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opinions on a few mid level sticks please

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Hello! Considering getting a relatively low end stick just to skate around and shoot for fun, not really play much, if at all.

Been looking at deals at outlets and the ones I've been looking at so far are the following models:

Easton mako m2 grip

Easton stealth 55s 2 grip

Salming M7

These 3 all goes for about €60-70 which seems reasonable, would love to hear some opinions of upsides and downsides on all of them and how they compare to one another. Suspecting the Salming M7 isnt available in North America, havent been able to find much about it at all as far as reviews goes (not too much on the other 2 tbh since low end sticks dont get too much attention).

The last and 4th stick I've been looking at so far is Easton stealth 85s grip but its around €90-100, is it worth that extra price bump?

Any insight is appreciated.

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You don't need a higher end stick for the type of play you will be experiencing. I say save the money.

The M2 is a mid end stick and will be lighter than the 55S. It would make sense that it's at that price for you as many places are clearing them out since they've been discontinued. Very decent option, given that I don't know anything about the Salming,

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I would step it up one level and get the 65s 2 grip. It wont cost too much more and it is a good deal lighter and higher quality. Plus it has the elliptical taper, same as the rs 2.

Im not sure or not if the 55s has the elliptical profile or not.

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Thanks. The 65s 2 grip is indeed just a tiny bit more pricey but unfortunately only ones left at the outlet appears to be right ones and I shoot left so not an alternative.

The Salming M7 curves are called Drury, Sakic & Forsberg, the ones left in stock, is it possible they could be rebranded Easton model (probably a silly thought)? Cant really seem to find any info about it.

Is TPS Summit Aircore Hybrid anything to consider, its goes for about the same price?

Keep the opinions coming please.

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The Salming M7 curves are called Drury, Sakic & Forsberg, the ones left in stock, is it possible they could be rebranded Easton model (probably a silly thought)?

No, no chance

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Another model I saw on clearance in the same price range that intrigued me a bit was a two piece TPS (Response Armor I think its called, not sure if there are different models) R6 with a TPS R5 summit blade, would it be a step above the aforementioned Easton's? At first I wasnt going to consider two piece sticks for simplicity sake, but if they put the first blade on I may as well do it (so long as its comparable or better than the OPS alternatives).

Anyone have any comments about the above TPS? Didnt see any mention of the flex in the details (it was just called STIFF), but if you bought the shaft alone it appears to be available in int, jr, and stiff 110 flex and that seems pretty darn high for me (previous OPS I had a couple of years back was some Easton Synergy with 85 flex).

AIREAYE - As a matter of fact while doing research about it I believe you gave positive feedback of it a in a post on this forum a few years back.

Thanks all of you guys'.

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TPS offered a bunch of different flexes, they probably only have the S flex leftover. S= 105 according to the flex chart at the top of the page.

Response armor was what happened when they moved the XN10 stick to china. The first batch had serious durability problems, the second generation were a little better but still not even close to the original XN10.

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TPS offered a bunch of different flexes, they probably only have the S flex leftover. S= 105 according to the flex chart at the top of the page.

Response armor was what happened when they moved the XN10 stick to china. The first batch had serious durability problems, the second generation were a little better but still not even close to the original XN10.

Thanks for the info. Any opinion on how they'd compare to Easton mako M2 grip and stealth 55s 2 grip respectively? Get the feeling its a step up. Never played with a stick as stiff, but afraid it'll be way too stiff for one only being somewhere around 170lbs.

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I can't speak for the Salming, but I did have an opportunity to check out the 55S II and the Mako M2 in a pro shop over the weekend. I have a feeling that both sticks perform very similarly, but speaking as a fan of balance, I can tell you that I'd take the Mako in a heartbeat. It felt much better in my hands than most, if not all of its rival sticks at that price point.

Also, I have to say that while I generally prefer my higher-end Bauer sticks, I've been very impressed by Easton's more recent price point offerings beginning with the Stealth II line.

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Thats helpful, thanks.

Leaning towards the Mako M2.

Also found TPS Adrenaline shaft (or so I believe, the details of the description on the site is somewhat lacking) for just a tad more, without blade though so that'd add some extra cost. Was there only one model of that shaft made? Reason I'm asking is it lists flexes as STIFF (145), REGULAR (120), and STRONG - WHIP (no # mentioned) which leaves quite some discrepancy with the flex chart at MSH, unless this model was an exception. Either way, would this shaft be a good deal at about €80 ($110 ish)?

