Easton Mako Stick

[xcntracer 2]

The Mako is a solid stick, it's well balanced, great release, excellent puck feel and so far it's held up pretty well for me (paint chips easily though). The only thing I didn't like is the boxy shaft dimension, I'm used to Bauer's double concave walls but it's not too big of a deal.

Oh and mine came with a decoration flaw, one of the gray stripes near the blade is not laid out straight...

[IPv6Freely 2084]

Well, I finally got a chance to try my Mako for longer than 5 minutes :) Man it feels good! Keep in mind that I'm a beginner so I don't exactly get to take a lot of shots in a game. But the weight/balance of it was fantastic.

Oh, and I scored my first breakaway goal ever. I don't even know why I was up where I was, but the pass came and I went in, took a shot, hit the the goalies pad, and I drove the net and banged in the rebound. Man that felt good!

[HockeySavants 5]

I finally had a good shooting session with my MAKO Parise Curve 100 Flex Grip.

Side note about about Easton's grip, it's not overly invasive like others. It works well with all palms.

Any doubts I had with rather disappointing RS were erased with the very first show with the MAKO.

Excellent puck feel, didn't feel soft like with the RS, very close to wood.

Slappers have a very pronounced kick, unlike the Total One, APX, RS. You can really feel the puck take off.

Snapshots are solid, very accurate and effortless.

As others have stated, the balance and weight of this stick may be the best right now, taking slappers was a fluid feel and I found myself focusing more on the net than my hand positioning.

Overall I recommend this stick to anyone, I'm no longer missing the SE16.

I'm still a Bauer guy overall, but would not hesitate to stock up on these.

[tvaughan4 16]

Got the Mako in an 85 flex. Also have an APX in a 77 flex. Cut both down 4", so each should be around 90 flex, give or take. However, the Mako seems to be decently stiffer that the APX. Wondering if anyone else is having the same experience? Or maybe it's just me...

[JR Boucicaut 3759]

It should be the opposite. Easton's flex rating starts at 3" down, Bauer's at the top.

[tvaughan4 16]

It should be the opposite. Easton's flex rating starts at 3" down, Bauer's at the top.

Completely agree. That's why I went with the 85 flex. Also why I'm a bit confused at the stiffness I'm feeling when shooting. Both sticks have the same amount of ice time, so it's not that one is more used that the other. Tried an eq50 75 flex a while back but that whipped out in a couple months, another reason I tried the 85 flex mako.

Anyways, that's why I was a bit curious if anyone else was experiencing similar issues with the flex or if I'm just weird.

[Buzz_LightBeer 962]

Had a pretty solid shot black last night< and the next shift this happened. Lasted almost 2 months. Overall, I liked the stick, I didn't love it. I'm over the white paint job, and I think its overpriced.

After a few uses, the shaft began to soften up in the hands area, and would flex too high on wristers. Glad I got to use one, but I'll move on from Mako.

[IPv6Freely 2084]

Huh, well thats a coincidence - mine broke in almost exactly the same spot (though I imagine that's a common place for sticks to break).

[watchgreat 4]

Looks like you could maybe salvage the blade since its really a two piece

[nisselrm 21]

Did anyone else hate this stick immidiately? I am coming from bauer sticks and found the mako and rs to feel unresponsive and had that sort of hollow feeling.

[IPv6Freely 2084]

It does feel a tad hollow to me, but I think the weight (or lack thereof) is what is making it feel that way, rather than the construction of the stick or whatever. It's so light I've honestly tested it by putting some weight on it a few times after getting a slash down by the blade while in front of the net, thinking it could have broke. Maybe (most likely) I'm just overly paranoid because I've already had one break.

[hunt3rsean 44]

Huh, well thats a coincidence - mine broke in almost exactly the same spot (though I imagine that's a common place for sticks to break).

I've had 3 sticks break from shot blocking right where the picture above shows. It's also the area that tends to get slashed the most I would think.

[IPv6Freely 2084]

I've had 3 sticks break from shot blocking right where the picture above shows. It's also the area that tends to get slashed the most I would think.

That was my thought... probably the most likely place on the any stick to break, I'd guess.

[nucksjat 0]

I was looking at this stick at my LHS and it felt pretty blade heavy for me, i know thats not saying much. But compared to the RS and s17/s19 it felt very unbalanced? Ipicked up (didnt buy) a Bauer APX as well and that felt much more balanced. Is this basically the replacement for the SE16?

[Chadd 916]

Is this basically the replacement for the SE16?

The EQ50 was the SE16 replacement, the Mako is the EQ50 replacement.

[bruins89 1]

Did anyone else hate this stick immidiately? I am coming from bauer sticks and found the mako and rs to feel unresponsive and had that sort of hollow feeling.

i have the same feeling about bauer sticks. i simply cannot get fully used to the blade feel. i like them, they are usuable, but easton is much more preferable to me. its so hard to crown one stick because a lot of it is individual preference.

