New vs old stick technology

[Scotty 8]

The original Gold Synergy Grip was better.

Trade you one for a Modano T-flex.

I think a lot of us "older" guys (as in not a teenager anymore) would simply prefer for companies to stay true to traditional technologies and simply progress the weight, feel, durability, and materials as needed, rather than trying to appeal to the younger crowd and boosting sales by offering a new product every two years.

[kajunkrawdad 0]

Do you think you can please let me know your opinion on both when they get in? The dolomite right that i was looking at only comes in Kovalchuk at the moment.

Is there a reason you got one of each? Why not 2 of the same?

I plan on using some of them in a skate tomorrow night. I'll let you know my first impressions on them after that.

I actually got a few of each. Different curves were available between the two models and I've recently been just buying and trying a wide variety of different brands, models, and curves just to compare and see what's out there. I've been using the same brand/curve for pretty much forever now and when my last stick cracked I decided I would try something(s) new to see if I would actually like something else better.

I usually stock up (buy 3 or 4 at a time with same curve) on the one model when I get a new stick. Basically just experimenting this summer.

[hnl 0]

I plan on using some of them in a skate tomorrow night. I'll let you know my first impressions on them after that.

I actually got a few of each. Different curves were available between the two models and I've recently been just buying and trying a wide variety of different brands, models, and curves just to compare and see what's out there. I've been using the same brand/curve for pretty much forever now and when my last stick cracked I decided I would try something(s) new to see if I would actually like something else better.

I usually stock up (buy 3 or 4 at a time with same curve) on the one model when I get a new stick. Basically just experimenting this summer.

Sounds good let me know what you think! I'll bet you'll enjoy either one either way

[kajunkrawdad 0]

Sounds good let me know what you think! I'll bet you'll enjoy either one either way

Sorry this review is coming a week later than I had hoped, but last week our goalie canceled last-minute and I ended up minding the net, so I didn't get a chance to use either of these sticks until last night.

The Dolomite DD I was using was a 75 Flex Kovalchuk pattern and the Bandito was an 85 Flex Draper, so I'm not exactly comparing apples to apples here, but still...

There was a noticable weight difference between the two sticks both just in the hand and in playability. The Dolomite felt muuuch lighter than the Bandito all around. I noticed the difference much more than I was expecting. I'm used to a stick with just a little bit more weight to it, so the Dolo being that much lighter kinda threw me off to begin with, but after a few shifts with it, I definitely started to get used to it and like it. The Bandito felt heavier than what I am used to, but I wouldn't say that it felt heavy. Still a comfortable weight (for my preferences at least) and decently balanced IMO - comparable to what I have been using for the past few years.

For stick handling and passing/recieving, I definitely liked the Dolomite more. There was much more "feel" to the puck. The Bandito had a sort of "thud" to it when receiving and felt dull compared to the Dolomite on stick handling. I've heard some people say that they didn't like how lighter sticks felt when receiving a hard pass and that they felt like the stick didn't have enough "presence," but I didn't get any of that with the Dolomite. Plus my hands felt much faster with the Dolomite due to the weight difference. I even almost felt like I skated faster with the Dolomite, though I know that was just psychological.

I have been using an 85 flex CCM Recchi/Tavares for years now, but as I said in the past couple months I've been experimenting with different flexes, companies, and patterns. The 85 flex on the Bandito felt a bit stiffer than the 85 flex on the CCMs and Eastons that I have picked up recently, but the 75 on the Dolo flex felt like it had way more give to it than the 77 flex of my Bauers. That combined with the overall lightness of the stick, it just felt like I was going to break the thing everytime I shot with it. Unlike the weight, I still hadn't fully gotten used to the flex on the Dolomite by the end of the skate. Which was a shame because I really like the lower flex on the Bauers I've used and am thinking of making a permanent switch to the lower flex in the future. I tend to do more wrist and snapshot than slappers, so I ended up not even taking a slapshot with the Bandito yet and only two with the Dolomite. Got decent power with the Dolomite (for me), but I've never been known to shoot the lights out with my slapshots anyways. For the snapshots and wristers, I performed better with the Bandito (2 goals off of snapshots with the Bandito) but I wouldn't say it necessafrily felt better than the Dolomite. Most of the difference I felt between the two sticks on my shots last night I would attribute more to the difference in curves than anything else. Felt like I got my shots off a little quicker with the Dolomite, but generally felt like the ones with the Bandito were a little stronger.

I'm 6'3" so I rarely cut my stick, these were no exception. Both of them are a couple inches shorter than my usual, which again threw me off to begin with and I had to make a conscious effort to stay low with both these sticks (which I should probably be doing anyways). I noticed this much more with the Dolomite, but I believe that has more to do with a difference in lie between to two patterns more than the model of stick - I can't remember for sure, but I think the Draper is listed as a lie 5, and the Kovalchuk is a lie 4, so there's that.

Anyways, those are my initial assessments, and if I had to choose between the two based off of last nights skate alone, I'd pick the Dolomite, but with a different blade pattern other than the Kovalchuk. Both of them worked well-enough, but the light-weight and better feel I got for the puck put the Dolomite ahead for me so far. That being said, I'm not so sure I'd make a permanent switch over from my usual CCM yet, neither felt quite right just at this point. I'm still going to try both these sticks out a few times again in the next couple weeks, plus I've got a couple more in of these in Kovalev, Gionta, Savard, and Vanek patterns that I want to test out as well. So the jury is still out.

[Slapsht25 0]

My favorite stick is still the 2005 stealth. I'm on my last one now. Sad day when it finally goes. I tried to like the mako, it just felt odd compared to the stealth.

agreed it was a great stick

Still one of my all time favorite sticks...fond memories of that one.

still have a gold one too