Composite Stick Weights

[Pure Hockey 4]

Hey all - thought you might find this interesting:

Over the course of the past few years, the battle to produce the lightest composite stick has raged on between all the major hockey manufacturers. During this time, companies have all looked for ways to tip the scales – pun intended - in favor of their own sticks. So how is it possible that all the manufacturers produce graphs, pie charts and lists that their sticks are undeniably THE lightest on the market? Somebody is right. Right? Well, in light of that, we decided to have our own little weigh-in with some of the top model sticks, using a Dymo Digital Scale. In all, we took 9 top-end sticks, all in the same 85 flex and all in a comparable blade pattern. The attempt was to give you an even and fair basis for stick weights. Let me note that stick weights should not, by any means, be your only criteria for choosing a stick, as you well know. But we DO think this will be helpful piece of info for you.

So without further ado, here are the results, from lightest to heaviest:

1. Bauer Vapor APX -- 420 g

2. Bauer Nexus 1000 -- 421 g

3. Sher-Wood Nexon12 -- 424 g

4. Bauer TotalOne -- 429 g

5. Easton Stealth RS -- 444 g

6. Reebok AI.9 --

457 g

7. Easton Mako -- 464 g

8. Warrior Dolomite -- 473 g

9. Warrior Dynasty --

474 g

The Bauer Vapor APX came in at the top spot as the lightest stick on our scale, with the new Nexus 1000 just 1g heavier. My biggest surprise was the Sherwood Nexon12, coming in 3rd - and only four grams heavier than the APX! We've always thought the Nexon 12 is a great, light stick.

[black hills tj 5]

That's very interesting. With a 50 gram difference between number 1 and number 10, I wonder if, not previously knowing any numbers, you could even tell a difference picking it up. Any "difference" that one "felt" would probably be a result of balance more than actual weight difference.

Also, when you are getting down to such a small difference in stick weight, how much of a factor does grip coating vs non-grip come into play, different paint/graphics, etc.

Thanks for doing the legwork. Would be neat to see the advertised weight's of the same 10 sticks next to your measured weights.

[Beflar 53]

Strange, I just came from a small trade show and if i had to rank the sticks it would have been almost in the same order you have listed. Please note only Bauer, Easton, RBK/Ccm and Graf were in attendance.

Bauer was the hands down winner this year. The mako was the biggest disapointment.

[jdksaves 56]

the thing that also needs to be taken in to account is the balance of the stick, as I have felt what has been said to be 415 gram sticks, but they are extremely blade heavy so they don't feel very light. The other way of it is a stick that has great balance, but has an overall heavier weight can actually feel better than the lightest stick. This is why Miken gives both so you can get a feeling of what should have the best over all feel. Take a look at the graph to show overall weights and balances on the attachment.

http://www.modsquadh...ken-zero-limit/

[MyBoxersSayJoe 133]

Nexon12 felt great in my hands at the store and an amazing pricepoint as well. I'd say the balance of the stick is probably more important than the weight at this level. Thanks for posting this, it's very interesting to see actual results.

[Scotty 8]

To the touch, I'd say that list pretty much correlates dead on. Only surprise to me was the Ai9, which I found to be quite unbalanced and blade heavy when I felt it.

[Pure Hockey 4]

We really like the Nexon12 here. I felt the same way about the AI9 - I think there was a nice improvement over previous Reebok sticks, but something felt awkward (I still got some real nice pop off that stick though). We also got a TON of positive feedback about the AI9 and it seems to have sold pretty darn well.

[JR Boucicaut 3801]

What pattern was used?

[jds 20]

When I was doing triathlon I became obsessed with the weight of my gear. Someone put it into perspective when I was dropping $200+ on a saddle to save 20 grams. I penny is about I gram. Put the 20 pennies in your pocket on your next ride and see if you even notice it. For these sticks, I would have to agree the feel and balance is absolutely the thing rather than just overall weight

[th6252 25]

correct me if I'm wrong but aren't Easton sticks roughly 1" longer than the others uncut?

[Gefiltefish 9]

I am not surprised that the N12 is up there. That stick was amazingly lightweight and a great cost for such a light stick. My only problem is the shaft dimensions were so small. If it was anything like a normal stick - it would be by far my stick of choice.

[cooperalls 4]

That's good info Pure Hockey, thanks for posting that.

I'll sometimes weight multiple sticks (same model/hand/pattern/flex) and have noticed variations as much ~10 grams, but typically only 2 or 3 grams difference. The most I've seen in any top end stick was a 30g difference. I definitely agree total weight is no more important than balance or feel. Neither the RS, Mako, or Ai9 or Widow are particularly light compared to some other top end sticks. But the balance of the RS tends to make it feel lighter in the hands than it is on the scale, and the Ai9 and Widow may feel heavier than a APX/NEXUS/TotalOne in the shop, it's not a difference I notice while I'm playing. When the Mako hit the floors lots of customers would pick it up and remark on how light it was. I think that's in part due to it's balance, and also their perception that the latest and greatest must certainly be the lightest.

Like PH said, overall weight isn't the only thing to consider when selecting a stick. The original U+ was significantly lighter than most other comparably priced sticks when it was on the market, but there weren't many other reasons to pick it over say a One90 or an SE.

[Beflar 53]

Does the stick have pop is also an important question as well.

[watchgreat 4]

With Warrior sticks being 3 inches longer did you cut them so they were all the same length or right out of the plastic sleeve?

[BucksAway 16]

what about Tron Sticks there even lighter again

[Pure Hockey 4]

I used the Sakic/Hall pattern, or closest crossover. As far as the warriors go, the Dolomite weighed was comparable length to the others, while the Dynasty has the extra 3 inches, so realistically, it is slightly lighter than the Dolomite.

NOTE: These are not neccesarily the lightest 10 sticks on the market, Just a sampling I felt well represented what is looked at as the top models of sticks currently available. Obviously there were soe sticks left out, main reasons being either they are not being carried over for next season, or simply were out of stock when this weigh in was done.

My real surpirse, besides the N12, was the Mako, having used it, it feels much lighter when stickhandling I thought. I know that was the objective, making the blade feel quicker and in that sense I think it succeeded. However, having used it, not simply picking it up, I was surprised it weighed in so heavy.

I also completely agree on the balance, That's a big thing, the original U+ was mentioned, when I demoed that years ago, Aside from the gross sandpaper grip, it felt too light in the blade, and I felt like I was going to snap on every pass, Light to the point of feeling flimsy.

[Blueandgold26 1]

I wonder how much more the Bauer pro stock SE models weigh compared to their retail counterpart.

[1q3er5 1]

Thanks purehockey, please keep adding more sticks! The nexon12 is something I'm going to look into, looks like sher-wood means business. 50 grams doesn't sound like much but if you lift up you stick with one hand you can definitely tell the difference and tell if the stick is blade heavy. Im a skinny dude, I can even tell the weight difference between a total one and an apx.

I'm also curious about the stick lengths and if you took that into consideration, flex also affects the weights which you said you took into account.

Word on the street is the new Bauer NXG total one is going to be only 405 grams (don't know what flex) Thats a BIG drop, lets see if they are still strong enough.

[massive74 4]

isn't Nexon 12 longer 1" at least than APX, TO and Nexus ?