Warrior or Bauer?

[mr13lcky 4]

Hey guys. Need some advice, if anyone has a minute:

I am currently using a Bauer p92, and I'm not real happy with it. Too open. Some of my shots are fluttering and just getting away from me. Prior to this, I was using an Easton Heatley, but thought I might change it up a bit.

I am currently deciding between the Warrior Gionta/Bauer p14, or the Warrior Kovalchuk/Bauer p88 (which are actually Heatley clones, I think. Please correct me if I'm wrong.)

First, I would like to confirm that I have the correct clones listed there. Also, HockeyMonkey lists the p14 as a 3/8" curve, and HockeyGiant says 1/2". Anyone know which is correct?

One other thing I am confused about is the lie. Both the Warriors say the lie is 4, but most forums I have read say that the Warrior lie 4 is closer to the Easton lie 5. But a 5 is still a lot different than 6. I was wondering if Bauer lies are true (see what I did there?), or if they measure high, the same way Warrior measures low.

Finally, if anyone has experience with any of these sticks, I'd love to hear your stories and opinions of them.

Thanks in advance for all your help.

[icewalker_bg 126]

misread

you can look into p40 from rbk its a heatley clone also

[JR Boucicaut 3805]

Look up and click on the Pattern DB. Compare the patterns that way.

Choose your attributes and it will give you matches.

gionta and p14 are far form being heatley clones. it should be quite obvious with a bit of research

He said Kovalchuk/P88 were. Read before you blast him.

[icewalker_bg 126]

misread

[mr13lcky 4]

@icewalker...

Yes, I know Gionta and p14 are not Heatley clones, but is Gionta a p14 clone? The pictures of them look slightly different, but the stats read almost the same. And is Kovalchuk a p88 clone? When two different sites give slightly different stats (i.e. 3/8" vs 1/2") it is sometimes hard to tell.

@ JR...

Thanks. I'll check that out.

[icewalker_bg 126]

no, the Gionta is not a p14 clone. i had the p14 and it felt like a toned down sakic. the gionta is much more toe.

i dont have my p14 anymore but her eis my p40 next to a gionta

i can take more pics of the gionta if you want

[mr13lcky 4]

Thanks, Icewalker. Those pics are great. I haven't really considered an RBK. How does it compare to the Warrior?

JR...that pattern DB is awesome. Thanks for putting that together.

[icewalker_bg 126]

lets put it this way, in 6 months i have not touched my rbk backup stick. thats how solid they are.

in two months, i went throught dolomite, two diablos, and just got a dynasty that i have not used yet so well see how that holds up. diablo's blades cracked, dolo shaft broke near the blade also. but no other manuf. offers the great curves they have been offering to me over the past year or so.

[mr13lcky 4]

Damn! I cross one off my list, but now I have another to consider. Thanks for the pics and the info, Icewalker. I might have to take anotehr look at the rbk's.

[icewalker_bg 126]

what has not worked for me might work for you, its worth to give a try. Maybe i was not lucky, even tho warrior seems to have blade durability issues with a lot of people. I sold one of my extra warriors to a buddy and it worked out great for him, besides slight chipping here and there. I hope the dynasty i got and the widow i am getting works out better for me

[steelnation248 102]

Damn! I cross one off my list, but now I have another to consider. Thanks for the pics and the info, Icewalker. I might have to take anotehr look at the rbk's.

I wouldn't be so quick to discount Warrior and jump to Reebok. Reebok's have a bad history with blades too, I just was reading in another thread about the blades on their new AI's giving out in no time. However, most companies seem to have something wrong with them if you look enough. You just have to find what works for you.

[innotastic 12]

blades are hardly invincible and your mileage will vary with how you use your blades. i get a month out of a dynasty blade. i would get a week more out of a bauer vapor blade.

more on topic, the warrior zetterberg is an exact clone of the bauer p88. the kovalchuk is close but it's deeper and it kinks more so than the gradual curve on the p88/zetterberg. you can only get the warrior zetterberg on their newer sticks.

the p88 compared to the heatley, the p88 would be deeper and the curve is spread out across the whole blade more so than just the middle. there's a lot more rocker on the p88 (and that's why bauer can call it a lie 6 and warrior calls it a lie 4, you can use it either way). the toe of the heatley is also squared versus the rounded p88.

i can't compare to reebok blades.

[sharks25 9]

What sticks are you looking at? Top end sticks? Some companies sticks are better than others depending on the price point.

[215BroadStBullies610 435]

The P88 and Kovalchuk curves have different lies, 5.5 and 4 respectively (I have seen P88 listed with a lie of 6 though). If lie matters to you much, it's something to look out for. I feel the Kovalchuk is a little bit more of a curve to it (based on my experience).

[chippa13 1844]

Remember that companies measure their lies differently. A 4 lie in a Warrior would equate to something higher in another company's measuring technique. The best way to compare lies is to line up the patterns that you are looking at.

[AIREAYE 248]

Remember that companies measure their lies differently. A 4 lie in a Warrior would equate to something higher in another company's measuring technique. The best way to compare lies is to line up the patterns that you are looking at.

This. Factor in blade length and rockers and you have discrepancies.

[215BroadStBullies610 435]

Remember that companies measure their lies differently. A 4 lie in a Warrior would equate to something higher in another company's measuring technique. The best way to compare lies is to line up the patterns that you are looking at.

You are correct. Manufacturers have different standards when it comes to lie specs. I have used both and just giving my input based on what I experienced. I like shooting more with the toe when I use the P88 curve. I felt that I was forced to use more heel when I experimented with the Kovalchuk curve. And as AIREAYE mentioned, there are other factors that come into play.