Decisions, decisions...

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The last and 4th stick I've been looking at so far is Easton stealth 85s grip but its around €90-100, is it worth that extra price bump?

I've used the 85s and it is a nice stick, not to far off the RS which I use as my game stick. If you can afford the extra 30 euros then you would not regret it.

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The last and 4th stick I've been looking at so far is Easton stealth 85s grip but its around €90-100, is it worth that extra price bump?

I've used the 85s and it is a nice stick, not to far off the RS which I use as my game stick. If you can afford the extra 30 euros then you would not regret it.

I just had a look at this one again, and unfortunately I was clumsy and missed it wasnt available in my preferred flex/pattern or went out of stock since.

Only been looking at an outlet nearby, but today also checked another one further away which I could order from and found the following two shafts which looked appealing to me:

Bauer supreme onepro3 grip sr (87 & 102 flex)

Bauer vapor x-pro grip sr (77, 87 & 102 flex)

Been getting more and more interested in a two-piece stick both for it probably being cheaper long term as well as not really knowing what fits me atm and I like experimenting anyway. Any comments on those 2 shafts (they're both priced the same at about €60-70)? Would they fit well with Warrior blades?

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I just had a look at this one again, and unfortunately I was clumsy and missed it wasnt available in my preferred flex/pattern or went out of stock since.

Only been looking at an outlet nearby, but today also checked another one further away which I could order from and found the following two shafts which looked appealing to me:

Bauer supreme onepro3 grip sr (87 & 102 flex)

Bauer vapor x-pro grip sr (77, 87 & 102 flex)

Been getting more and more interested in a two-piece stick both for it probably being cheaper long term as well as not really knowing what fits me atm and I like experimenting anyway. Any comments on those 2 shafts (they're both priced the same at about €60-70)? Would they fit well with Warrior blades?

There's no reason they shouldn't fit with Warrior blades, as long as you match standard with standard and tapered with tapered (ie. tapered blade for a tapered shaft). Those two shafts seem to be Europe-only models, and I've never heard of them. It appears that the Vapor X-Pro is similar to the X:60 shaft, and is tapered.

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The Vapour line of shafts play quite stiff so you might need to look at a lower flex than what you would normally use. Or if you are in a starting phase of hockey then I'd recommend the 77 flex in this shaft (although this does depend on your size and strength).

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Instead of going with midlevel Sticks, you can pick up top end sticks on clearance for a little more, specifically Warrior. Then again, you might not be able to buy some where you are located.

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I used to buy $200 Warrior sticks, and finally decided i really didn't need that costly of a stick as quickly as I seem to go through them.

For the heck of it I figured I would give Easton a try and picked up last year's model 65s and Love the stick, feels great, no complaints. I've since bought 3 of this years model. $99 US works well for me.

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There's no reason they shouldn't fit with Warrior blades, as long as you match standard with standard and tapered with tapered (ie. tapered blade for a tapered shaft). Those two shafts seem to be Europe-only models, and I've never heard of them. It appears that the Vapor X-Pro is similar to the X:60 shaft, and is tapered.

Thought as much, read some TPS shaft had issues with other brands but that was few years old post so wasnt sure what to make of it. Couldnt find much about either model either, so will fire off an email asking Bauer what the North American equivalents are so I can read up on them a bit more.

The Vapour line of shafts play quite stiff so you might need to look at a lower flex than what you would normally use. Or if you are in a starting phase of hockey then I'd recommend the 77 flex in this shaft (although this does depend on your size and strength).

I read that too and 87 is already slightly above the 85 flex easton I played around with a couple of years back. 77 sounds so low though. Not completely familiar with

these US measurement formats and havent really weight myself for a while, but somewhere about 6" 170lbs. Not sure I'd say I'm just starting out with hockey, played quite a few years competitively when I was little, been quite a while since then though, and I didnt have the best shot to start with. So will probably have to work quite a bit on it. :)

Instead of going with midlevel Sticks, you can pick up top end sticks on clearance for a little more, specifically Warrior. Then again, you might not be able to buy some where you are located.

