Sher-Wood EK15 - XveritasX

[JR Boucicaut 3799]

Open

[XveritasX 13]

First and foremost I want to thank JR and Sherwood for giving me the opportunity to do a LTR on this stick. If you're reading this review and there is something that you wish I covered in more detail or something I missed please send me a PM and I would be happy to answer any questions.

Stick Specs:

Sherwood Rekker ek15

75 Flex

PP26 Stastny Curve

Grip

My Background:

I'm 23 years old, 6'0 tall, and weigh 195lbs. I played minor hockey until Midget and I currently play Rec hockey in a Mens league. I would consider myself equal in level to the average Junior C player. I also currently work part time selling hockey equipment. The last few sticks which I have used are a Reebok 20k, Warrior DT1, Bauer one95, and Warrior Dynasty.

I haven't owned single Sherwood stick since I switched to using composites nearly 10 years ago. I've played around with a t90 a few times and have been impressed with its quality for a $130 stick. Now that Sherwood seems to be making a push to compete with the top end sticks out there I am really excited to see what they can do.

The Stick:

Probably the biggest feature of this stick, or at least the reason why many people are talking about it is because it's supposedly the lightest stick currently on the market. They advertise the EK15 as being 385 grams, when I took my stick out of the box it measured exactly that. A few people on my team have picked up my stick and been blown away with how light it is. Not only is the stick light weight, it is also really well balanced. Out of all the sticks I have sitting around it easily has the lightest feeling blade.The picture below shows my cut and taped stick on the scale.

When I first received the stick I wasn't the biggest fan of the look, I didn't hate it, but I wasn't that excited by it. Sherwood has definitely gone with the minimalist approach here. There are only a couple of lines and the text that is on the stick is in fairly basic block letters. I think it would look better if they had the 12k carbon weave showing through more often. I'm not a fan of loud looking sticks but this stick may just be a little too plain jane. I may just be getting tired with what seems like every stick in the market going with a 90% black stick.The more I look at it though, the more it grows on me. The shaft side walls are slightly concave with rounded edges. I'm not a big fan of rounded sticks so I was pleased when I first held it. The grip on the stick has definite tack to it, and it runs for about 2/3 to 3/4 of the shaft length so the bottom of the shaft has no grip finish to it at all. The blade on the stick is pretty thin and it feels very rigid. In case anyone doesn't realize, the white stuff on my stick is just left over tape residue.

Using it:

I've been able to play 4 games this week with the new stick. Two games I played forward and two of them I was back on defense. One of the first two things I immediately noticed when shooting during warm ups was that the blade was very stiff. The blade reminds me a lot of my DT1 in that regard, it's very rigid and has a similar feel to it. If you aren't careful passes will bounce off the blade. Shooting wise I like using stiff blades. It is very lively, and the puck comes off the blade really nicely. The second thing I noticed was that this is a very low kick stick. It is not as low as my DT1, but I would say it is definitely one of the lowest on the market. The shaft feels slightly stiffer than rated. This may be due to the fact that is does have such a low kick point. It only took a little while for my snap shots and wrist shots to adapt to using the new stick. The puck was just flying off of my blade. The release on the shaft was also very quick. I was able to beat two goalies short side on quick snap shots, something I don't do too often. Slap shots took me a little while longer to get the hang of. I find that with many low kick sticks I have to muscle that shot more often than compared to a mid kick stick where they seem more effortless. This stick wasn't an exception to that. Once I did get the stick dialed some of the my shots were absolute rockets. In one of the games I played defense I was able to blast the puck from the point to beat the goalie, it was easily one of the hardest shots I have taken in a game. One of my team mates even mentioned my shots seemed to have more velocity than normal. Compared to my DT1, I feel my snap and wrist shots were on par with it. Slapshots were something I was never able to fully get a hang on with my Covert so I live the EK15 more in that regard. Compared to my 20k, so far I feel the EK15 does everything better.

Stick handling with this stick hasn't been a problem, the blade doesn't cushion the puck at all but I don't find that to be a big deal. In one of my games I played center and I wasn't able to win a face-off all night it seemed. I'm not sure if the lightness threw me off or what but it just wasn't working for me. When making contact with other players sticks the blade has a pingy feel to it and it doesn't feel like the blade gives or absorbs anything. It almost feels worrying since it feels so solid.

As for durability, it's a little early to comment on that but so far everything looks fine. There are no cracks or gouges on the shaft of the stick, only a couple of scratches on the finish. I play a couple more times this week so I will update my review then.

[XveritasX 13]

I just have a quick update, haven`t played too much hockey lately due to the holiday season. Just a little while after I posted the first part of my review I went to retape my stick. When I took the tape off I noticed the heel/hosel area of the blade has a gouge/crack in it.

Flexing the blade in my hand I couldn't noticed any changes in stiffness. I taped the stick back up, making sure I completely covered the damaged area. I've used it in only one game since and the damage does not seem to have effected the sticks performance too noticeably. I don't consider myself to be someone that is hard on sticks. In the past few years I have only broken one stick, and from what I could tell, that certain stick had durability issues. I haven't read about any real durability issues regarding the EK15 yet so whether or not my stick is the rule or the exception remains to be seen. Besides that one area everything else looks good, no cracks or chips anywhere else to be seen. I start playing hockey again in the new year and I will continue to use the stick and see how it keeps on doing. I will be sure to keep taking pictures of the damaged area to showcase whether the damage area grows over time.

[XveritasX 13]

It's been a while since I've updated this. Since I noticed the fairly large gash in the heel of my blade I've been waiting for the stick to break on me. I figured it would just be a matter of time since there was a fairly significant amount of damage. It's been once month, and about 10 ice times and the stick is still holding up. The damaged area on the blade has grown slightly, but not very much at all. The rest of the stick still looks great, no other cracks or nicks to report, just a couple small chips. The grip on this stick has held up very well also, absolutely no peeling or loss in feel. I'm starting to chalk up the blade damage on my stick more towards a fluke than a defect.

I have to say, I absolutley love the weight and balance of this stick, my absolute favorite stick in that regard. I've played a couple games with my Nexus 1000 and the first thing I notice is the weight change. I know it is a fairly minimal change, close to 50g only, yet you do notice it. The EK15 just feels so light and effortless to move it around. I especially noticed the difference when I went to the ODR and used my one95, in comparison that stick just felt blade heavy. The lightness of the EK15 has definitely spoiled me, every stick you use afterwords will feel odd until you adjust to it.

Shooting wise, the shaft of the stick still very lively. If the stick has lost any pop, it has been minimal so far. My initial impressions shooting the stick still stand today. It's been great for wrist shots, snapshots, and quarter-half slap shots have also been great. While my full windup slapshots are still fairly strong with this stick, I find I can get more power and consistency when using a stick with a higher kickpoint. The same thing goes for one timers. I just can't seem to have a solid consistent shot in comparison to my nexus. I also had the same problem with my DT1, a stick I find pretty comparable performance wise.

Overall I have been very impressed with the stick, especially when you consider the $200 retail price. I really think Sherwood is heading in the right direction with this stick and I am very excited to see the next generation/line up that is using this carbon fiber technology.