Blew my stick budget... going 2 piece, lighter blade or shaft?

[gemini8026 1]

Not the BEST most descriptive title, but let me explain.

I have gone through a LOT of hockey sticks this year. Ive played a ton, and I love it, but I seriously cannot keep up this stick pace.

In one year

2 Graf's

1 CCM Crazy Strong

1 Easton S19

1 Bauer X:60

1 Bauer APX

I currently have 3 Synergy ST's are my backups. But I am spoiled! Spoiled by lighter sticks. I loved my APX, but Im not goign to spend too much on Summer hockey, I need new skates and pants, and my priorities need to go there!

Anyhow, here's my question.....

I want a lasting solution. My APX,S19, and Crazy Strong all broke at the Blade.

I want a good balance of strength and light weight.

Would it be smarter to go with a heavier shaft and a lighter blade, or a lighter shaft with a heavier duty blade?! Where is the weight most noticed on a stick, in the shaft, or the blade?! I was thinking of using the Synergy shaft and a standard RS replacement blade... However, I need to balance weight vs strength.

Anyone care to chime in on the topic?! Or offer product suggestions for a good 2 piece balance that wont break the bank, yet be a good balance of strong and light?!?

Thanks for any input!

[fatwabbit 93]

Might want to understand why you are going thru that many sticks, especially at the blade.

I would prefer a heavier shaft and lighter blade myself, but thats because i prefer it to be blade-light rather than blade-heavy. Some of the top end solid shafts are still very light weight.

[Kyle Friedman 9]

Cut the blade off the apx that broke and flip it over. Then buy a high end blade such as a total one or apx blade and put it in the shaft. Then youll get a light shaft and a light blade. T

he best of both worlds and you will end up spending less $.

[romdj 26]

you may want http://www.modsquadhockey.com/forums/index.php/topic/7494-cutting-ops-at-fuse-point/page-36

[LearDriver 1]

I don't know what your level of play is compared to mine (I'm not the greatest, but play in adult leagues with pretty good guys), but the guys here recommended the Warrior AK27 shaft to me. I have it paired up with a Bauer Supreme TotalOne NXG blade and I really like the combo. It feels light (to me) and doesn't feel blade-heavy. I've never used a one-piece before, so can't compare it to anything.

The shaft/blade have been holding up great with men's inline league play and stick & puck and drop-in sessions at the ice rink. I take more slapshots than anything, FWIW. I think InlineWarehouse has the AK27 for around $50 still.

[illinidave 1]

reebok 11k shaft and blade combo extremely light and have held up for me (C beer league, 2x/week). not as cheap as AK27, but 430g weight for the combo....

[stick9 905]

Cut the blade off the apx that broke and flip it over. Then buy a high end blade such as a total one or apx blade and put it in the shaft. Then youll get a light shaft and a light blade. T

he best of both worlds and you will end up spending less $.

Unfortunately, the kick point with be near the top instead of the blade where it was designed to be.

[fullblast99 1]

looking at your stick selection , I couldn't help but notice no warriors on the list?? i have had good luck with em, and i have had a few that have made a whole season. hockeymonkey.com. i buy in a 3 pack every summer. ive had bad luck with other sticks, and ive tried a lot of em.

[hunt3rsean 44]

I've found that as long as you can balance the weight out throughout the stick then the overall feeling of the stick will be lighter. However, if I had to choose which part to carry more of the weight....I'd choose the shaft. Because overall it would fall under my first point of the stick feeling more balanced. I've used blade heavy sticks and I get used to them after awhile, but I tend to notice it more initially. Although, if you are breaking so many blades like that then maybe you want to invest in a stronger/heavier duty blade?

[sickwilly 37]

It may help to buy same brand/model shaft and blade, if you can. The balance has always worked well for me that way. I tend to break shaft/blade setups less frequently than OPS, for whatever reason. When I buy an OPS, I almost always break it in the same area where the shaft and blade would meet in a 2-pc setup. If I absolutely had to choose where I'd prefer to have the extra weight, I'd choose the shaft. Adding a wooden end plug can help balance the feel of a heavier blade a little bit, if needed.

[zachary 2]

Unfortunately, the kick point with be near the top instead of the blade where it was designed to be.

That's why you don't flip it and cut it by the fuse point and use just a tapered blade.

[Neo5370 132]

What's your budget? Have you looked into closeouts? I know Widows are on sale for pretty cheap.

[mack 44]

This is where I'll my make my token endorsement of older stock and say a lot of good Easton shafts from the mid-to-late-90s and early 00s make it onto eBay.

