Sher-Wood EK15 - Chadd

[Chadd 916]

First of all, a big thanks to SWD for donating the sticks to us for these long term reviews and to JR for coordinating everything with them. I didn't read the other reviews until I had a chance to use the stick for myself as I didn't want their impressions to color mine. I did, however, read them before writing and posting this Since the other guys have everything covered on the picture front, I will skip them and move on to the heart of the matter.

Flex - 85

Pattern - P88

For those of you that know me, or have seen my posts over the years, you know that P88 style curves are not really my favorite style. Any issues with the pattern should not be considered a negative of the stick. There were limited options and I went with the least lofted curve available.

If the stick hadn't been rattling around in the box, I would have thought it was empty. It is extremely light, mine was 385g on the nose prior to taping up. The stick is a hair shorter than I normally use, but I left it that way to make up for the slightly higher lie of the P88 curve. I didn't seem to have any issues with it in my limited use.

Puck feel wasn't an issue for me, but I have never been known as much of a stickhandler. I tend to be a pass or shoot first kind of player and not the kind of guy that usually tries to beat anyone one on one. I could a couple passes and made a couple moves with it and never had a feeling like I was losing the puck. So far, so good.

Stick flex seemed very soft to me. The stick flexes, and loads, very easily. Probably even easier to load for me than a Widow. Like that stick, I can see how you could run into problems if you don't let the stick do the work with the lighter flexes. The slingshot effect was very noticeable for me and I found myself just leaning on the stick a little bit in order to load it. This will be an interesting one to spend some time shooting with, it already seems effortless and I have only used it briefly.

All of the guys on my team that picked it up were amazed at the weight. If the stick is able to hold up to any reasonable level of use, this thing could become incredibly popular.

[Chadd 916]

I posted several updates in the EK15 topics, but never used the stick enough to warrant a full review here. Shortly after the stick arrived, I got a concussion at work and was unable to play. I asked several teammates and friends to use the stick and write up their thoughts but none of them actually wrote anything up for me. They all wanted to keep the stick though.

Velocity is excellent on wristers and snappers but the flex was a little too soft for me to feel comfortable on slappers. I think something stiffer than an 85 would be great for me on slappers. When I see one locally, I will likely pick up a PP09 in a 95 flex. It's a fantastic stick and well worth the price compared to many of the other high end sticks on the market.

I saw on facebook that one of our members had just broken a stick and offered to send the EK15 to him to review. See, complaining on facebook does pay off every once in a while. The stick has arrived and the other topic will be started soon.