[Hockeymac18 0]

Weight is good. The shaft has a few issues, it went soft pretty quick, and flexes noticeably higher up the shaft than most top end sticks. The white paint obviously is prone to chipping. The bottom of my blade is "pitting" but I think it's just white paint wearing off. After a week of use the blade is still solid, but the shaft seems to torque on heavy slap shots and one timers.

Bottom line; nicer than EQ50, not as nice as SE16, and overpriced at $229, in my opinion.

From my experience of using the Mako for over 2 months now (have used the stick ~30 times now), this has been true. It's significantly better than the EQ50, but still doesn't feel as good as the SE16 overall. That being said, the Mako I've had has seemed to last a while now without showing signs of wear...my SE16's by this point would probably be starting to weaken up.

Wish I could still buy SE16's, though, but they're pretty much all gone, even in the pro stock selection (at least in the flex/curve I use).

[YFZ138R 0]

I just pulled the trigger on a Mako... I have been using a 2005 prostock stealth, and it felt really nice. I just wish Easton made the stealth line like they did in 05. I'll post my review in the next week or so.

[bruins89 1]

It's significantly better than the EQ50, but still doesn't feel as good as the SE16 overall.

Wish I could still buy SE16's, though, but they're pretty much all gone, even in the pro stock selection (at least in the flex/curve I use).

in what areas and what is it significantly better? i feel the eq50 was significantly underrated and still plays well amongst the top offerings for all brands. could you be more specific, im very interested in the mako

[sharks25 9]

Weight, and it feels much poppier than the EQ

[Hockeymac18 0]

in what areas and what is it significantly better? i feel the eq50 was significantly underrated and still plays well amongst the top offerings for all brands. could you be more specific, im very interested in the mako

I hated the extra weight of the EQ50. Absolutely abhorrent was that weighted "balance" system. They claimed all sorts of things were supposed to be better with the EQ50 vs. the SE16...but the fact of the matter was that it was heavier, and it slowed down my stick-handling and ability to make those extra quick moves/quick shots (we're talking fractions of a second differences, but those differences matter). If you took out all of the buttend weights, the stick was way too blade heavy. But, if you "balanced" it and added all of the weights to the blade, it was just overall too heavy. I think the weight also made the puck feel much different on the blade than it did on the SE16.

The rule "if it ain't broke, don't fix" applied quite well to the SE16 (and by extension, the synergy line itself). I realize people liked the EQ50. But I certainly wasn't one of them. For the type of player I am where quick hands and quick shots are the main part of my game, a heavier stick wasn't what I was looking for. I suppose a big defensemen might feel differently and may not be as sensitive to these small changes. That being said, the EQ50 was gimicky and unnecessarily complex (I don't want to waste time "balancing" my stick...just give it to me balanced, like it's supposed to be). I gave the stick its fair shot...I had 4 of them, and tried them for months and they just never felt "right". I disliked the stick so much that I started using Warrior dolomite sticks.

The Mako feels much better, and has the same overall feeling in the weight category as the SE16. My shots come off the stick the same way as they did with the SE16. The only performance difference I can find is in the blade itself, which has a different texture (and I think, construction). The puck feels a little different on the Mako vs. the SE16. I could feel the puck a bit better on the SE16 blade vs. the Mako blade. i.e. I've found this leads me to look down more than I'd like. You slowly get used to this, and perhaps after time, this difference is gone. But it's the main difference I've found between the SE16 and the Mako.

I think the main advantage I've found with the Mako is it seems to last longer. My SE16's in the past would definitely be showing signs of significant wear by now (~2 months of regular use, 3-5 times a week on ice and roller), and the Mako I'm using is still holding up quite well. I suppose this is where the new blade design comes in (most of my previous SE16 breaks were almost exclusively in the blade region). I could also just be lucky with it not breaking...one stick is certainly not big enough of a sample size to make any meaningful conclusion here.

Overall, I would say the stick is quite good (if not, a bit overpriced). I do, at times, though still feel myself wanting the SE16 back.

[bruins89 1]

thanks for the long response, it what i was looking for. the weights were definitely gimmicky and i can see how the weight could throw off those a little more sensitive to that. from your response im eager to try the mako as i really liked the EQ50. ive tried bauer sticks but i feel as you do, that eastons feel close to wood, which to me feels much better.

[sharks25 9]

My Mako's blade has gone extremely soft and is making cracking noises. I dont expect it lasting much longer. Hopefully it stays alive long enough for me to find a new stick.

[IPv6Freely 2084]

It should be the opposite. Easton's flex rating starts at 3" down, Bauer's at the top.

Wait, what?

So if I buy an Easton stick rated 75 flex and cut it down 3", it's still 75?

[steelnation248 101]

No, an uncut Easton stick is whippier than the flex rating on the front. I don't know if they have it on the newer models, but with the scales on the S19's and SE16's, if you bought a 75 flex, you'd see it was actually more like a 70 flex uncut and a couple notches down was the 75 flex rating mark.