[Neal 41]

If you do end up going with a tapered shaft, I recommend the Harrow 300 blades. Very durable and good feel. Not the lightest blades on the market, but not the heaviest either.

[Chadd 916]

That's why you don't flip it and cut it by the fuse point and use just a tapered blade.

That doesn't work all that well with sticks that don't have a traditional fuse point like the APX in the post that was quoted. With the construction of the APX, you would have to cut higher and add in a plug to make up for the lost length.

[hunt3rsean 44]

If you do end up going with a tapered shaft, I recommend the Harrow 300 blades. Very durable and good feel. Not the lightest blades on the market, but not the heaviest either.

I've been very happy with mine so far.

[Scotty 8]

Depends on what kind of feel you like. Most top end sticks you've described using have pretty great balance and if anything, are just slightly blade light. I'd almost always be more in favor of a slightly "heavier" shaft and a light blade.

I'll second Mack's suggestion of looking for some older (and hence now cheaper) shafts online on various sites. Grab a tapered shaft and throw a tapered blade in it and you have yourself a pretty nice blade light or perfectly-balanced setup.

[Souldriver 64]

gemini i sent you a pm i believe, let me know your thoughts.

[gemini8026 1]

So I am going to do one of two things.

Buy a 3 pack of RS Blades from Hockey Monkey, and put them on an ST shaft.....

OR....

Buy a Total One NXG Shaft, and put on some cheaper Mako M5 blades. (apparently they are the heavier built units?!?)

Thoughts? Theres some good sales right now, even though im in Canada and shipping kills us :(

[Puck Norris 0]

I recently made the move to 2 piece for the same reason. I break a lot of blades. If you really need the balance on a budget I'd go heavier shaft, lighter blade, and then cut it down and add whatever length of wood end plug gets you the balance. If you have a little more to spend I'd recommend getting a reebok 11k /20k shaft blade combo or bauer apx shaft/ blade combo. The blades are lighter because they are short hosel tapered (smaller overall size compared to standard blade). That's the closest to a 1 piece you're going to get. Personally, I like mid kick so I do Bauer Supreme shaft and nxg blade with a 6 inch wood end plug to balance it out after I cut it down.

As far as being in Canada, Sportchek has shafts and blades buy one get one 50% off all the time. Grab 2 Reebok 6k shafts and blades if you really want to save some $$$.

[Machinehead2k5 32]

Turn your x:60, Crazy Strong, and APX into tapered shafts.

[tareatingrat 4]

I'll give a +1 to the AK27 combo.

Did what you did a few years back, got tired of breaking $300 sticks in a month. I still go through a fair amount of blades (one lasts me roughly two months), but I play center, play a lot, and am hard on my gear.

I've been using the combo for about two years now. Don't notice a difference between it and any of my one pieces.

As for the original question, it's all personal preference. I go for balance more than anything, but I do prefer a lighter stick. The AK27 shaft and blades (which are getting harder to find) are a good combo for me.

If you get a heavier blade, add a plug.

[Neo5370 132]

Turn your x:60, Crazy Strong, and APX into tapered shafts.

This is really your cheapest and probably best solution. You basically already have a bunch of high end shafts, just need to buy some blades.

[davidfinlay276 4]

Light shaft + heavy blade is terrible, you end up with a SUPER blade heavy stick, which almost everyone (myself included) hates. Heavy shaft + light blade is better, though the balance will still be a touch strange. Really I would just not cheap out on a combo that you won't be happy with, spend enough to get at least a decent blade and shaft. Or, as others have noted, convert your sticks with broken blades into shafts, and throw in a tapered blade (*IF* possible, depending on the stick it sometimes isn't).

Personally my two favourite blade for standard shafts are the Bauer TO (light, stiff, durable, slightly pingy but I still like the feel, pricey though) and the Warrior Evo (almost as light as the TO, more of a soft/forgiving feel, cheaper). The Warrior Evo is, IMO, the best value for money blade out there, it's a top of the line blade for about $20 less than most other top of the line blades, but be warned that it has a very "wood-like" feel (some people love that, some people hate it, all personal preference).

If you're going with tapered shafts (or a OPS conversion), I'm going to pimp Warrior again, and suggest the Dynasty blade. It's essentially identical to the Evo, but tapered.

Edit: did a quick Google search, and it looks like Warrior's top 2 blades are now the Dynasty AX1 Standard and Dynasty AX1 Tapered. I'm guessing they're not too different from the Evo/Dynasty, though I don't know for sure.

[PHLAllstar 0]

I would recomend the EQ50 Shaft. It has a weighted end plug so you can make the stick blade light or blade heavy.