Combat Pure

[JR Boucicaut 3759]

Thanks for Combat for seeding our LTR testers sticks.

[LkptTiger 1]

First things first, I'd like to echo JR's gratitude to Combat as well as express some appreciation to MSH admins - JR specifically - for giving me a crack at this stick.

Tester - 6'0" 165lbs.

Current sticks - Bauer TotalONEs.

COMBAT PURE - 90 Flex, TC pattern (Sakic clone)

Initial impressions:

The first thing I noticed when I first got my hands on this particular stick was the grip - this is my first encounter with Combat's grip. It's a soft, subtle, rubbery grip that fades into a matted finish through the lower part of the taper (too low to reach during normal play). It's a very nice contrast to the non-grip version of the PURE, which I would describe as almost slippery.

The shaft shape is a bit boxy (compared to 52 Cal. R. Wot quite as square as the 52 S or TotalONE) with a slight concave to the sidewalls. The shaft has a bit more bulk to it than my TotalONEs. Both the grip and non-grip versions have a smooth texture to them (compared to the "raised wrap"-like feel of some top-end Eastons and Combat's own 52 Cal.).

The full-weave carbon sock is visible throughout the stick. Very reminiscent of the "braid" that could be found on some of the old Inno 1100s. The stick has a solid feel to it. Notably, it does feel at least a shade softer than the 90 stamped on the shaft (you'll get no complaints from me, here). This stick tapers pretty hard, but does not get broader through the throat/hosel area the way that Bauer and Warrior, for example, have done with some of their sticks.

After cutting 'er down to height, the PURE is noticably heavier than my TotalONEs (the Bauers used in the comparison had all been taped/waxed, too), and even a bit heavier than a few Combat 52 Cals I have laying around (not taped). The stick is a touch blade heavy, even though the blade is significantly thinner than that found on the 52 Cal. and doesn't seem quite as stiff (or even as stiff as the blades on my TotalONEs, which are roughly the same thickness). To be clear, I do not believe that the handful of extra grams in this stick is going to have any negative effect on its performance. This has the feel of a top-of-the-line stick in my hands and is by no means anything close to a log.

If I have one initial concern with this stick before getting it on the ice, it is probably the lack of stiffness through the blade. I have come to prefer very stiff, "hot" blades, and I'm just not quite sure if this stick is going to do it for me for that reason. I guess we'll see.

I'll report back within the next couple of days after I've had the stick on the ice a few times.

[LkptTiger 1]

I've been on the ice with the stick probably about a dozen or so times now in various settings (primarily in summer pick-up skates with some friends and friends of friends; almost exclusively current and former Junior A, NCAA and pro guys. Relatively quick-paced and a good test for a stick) - so here's a preliminary run of my impressions of the stick through a bit of usage:

One of the very first things I noticed was that the shaft felt significantly more round in my hands once I got it out on the ice and began handling the puck. While there are a lot of people out there who prefer the feel of rounded corners, I'm certainly not one of them. I've always felt that rounder shafts are much more subject to twisting and torque...and this stick is no different. I really do feel as though I can feel the stick rotate around itself in my hands a bit when recieving a pass or even - to a much more limited extent - when stickhandling. I've noticed the issue much more on my forehand than I do the backhand. After some adjustment, I was able to put this to the back of my mind and move-on...

Once I got used to the stick a bit, I began to notice that the puck just sticks to this thing. It's like playing with a flypaper on my blade. Hard passes, touch passes, flat passes, saucer passes, wobbling passes. Tape-to-tape, behind me or way out infront of me. Backhand or forehand. Two hands or one. Full-speed, half-speed or standing still. It doesn't matter. I don't think I've lost the handle on a pass yet. I would describe it as effortless - just let the stick find the puck and make a play.

Actually handling the puck once it's on my stick has been a slightly different story, though. I've got a pretty good set of hands - this stick doesn't change that. The issue here is that I'm having a bit of trouble locating the puck on the blade. There have been a few rushes on which I've actually had to take a quick peek down at the ice to get the puck where I wanted it on my stick before making a play - something I almost NEVER have to do. At first, I thought it might be a function of the dimensions of the blade (which seems just a touch longer than what I'm used to), but the more I use the stick, the more I'm convinced that it's the blade-heavy balance that's fooling me. TotalONEs being my current sticks of choice going into this testing, I've gotten used to a very light blade that "amplifies" the puck's presence. With the PURE, I feel that the little bit of extra weight below my bottom hand almost "camouflages" the puck a little bit. That is probably the best way I can try to explain it through the written word, and I hope it makes sense to all of you reading. We will see if this is something that I can adapt to through further usage...

Now, I'll preface this next section in saying that this stick does NOT feel like a 90 to me (or any of my other buddies I had take 'er for a spin). We estimate something much closer to the 85 range. This isn't a problem for me, as I actually prefer a whippier stick, I just thought that it warrants noting. That said, shooting is another area that I had a bit of trouble with at first. As I said in my first post above, I VERY much prefer a very stiff blade (not only for shooting, but for passing and stickhandling, as well). As predicted, I had a bit of an issue keeping this blade square to my target through my shots for quite awhile. I was losing stuff high and to the right and was lacking a bit of velocity. A few of my friends actually said that they could see the blade opening a bit as I was shooting. Through some trial-and-error (and a few buckets of pucks), I found that an exaggerated rolling of my wrists got my shots back to where I was looking and brought back a bit of zip. The shaft kicks well. There was some mild torquing through my bottom hand (mild considering the rotation I felt when simply handling the puck). I've either adjusted or gotten used to it since, as I don't notice it anymore. Wristers and snappers still don't quite touch the pop I was getting out of the TotalONEs, but my slappers and backhand are probably right on par.

The stick is holding up well. It's been stepped on a couple times, hacked a bit, has handled a LOT of deflections and fired plenty of shots and still looks, feels and sounds fine. Surprisingly, no indications of beginning to whip-out yet. There is some VERY slight chipping in the grip coating, but that is to be expected and isn't noticeable during usage.

Will check back in soon. If you have any questions, fire me a message and I'll try to make sure I get it covered in my next update.