Bauer Vapor APX

[TeamHonda401 54]

Bauer Vapor APX

Flex: 77

Pattern: P88 Lie 6 Grip-Tac

Previous sticks: Bauer Vapor X:50, XXXX

Skill level: A/B beer league, pickup 2-3 times a week

Timeframe of use: February 2012

Aesthetics: I'm a big fan of the graphic package on the grip version of this stick. Sharp lines, aggressive lettering, and good color contrast with black, red and white being the main colors. It's not too flashy, but there's a lot of subtle details in the paint job. There's a good amount of carbon weave exposed between and underneath the graphics on the stick, so it has a nice layered look. 10/10

Weight and Balance: The APX is very light, weighing in at just 417 grams. With no tape on the stick, it feels slightly blade light. After taping/waxing and such, for me it balanced out perfectly. It's balance point was roughly a couple inches towards the blade from center. When the stick is in my hands on the ice it feels perfect, not too light that you have doubts catching hard passes. 10/10

Blade: This is one area I was anxious to see how the new blade core differed from my X:50. The X:50 blade had a really pingy/ceramic feel to it, which at times made hard passes a handfull. The APX blade is lightyears better than the X:50 blade. Bauer kept the top half of the blade core the same as the X:60, so that the blade still maintains a rigid profile during shots/passes, but they used the same core as the totalOne for the bottom half. For me this equated to the perfect balance of feel and rigidity. You can feel exactly where the puck is on your stick, and also have minimal worries about the blade whipping open on you. One thing I have noticed about my stick, is that if you have hard hands when catching passes, occasionally my stick will whip out and the puck will go under the blade. This issue is mostly due to the flex I use, and can be negated by cradling harder passes. 9/10

Shaft/Flex: Anyone that has used Vapors in the past will be right at home with this stick. The shaft has a slight concave on all four sides, with rounded corners. It sits very naturally in my hands. The grip used on this stick is the same as the grip-tac used on my X:50, with a slightly rubbery feel. I can still slide my bottom hand without issue when I want to, but it stays put when I want it to as well. The flex of the stick is quite impressive. Bauer has kept the intellisense shot technology with this stick, which I am a big fan of. For those unfamiliar with this, the stick has two kick points basically. The first being in the lower 12" of the stick, and the second being in the top 12". The area that your lower hand is will remain flat during a shot, but the lower 12" will flex, as well as the top 12". The result of this is almost no feeling of flex for the shooter, but if you look at a still picture right at the point of shot release, the top and bottom ends of the stick are both flexing for you. This will give the APX a feeling of being stiffer than rated. I have used 85/87 flex sticks in the past, but I felt right at home with a 77 flex. For most players I'd recommend dropping down one flex rating for this stick. 9.5/10 (due to the difference of feel with the flex rating)

Stickhandling & Passing: As far as stickhandling goes, the APX is as good as any Vapor I have used. With the X:50 I'd have to occasionally have to look down to see where on the blade the puck was, but with the APX I can tell just from feel. The lower half of the blade core really transmits puck feel directly to the player. Puck feel went from being a big downside to the Vapor line, to being a real strength with the APX. From a passing standpoint, the APX is stellar as well. The P88 is the curve for me, so from day one I had no issues with passing accuracy. The rigidity of the top half of the blade helps out in this area as well, especially on those long break out passes. The puck comes off true and accurate. Receiving passes is a little bit tougher, as the 77 flex makes catching hard passes a little more of a chore. As stated above however, if you soften your hands up a little before the puck gets to you, you'll have no issues catching even the hardest passes. 9/10

Shooting: This is my favorite part of the stick. With the dual kickpoints, any player that has quick hands and gets the puck off their stick in a hurry will love shooting with this stick. My wrist shot has never been as good as it has been since I got this stick. There's no lag whatsoever when releasing a shot, as the taper doesn't flex as much as with other low kickpoint sticks. The result is a lightning quick, pinpoint accurate shot every time, as long as your shot mechanics are consistent. Snappers are stellar as well, as I feel like it doesn't take nearly the force to get a good shot off as the XXXX or X:50. Slappers take a little adjusting to if you are used to a mid-kick stick, as the APX doesn't require nearly the amount of loading. The stick is still extremely accurate with slappers, as the blade remains very true throughout the shot. 10/10

Durability: This is one area that I thought the APX was going to come up short on. The first time I used it, the stick made a kind of weird sound when catching passes. It didn't sound broken or anything, it just sounded different than any stick I've ever heard. Two months later the stick hasn't changed in the slightest. The blade has no chips, cuts or scrapes at all, and is still as stiff as it was when I got it. The grip is much more durable than the grip used on the X:50, as in my experience my X:50 lost most of the grip coating after a couple months of use. The shaft is still as stiff and responsive as it was on day one. No issues thus far but I'll update if anything happens to it. 10/10 (so far) EDIT: Well it finally broke. The blade got stuck on the back of the net, butt end got wedged into my stomach, snapped about half a foot from the hosel. No fault with the stick however, as I can imagine any stick would have cracked had it been put into that strange situation. It was showing no signs of wearing down before that however.

Conclusion: Hands down the best stick I've had the pleasure of using thus far in my life. In every aspect of the game the stick performs almost flawlessly for me. Any player that likes a low kick stick (and can afford the price tag), don't hesitate on giving this one a go. Stellar on all fronts, and I'd have a hard time thinking of another stick that has this combination of puck feel as well as the shooting characteristics it possesses. Overall 57.5 out of 60

Edited August 19, 2012 by TeamHonda401