Stick/shaft suggestions or opinions ?

[Nosferatu 8]

Hi folks , I'm currently looking around for a new stick and as I live on a small rock in the middle of the Irish Sea with no hockey shops I'm pretty much stuck to ordering online which is a pain as you can't really get a feel for a thing from a picture on the screen . So I figured that it wouldn't hurt to ask you lot what you recommend .
I suppose some details and stuff will help so here's the rub , currently playing indoor inline hockey using Easton aluminium taperwall 95 flex with a Sakic curve. It's ok but a hell of a lot different from my old wood/fibre Koho2260 (approx 85-90 flex after cutting down) Jagr curve , it feels a bit too clunky/unresponsive . Ideally I'm looking for something inbetween the 2 . My shots are better with the Easton but my stickhandling was better with the Koho alas age and wear have definitely taken the snap from the old thing and shots just aren't zipping away as well as they used to .

I'm 5'8 and 85kg , pretty strong , normally play defence . I like to fire in the odd slapshot from the points but my wrist and snap shots are arguably my stronger shot ie more accurate and a better technique , my slapshot is still a work in progress . I'm a decent enough stick handler and like to try and pass or play out of the D rather than just dump the puck aimlessly into nothingness . So that's the type of player I am , next bit is budget . Ideally I don't want to go any higher than £50/$80/60euro mark .

I've came across the following in my search so far that seem to vaguely fit my criteria but having never used any of the brands I know next to nothing about them :
TPS/SWD RR24 Shaft with Zhamnov curve for £43

Fischer FX2 OPS £40

Fischer FX2 Composite Shaft 35 euro

Ferland Hurricane Pro Shaft for 35 euro .

Reebok 14k OPS £50

They were the few that caught my eye but if anyone has any alternative ideas they would be most welcome . Cheers

[sss1987 55]

If you could stretch your budget.. i think you could go for an Easton V1e/ Reebok 23k/ CCM Rbz 40/ CCM C200/ Warrior Ax5 etc. These are in the £59-£75 range.

Btw if you are cutting loads off the sticks.. it may be worth considering starting with a lower flex.

Im 5'4" and rushed into buying an Easton V1e 85 flex (after coming back to playing hockey after 4-5years). By the time i got it to the height i like.. the stick was soo stiff.Well over 105flex!

Thus i ended up spending a bit more time researching..and opted to go for a 60flex CCM RBZ 80. Cut down it is somewhere in the region of 70-85flex, and my shots are so much more consistent. It may sound like a light flex but i weigh in at 70kg.

So for you it may be worth going for a 70-75 flex to begin with. I imagine your cut down Easton is quite stiff hence the nice stick handling. My old 2260 feels quite spongy too. however..going to the 60flex ccm cut down..its a good mix of being responsive (especially the blade for stick handling) and whippy for shots.

So please factor in how much you are cutting off! i learnt the hard way because i got excited coming back to hockey and just bought the Easton v1e.

hope this helps bud. I'm a fellow UK player too!

[Nosferatu 8]

Cheers sss 1987 , I'm not sure if the flex is the issue or not the Koho was originally 75 or 80 if my memory is right so once I'd taken the few " off that's where I'm estimating the 90ish that it will be now , The Easton appears to be a short arsed version anyway so I didn't have to cut it down and is rated as 90 so in theory much of a muchness . The problem I'm finding with the Easton is its just not subtle lol there's no real feedback , it's a fucking bludgeoning device so I'm finding that where I used to pick up passes quite softly and cleanly I'm now having to take an extra touch more often . I should probably wait til the next chance I get into a hockey shop but I've got the money available now and want to try and get the stick in time for our next session after the Xmas break . Cheers for the feedback though I'll read up on those sticks.

[sss1987 55]

I think its the difference between the wood koho and aluminium easton. Once you move over to a modern composite i think you maybe happier. There is a certain loss of feel when compared to the koho..but you will quickly over come this.

If it helps i prefer my ccm rbz 80 compared to the easton v1e (i know im comparing two different price point sticks so its unfair)..but the ccm has a much more "classic" (cant think of a better word for it) flex point compared to certain other manufacturers going for "low" flex points.

I was talking to someone from a certain big hockey retailer. He said that hes noticed that a lot of companies are putting a lot of effort into their mid end sticks (ccm rbz 80/easton v5-7/rbk 25k etc)..where a lot of the features of top end sticks have carried over except for the weight loss. For example.. a top end stick is arohmd the 420gram mark..where as my ccm80 is the 480gram (mid end) and the easton v1e is 550gram (these weights are approx). These great thing is..even all of these will be lighter then both of your current sticks.

So maybe worth saving a bit more my friend and go with a midend stick.

[Nosferatu 8]

Sounds like pretty decent advice mate , thanks . I'll definitely wait til I can get to a shop I think , if I'm going to fork out a few extra ££ I want to get my hands on the thing first . That was part of my logic on going cheap so that if I ended up with a stick I wasn't overly chuffed with I wouldn't be gutted that I'd just pissed away a fortune. I'm off to Germany in Feb and will be catching a DEL game while there , pretty sure there'll be a shop either at or near the arena.

[sss1987 55]

hello mate, puckstop or demon xtreme were having sales on recently on sticks..might be worth a looksie!

[Nosferatu 8]

Cheers sss1987 , seen the puckstop sale and was very nearly tempted by the CCM u+10 but in the end I've gone for a TPS response that came with blade for £42 . Will let you know what it's like when it turns up , should be due this week . Was going to wait but my backup stick is in a right mess now so thought sod it I'll take a chance .

[Nosferatu 8]

A Sherwood S77 turned up instead , similar spec to the TPS . Got a session tomorrow night so will see how it performs.