Yeah, not as easy finding here unfortunately. Listed most of the to me best deals I've seen already, I thought the Bauer shafts (I thought they were kind of high end) stuck out as maybe the best deals. Then again, blades are probably hard to come by around here...

I used to buy $200 Warrior sticks, and finally decided i really didn't need that costly of a stick as quickly as I seem to go through them. For the heck of it I figured I would give Easton a try and picked up last year's model 65s and Love the stick, feels great, no complaints. I've since bought 3 of this years model. $99 US works well for me.

That model was unfortunately only available in right shooting in clearance.

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Thought as much, read some TPS shaft had issues with other brands but that was few years old post so wasnt sure what to make of it. Couldnt find much about either model either, so will fire off an email asking Bauer what the North American equivalents are so I can read up on them a bit more.

If I had to guess, I'd say the Vapor X Pro is similar to the X60 shaft and the Supreme One Pro is similar to the Total One. Just a guess, though.

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If you still want to go with a 2 piece, have a look in the forums or on eBay for a decent shaft or a top end broken one piece. If you get a 1 piece and look to convert it you need to select the right stick, SE16 and EQ50 come to mind as one of the easiest to convert. Don't get elliptical or dagger tapered sticks, like S19's, RS, Widows. There is an entire thread in the forum about how to convert a stick to a shaft and what sticks people have converted. This way you can get a top shaft reasonably cheap and then add the blade of your choice.

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Thanks for all the advice you guys, really helpful.

If you still want to go with a 2 piece, have a look in the forums or on eBay for a decent shaft or a top end broken one piece. If you get a 1 piece and look to convert it you need to select the right stick, SE16 and EQ50 come to mind as one of the easiest to convert. Don't get elliptical or dagger tapered sticks, like S19's, RS, Widows. There is an entire thread in the forum about how to convert a stick to a shaft and what sticks people have converted. This way you can get a top shaft reasonably cheap and then add the blade of your choice.

While I havent read the convert OPS to 2 piece yet, it does sound like on step too far for me at this point. Are you saying X60 and Total One (if it is indeed those models with different naming) arent particularly high end? After reading up a bit about the X60 I got the impression they were, just being cleared out now since they were last gen.

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X60 and TotalOne are the best Bauer produce in those respective lines. You wouldn't go wrong with either of them if you find a shaft you like.

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I was close to pulling the trigger on on a Vapor APX shaft but refrained since I had a hard time finding reasonably priced good tapered blades around here right now, so maybe a future project (or if I can find a good deal on a non tapered shaft). Anyway, I found Winnwell GX8 and Pro Stock sticks at reasonable price (last gen models I assume, at least GX8 appears to have a couple of years on its neck).

Has anyone used both of them and can comment on the differences between them? Was thinking about getting one of each, probably in different curves, as long as the shipping is about the same for two sticks as it is for one since its already around 50% of one sticks worth.

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Thought I'd write a quick comment since there wasnt all that much info floating around on Winnwell sticks, that I could find anyway. Not sure it'd be particularly helpful to anyone since I'm not all that experienced with composite sticks, but here it goes anyway.

Cant really comment on durability with very little usage so far, in fact not tried the GX8 on ice at all yet. I dont care too much for looks, the GX8 looks ok nothing flashy, the Pro Stock looks kind of elegant though. The Pro Stock feels significantly more high end than the GX8. The only thing I really have to compare to as far as composites goes, that I've used extensively over the past 5 or so years (though not too much recently so memory might be failing me a little bit), is an Easton Synergy (which at clearance went for more than double the price, dont remember its exact model name). To me, this one seems very much comparable in pretty much all aspects.

Passes may have come off a little bit pingy, but hard to say if that has to do with the stick at all. I've played very little for a long time, and I'm also not used to the kind of curve it has. Shoots seems to come off well (I got a poor shot to start with), but from what I remember they pop off as well, if not better, than previous mentioned Easton. The overall feel of the stick is good, well balanced, light. Time will tell how well it holds up over time.

Not saying its the best stick around or anything, but I'd be surprised if I'd find a better one at $100 or below. So I think its definitely worth some consideration for anyone looking for an OPS in that price range.

Anyone else have experience with this stick?

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