequently as well.