[Jason 65]

Isn't the W88 Zetterberg Warriors P88 clone. That would be pretty close to a Heatley. The transition should be pretty smooth. As far as lies go, I think they are all out to lunch. Warrior (Kopitar) says 5, Easton (Hall) says 5.5 and Bauer says 6 (Backstrom) and as far as I can tell, they are exactly the same. I personally like Eastons lie system because it is what I am used to. Like chippa13 said, the best way to compare lies is to line up the shafts and the heels of the blades. The rocker of the blade plays into the equation as well.

[mr13lcky 4]

Thanks to everyone for their input. It is much appreciated. To answer some of your questions, I am not very hard on sticks. Assuming my normal wear and tear, I get about 6 months out of a stick. Since I only have to buy 2 per year, I can usually talk my wife into the top or second tier models. So I can definitely get a Diablo or Vapor X7, the Widow would require a little more convincing, and the APX is out-of-range (based on current prices at HockeyMonkey and the local Player's Bench.)

But no matter what I choose, I'm looking at around $200, and that is enough to justify $20 of time in the Player's Bench shooting cage to test a few of these curves. I have been trying to find a Zetterberg curve online, but I havn't seen any, at least not in Left/85 flex, but I know there is one at the retail store, so I'll check that out.

Thanks again for all the good advice and insight.

[hunt3rsean 44]

Thanks to everyone for their input. It is much appreciated. To answer some of your questions, I am not very hard on sticks. Assuming my normal wear and tear, I get about 6 months out of a stick. Since I only have to buy 2 per year, I can usually talk my wife into the top or second tier models. So I can definitely get a Diablo or Vapor X7, the Widow would require a little more convincing, and the APX is out-of-range (based on current prices at HockeyMonkey and the local Player's Bench.)

But no matter what I choose, I'm looking at around $200, and that is enough to justify $20 of time in the Player's Bench shooting cage to test a few of these curves. I have been trying to find a Zetterberg curve online, but I havn't seen any, at least not in Left/85 flex, but I know there is one at the retail store, so I'll check that out.

Thanks again for all the good advice and insight.

Wow, I wish my LHS had a "shooting cage" for testing sticks and curves. I'd definitely pay a fee to use it before buying a different style stick/curve.

[mr13lcky 4]

Wow, I wish my LHS had a "shooting cage" for testing sticks and curves. I'd definitely pay a fee to use it before buying a different style stick/curve.

It's freakin' cool. It has a regulation size goal, with lights in the corners. When one of them lights up, you shoot at it. The view is basically from the high slot, and the pucks are "passed" to you automatically from what would be about the lower face-off dots. You are standing on a platform, which is roughly the same height as standing on skates. And the machine tracks shot speed, accuracy, and reaction time (like how long it takes you to see the light until you actually shoot). With the whole experience, you really get to feel not only the curve and flex of the stick, but also the lie, how quickly it releases, and how well you can control a pass.

It's a lot of fun, but the shot speed is always a little humbling. It seems I'm never really shooting quite as hard as I think I am. Kind of expensive, too. $20 for 20 minutes, IIRC.

[innotastic 12]

It's freakin' cool. It has a regulation size goal, with lights in the corners. When one of them lights up, you shoot at it. The view is basically from the high slot, and the pucks are "passed" to you automatically from what would be about the lower face-off dots. You are standing on a platform, which is roughly the same height as standing on skates. And the machine tracks shot speed, accuracy, and reaction time (like how long it takes you to see the light until you actually shoot). With the whole experience, you really get to feel not only the curve and flex of the stick, but also the lie, how quickly it releases, and how well you can control a pass.

It's a lot of fun, but the shot speed is always a little humbling. It seems I'm never really shooting quite as hard as I think I am. Kind of expensive, too. $20 for 20 minutes, IIRC.

some of the places around here take the $20 towards your purchase of a stick, or don't charge the $20 at all.

[mr13lcky 4]

A couple weeks ago I started a thread asking for your opinions on Warrior sticks vs. Bauer. Due in no small part to the feedback on that thread, I went with the Warrior Widow, Kovalchuk curve.

I've had a couple games with it, and I definitely made the right choice. The puck snaps off the Widow like no stick I've ever used. And the Kovalchuk curve, being more closed than the p92 that I was using before, is giving me much more accuracy. The shots no longer float away from me.

I do not have a big slap shot, but I do like to take a lot of snap shots, and the Widow just seems to flex with very little effort, so I can get better power even if I'm in close quarters and have to get the shot off quickly.

These days, the leagues I play in are of the "Old Timer" sort. But even for someone like me, that is not playing at an extremely competitive level, I can see the value of the Widow. It just feels "right" when taking a shot or making a hard pass. Highly recommended for players of all skill levels.

Also, I want to give a big thanks to Ryan from Slapshot Hockey Shop, who many of you may know from these forums. Not only did he give me great deal on the stick (cheaper than any of the major websites, or my LHS), but I ordered the stick on the afternoon of the 18th, and it arrived on my doorstep, in perfect condition, on the 22nd. I've never had such fast delivery from HockeyMonkey or HockeyGiant. Plus, I was able to ask him specific questions about the stick, and get good answers, without having to wait on hold for an hour. By far the best buying experience I've ever had. It was at least as convenient as buying online, with better pricing, and a personal touch to match my LHS.

Thanks again to everyone for their input, and especially to Ryan for all his help.

[JR Boucicaut 3805]

Next time, just post in the thread you started. No need for a second thread.

[mr13lcky 4]

Next time, just post in the thread you started. No need for a second thread.

Will do. Sorry about that.