beginner stick question

[mjpisat 36]

Is there a certain stick, brand, flex and curve that is the consensus for people to start with?

Currently have a ccm u+06 85 flex with Tavares blade. I had to cut about an inch off.

I also like the Reebok Datsyuk curve and wanted to see what Easton and Bauer blades/curves would be similar to Tavares and Datsyuk. I like Tavares and Datsyuk curves cause they seem about middle of the road.

I'm 5'8 and was wondering what would be a good lie for me.

Any suggestions on stick, curve, flex, lie?

[bolt91 31]

Is there a certain stick, brand, flex and curve that is the consensus for people to start with?

Currently have a ccm u+06 85 flex with Tavares blade. I had to cut about an inch off.

I also like the Reebok Datsyuk curve and wanted to see what Easton and Bauer blades/curves would be similar to Tavares and Datsyuk. I like Tavares and Datsyuk curves cause they seem about middle of the road.

I'm 5'8 and was wondering what would be a good lie for me.

Any suggestions on stick, curve, flex, lie?

Stick with the CCM stick a little bit and see how you like it. That way you have a starting point for what you like/don't like.

Also ask some of the guys or girls on your team if you could try out their sticks to see what you like.

Honestly the best thing to do would be to get a composite shaft in your preferred flex (when you figure out what that is), some cheap wooden blades and experiment. It's really a trial and error process until you find what is most comfortable for you.

[farhanshak 1]

I personally started with a wooden hockey stick a few years back (I still use wooden hockey sticks sometimes).

After that i went to a full composite.

Similar to what the acapt91 said above, make sure you completely understand what flex and lie are before purchasing your first composite stick, after that i am biased towards easton hockey sticks.

if your local hockey shop allows you to, try using thier shooting area and shoot a few pucks with a stick you may like (or think you like).

some good sticks would be the easton se6, vapor x40, warrior hitman, bauer one75.

These are all fairly good sticks and you might be able to find some on closeout. All the best and good luck with your search.

if you go the shaft route, you can probably find some shafts on closeout as well and put in wooden blades until you find what curve and lie you like, then look for that in a full composite stick.

[Chadd 916]

A lot of people suggest using a flex that is 50% or so of your body weight as a good point for finding your preferred flex. For most beginners I think it should be less than that. It isn't a question of strength, it's a matter of not being able to transfer your strength through through the stick to the puck, especially if you still have any stability issues when skating or shooting as most beginners do.

I would suggest cutting your stick so that it's no taller than your chin when standing in your skates. Your posture and stick length will determine the correct lie. When you see the blade wear evenly across the bottom or mostly in the middle, you will know you have the right lie for that stick length and your posture.Length and lie are inseparable when trying to determine lie. What may be a correct lie at one length is not correct at a different length.

[donkers 31]

Is there a certain stick, brand, flex and curve that is the consensus for people to start with?

Currently have a ccm u+06 85 flex with Tavares blade. I had to cut about an inch off.

I also like the Reebok Datsyuk curve and wanted to see what Easton and Bauer blades/curves would be similar to Tavares and Datsyuk. I like Tavares and Datsyuk curves cause they seem about middle of the road.

I'm 5'8 and was wondering what would be a good lie for me.

Any suggestions on stick, curve, flex, lie?

It all comes down to preference. I'm about your size and have been playing for 3/4 of my life and I use the same stick but the intermediate version. It's cheap, durable, and gets the job done. I've had fancy sticks and while they felt nice it didn't feel so nice when they broke out of warranty.

[Capt.Hook 23]

The best thing you can do is really play a lot and experiment.

I am 5'11" and about 250. I use about a 75 flex shaft cut down so that it hits my adams apple in street shoes. I use a junior pronger blade in the shaft that has the front 2 inches chopped off. I like the junior blade and the loss of tip so that it's really really blade light. I like the wood blade over the composite for feel. In other words, I play with a freakish stick. NOBODY has a stick like mine, but I love it.

Sometimes, I'll go with a little more flex in a different shaft but it's always the cut down stubby blades.

This is where I arrived after about 15 years of playing and now for the last 5 I've been consistent with this set up.

I encourage you to buy a few different types of lies, flexes, and blades and really notice the strength's and weaknesses of all of them. My set up is ideal for stickhandling, passing, poking, and maybe a little hooking for good measure. It is not a good shooters stick but I've never had a great shot just a serviceable one. I can use different sticks and get a better shot but then a lot of other areas suffer. This is my compromise.

[hockeyguy1 1]

A lot of people suggest using a flex that is 50% or so of your body weight as a good point for finding your preferred flex. For most beginners I think it should be less than that. It isn't a question of strength, it's a matter of not being able to transfer your strength through through the stick to the puck, especially if you still have any stability issues when skating or shooting as most beginners do.

I would suggest cutting your stick so that it's no taller than your chin when standing in your skates. Your posture and stick length will determine the correct lie. When you see the blade wear evenly across the bottom or mostly in the middle, you will know you have the right lie for that stick length and your posture.Length and lie are inseparable when trying to determine lie. What may be a correct lie at one length is not correct at a different length.

I posted in another thread similar to this thread but then saw your comment wanted to get your advice. Im 5'10 and using a bauer supreme one30 stick, 87 flex with a lie 6. This is my first stick back from playing hockey from 11 yrs ago. With my skates on, the butt of the stick comes right above my upper lip. Based on what you told the guy in the thread, should i also cut my stick to where it just meets my chin? i play mostly forward if that helps too.

[Chadd 916]

I posted in another thread similar to this thread but then saw your comment wanted to get your advice. Im 5'10 and using a bauer supreme one30 stick, 87 flex with a lie 6. This is my first stick back from playing hockey from 11 yrs ago. With my skates on, the butt of the stick comes right above my upper lip. Based on what you told the guy in the thread, should i also cut my stick to where it just meets my chin? i play mostly forward if that helps too.

There are too many factors for me to say definitively. The most important thing to me would be the wear pattern on the tape on the bottom of your blade. If there is more wear is at the heel, then a little shorter would be a good idea.

[hockeyguy1 1]

There are too many factors for me to say definitively. The most important thing to me would be the wear pattern on the tape on the bottom of your blade. If there is more wear is at the heel, then a little shorter would be a good idea.

that definitely answers my question, thanks!

[zeeto 1]

Stick with the CCM stick a little bit and see how you like it. That way you have a starting point for what you like/don't like.

Also ask some of the guys or girls on your team if you could try out their sticks to see what you like.

Honestly the best thing to do would be to get a composite shaft in your preferred flex (when you figure out what that is), some cheap wooden blades and experiment. It's really a trial and error process until you find what is most comfortable for you.

This is exactly what I did when I started back up last spring. I Bought an 85flex AK27 shaft off hockey monkey and a couple different wooden blades in different curves. The one thing I did wrong at first was swap out the blade as soon as I had a bad game/s&s session/etc. I finally realized after a few months that I needed to give each curve more time. I finally figured out what I like, just recently, and ordered a composite blade for the shaft.

I still do ask each of the guys on my team to try our their stick when they get a new one though

[bolt91 31]

This is exactly what I did when I started back up last spring. I Bought an 85flex AK27 shaft off hockey monkey and a couple different wooden blades in different curves. The one thing I did wrong at first was swap out the blade as soon as I had a bad game/s&s session/etc. I finally realized after a few months that I needed to give each curve more time. I finally figured out what I like, just recently, and ordered a composite blade for the shaft.

I still do ask each of the guys on my team to try our their stick when they get a new one though

Glad it worked out!