Warrior AK or Easton Synergy ST - which to get?

[gosinger 122]

Hello,

I have the opportunity to buy one of the following sticks for rather cheap, and I'd like your input on which of the two to get (curves match what I've used on 2-piece sticks):

Warrior AK OPS, 85 flex, 90€ (120$)

Easton Synergy ST, 75 flex, 130€ (170$)

I won't have an opportunity to try them in-store, so I'd like to ask MSH on which to get. Prices are close-out, and its rather hard to get decent sticks with anything but P92/Sakic/etc here in Europe, so sadly alternatives are of no help.

My player profile: 180cm (5.9 feet), ~80kg (175lbs), winger, mostly wrist-/snap- very few slapshots, prefer low- over mid-kick, short stick (under chin off-ice).

Thanks in advance

[FozzieBear 0]

Hi gosinger,

I would recommend the Easton Synergy ST stick. I got this stick as well and I love it.

Its durable as hell and the puck feel is very good.

I got no Idea about the Warrior stick, but I haven’t had any good experiences with warrior, so I am a bit curious on warrior.

[tareatingrat 4]

I actually use both. They're both good, but I do like the Warrior better and use it more often, although I do use a curve on it that I can't get on the ST.

For the price, I'd go with the Warrior for performance. The ST will probably last longer, though.

[nyr386 0]

I bought a 3-pack of those AK's last year and they lasted just over a month. All of them broke right above the blade, about 6" up the shaft. Besides the durability, they had a terrible feel to them. Since Im too hard on sticks to buy the top of the line stuff, I decided to go the two-piece route rather than the low end one piece and couldnt be happier. The Warrior AK27 shafts are great and have a much better feel than the AK one piece. They last much longer as well.

[jazz4all 9]

for AK27, go for 2 piece, get the shaft (real awesome with sherwood comp blade). easton ST, both ops or 2 piece are solid choice. So, ST ops is the best option i think.

[tareatingrat 4]

Sorry, I should mention I have the AK shaft. But the OPS is essentially the same thing with epoxy instead of glue, AFAIK.

I use the shaft with the matching AK blade.

[andrewi 0]

Have you used Warrior sticks before? I've used a few (never the AK OPS) and find that the feel is a bit of an adjustment compared to an Easton or Bauer (which I usually use). I also found the sticks went 'dead' quickly, and lost that new stick feel. So I never did buy in to Warrior stuff... but everyone's different. I just found it a bit of a new feel, so you may want to try before you buy.

[sickwilly 37]

I've had dynamite luck with the AK 27 shafts (performance and durability) with the exception of the velvet grip coming off almost imediately on one model. I thought I read somewhere that the AK27 shaft is made of better materials than the OPS. I checked the HM website and it shows that the AK27 shafts as being made with Carbon Elite and the AK27 OPS with Carbon Deluxe construction, or something like that. I'm not sure of the exact difference(s) between the Carbon Elite vs Carbon Deluxe.

I wouldn't hesitate going with the AK27 shaft and a good blade, especially if you break blades or can save some more $$. Lots of folks on here seem to have had good luck with the ST OPS as well.

[tareatingrat 4]

I have no doubt the ST will last longer. Warrior sticks are not durable sticks if you play center and dig in the corners. They perform well, and I personally love the feel, but man, their blades break way too easily.

I wish somebody else made a Gionta blade, as I have a feeling Warrior probably won't be doing it for much longer. Sher-Wood doesn't make their PP01 in a blade-only, which is too bad.