STX Stallion - JGraz15

[JR Boucicaut 3802]

Open

[JGraz15 53]

Product: STX Stallion – X92, 75 flex, Grip, 60”

Reviewer Info: Male, 5’8”, 160 lbs, 33 years old, Winger, played ACHA club, current beer leaguer and weekend warrior, on the ice 2 – 3 times per week

Recent Sticks Used: Bauer Vapor X90, Easton Mako, Reebok 11K, Easton EQ50, Bauer Supreme One95

Shout Outs: Thank you to STX and JR for this review opportunity. I am grateful for the opportunity and will provide as thorough as a review as possible and make this my main stick until it dies.

First Impression: Opening the box from STX, I took a pretty close look at it…VERY nice finish. Stick appears very well made; equally on par to top of the line offerings from Bauer, Easton, and Warrior.

· Graphics: The graphics package is very subtle which is something I prefer; however, this is 100% subjective.

· Weight & Balance: Picking the stick up the first thing you notice is the balance and overall light weight of the stick. I don’t know officially if this is the lightest stick I have ever used but it is close. As noted, the balance is fantastic which I believe is more important than the overall weight.

· Shaft: Concave sidewalls with rounded top and bottom. Fits comfortably in the hand. Not as boxing as Easton’s and feels bigger than Bauer’s Vapor line.

· Grip: The grip finish is nice mix…provides tackiness but is not overly sticky. I would say it is more subtle grip than Bauer’s.

· Blade: The X92 curve is comparable to a Bauer P92 and Easton E3…there may be subtle differences but is close enough for me. The blade is very thin and stiff. Construction appears top notch (no bubbles, hollow spots, pits, or other noticeable imperfections in the blade)

· Flex: 75 flex feels fairly true

· Other: The stick is 60” out of the box

Overall – very impressed with the stick especially considering this is STX’s first foray into the hockey market. Initial impression is that the Stallion was very well thought out, researched, and a high quality product.

[JGraz15 53]

3/30/14 Update – Stick used twice in drop ins – approximately 3.5 of use

I cut the sticks approximately 5” prior to use. This obviously made the stick a little stiffer but not too much. I have also had issues in the past of sticks becoming blade heavy after cutting but this was not the case as the Stallion was still very balanced.

First time on the ice I was blown away by the balance and lightness of the stick. Grabbed a puck and stick handled a little to get a feel. Coming from a Easton P3 or Bauer P92 should not be much of a transition at all for most people.

Stick Feel: The stick is VERY responsive…that is my early impression. Stick handling feels great and using the X92 pattern I am able to utilize the entire blade. No issues in terms of feel…maybe because of the thin blade it is easy to always tell where the puck is on the blade without having to look at it all.

In terms of passing, again the feel is nice. The stiff blade is nice for catching passes but I don’t feel it is so stiff that hard passes bounce off the blade. The overall feel of the blade is great whether trying to finesse a close range saucer pass or throw a long hard outlet pass.

Shooting: Let’s face it…the main differentiation between a price point stick and a top end stick is the performance. I am mainly a wrist shot and snap shot guy. It seems most of the blade from the middle to the toe is in the sweet spot as I am able to load the stick and shoot from the mid-toe with ease and consistency. Using a familiar curve I don’t have any issues with shot placement. The blade is stiff and I don't notice the blade opening up at all when shooting which keeps shots going where you want them to and prevents loss of power.

I truly believe this is a high performance stick and I can feel the extra kick on my shots. I am very high on the STX Stallion after a few ice uses. Overall it is a light, balanced stick that has great feel and very responsive with great kick. I will provide more in depth analysis as time goes on in addition to durability updates.

A quick note: I was surprised how many people in Columbus, Ohio instantly knew what this stick was. I was asked by people I don’t know if it was available to buy yet, how it felt, and if they could stick handle with it.

A couple of pictures:

http://1drv.ms/1lf3Krk

http://1drv.ms/1lf3Mj7

http://1drv.ms/P6HkO1

[JGraz15 53]

All good things must come to an end – I finally sent my Stallion to greener pastures this week. This stick was my main driver over six months, which for me was over 50 ice times (~around 100 hours). The stick is still in one piece; however, the blade is toast…completely soft and broken down.

Overall, I was VERY impressed with this stick on many levels:

· Weight and balance: this is the lightest feeling and most balanced stick I have ever used…definitely has a ‘woah’ factor to other people when they pick it up.

· The balance, combined with the very thin blade, give the stick a very responsive feel and for me, made stick handling feel as comfortable as I have with any stick.

· The stick shoots rockets…I have never been a guy known for my bombs but I definitely felt tons of jump off of this stick and felt confident in picking corners. This stick loads extraordinary easily and I’ve never been so comfortable getting off quick, hard, and accurate wrist and snap shots.

· Durability – overall impressed…the shaft has held up great and the graphics package still looks nice. The shaft did go a little ‘wimpy’ on me. It was a 75 flex to start but really ‘broke in’ and feels border line too whippy now compared to other companies 75 flex sticks. The blade held up well overall from a chipping standpoint; however, but started getting really soft after ~40 uses. The blade now, while in-tact, is unusable.

In summary, I loved the STX Stallion for the reasons noted above and got more life out of it than I did most other one piece sticks. I would highly recommend this stick to anyone looking for a top of the line stick. I am not looking forward to going back to my other sticks and will definitely purchase a STX stick in the near future.

Thank you to JR and the team at STX for providing me with the opportunity to evaluate this product.