True A6.0 - davetronz

[JR Boucicaut 3799]

Open

[Davetronz 109]

I’d like to start this LTR by thanking True Hockey, JR and Modsquad Hockey for the opportunity to review this stick.

Background:

30 years old / 5’11 / 215lbs / left-handed

Men's div B/C and shinny hockey (former minor league rep team player)

On ice ~5 hours a week

Previous sticks (2yrs):

• Bauer Vapor APX2 (P14, 95 flex) *current*
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• Bauer Vapor x6.0 (P14, 87 flex)
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• Bauer Nexus 600 (P14, 102 flex) *current*
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• Sherwood T90 (Ryan, 85 flex)
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Stick details:

True A6.0

TC2 (Toe curve, open, round, similar to Bauer’s Backstrom pattern)

85 flex

A Thursday morning visit from the Postman brought me a long, flat, rectangular parcel from True Hockey. This could mean only one thing – my True A6.0 stick had arrived!

I unboxed the stick and found it protected with bubble wrap, packing paper and a plastic sleeve around the stick itself. A sticker on the plastic sleeve confirmed that my stick was delivered according to my specifications.

Off came the plastic sleeve and I began inspecting the stick. The first thing I noticed about the stick was its weight (or lack thereof). At 400 grams, the A6.0 is a featherweight. The stick felt very balanced in my hands as I rotated it around and moved it through the motions while holding the shaft at different places. I like a balanced stick that isn’t blade-heavy, and the A6.0 feels great in my hands.

Next, I moved on to the aesthetics and graphics. I’ll admit that I don’t like colorful, flashy sticks. I prefer darker colors, matte graphics and nothing overly wild. Call me traditional. I love the look of the A6.0. It’s visually pleasing, yet not loud or obnoxious. The blues, slate and black work great together, and nothing is over-done. Some subtle background graphics are a nice touch. This all comes together for an awesome overall design and color scheme.

The grip on the shaft of the A6.0 stick is also not too tacky. I don’t like too much grip, and I feel that the True Hockey hit the nail on the head with the amount of grip they’ve used. The grip also feels more “embedded” into the stick, which makes me feel I won’t have any issues with it peeling off. A nice feature includes identifying the blade pattern, lie and flex near the middle of the shaft. I dislike having to remove tape from the knob of a stick if I’ve forgotten my preferred specifications and need to re-order. The A6.0 uses an open-ended plug. I honestly haven’t played with one of these before and I’m not sure how it compares to a closed-ended plug. I’ll likely tape over the open plug when I tape the stick.

The grip on the shaft stops about a foot before the blade and the texture becomes more abrasive, almost sandpaper-like. This is a similar finish to my APX2, but the texture is a bit more amplified on the A6.0. There’s also some subtle graphics on both sides of the blade, a nice, cool touch. The blade looks identical to the TC2 on the pattern chart that I chose from. The TC2 pattern is definitely a toe curve, as you can see from the picture.

Aesthetics aside, I put a bit of weight on the stick and found it to be quite whippy – a contrast from the APX2 95-flex that I’ve been using which is on the stiff-side. It actually brought a smile to my face as I flexed the stick in my living room. I’ve switched my game from relying on the brute force of slap shots to trusting more precise snap shots and wrist shots from in close. I’ve also reduced my stick flex preference from 100+, to 95, and now to 85-87 in the past couple years. I’ll also note here that I do not cut senior sticks down in size whatsoever – so my review will be based on the full height and factory flex of the stick. Needless to say, the A6.0 feels solid and well constructed, but not heavy, unbalanced or awkward.

I’m super excited to get on the ice and try out this stick. My next post will provide some comparisons to the APX2 stick that I’m currently using and detail my first impressions on the ice.

[Davetronz 109]

Since my last post, I’ve taped a small, simple grip and knob on the stick and taped the blade with white tape. As discussed in my first post, I’ve also put a piece of tape over the end of the open stick plug. I’ve taped the blade “heel to toe” and have not taped over the toe of the stick. I finished the blade with my tried and true Sex Wax. With the stick fully taped and ready for action, I noted that the stick was still very balanced and that my conservative taping did not add much weight.

On the way into the rink this afternoon, I noticed that my A6.0 was about an inch taller than my APX2. Neither stick is cut in length. This extra length should prove beneficial, as I was finding my APX2 and Nexus a bit short (they’re both the exact same length).

Next, I noticed that while the blade curve of the A6.0 (TC2) and APX2 (P14) are quite similar, the actual shape, size/height and length of the blade differ. The blade of the A6.0 is also a bit slimmer. The lie of both patterns is listed as 6. The A6.0 (TC2) blade is definitely a bit longer than the APX2 (P14) and perhaps the A6.0 (TC1) curve is a closer match in length to the Toews pattern. As I’ve been using the P14-Toews for over a year, it will be interesting to see if I notice any major differences with the added length of the TC2 pattern. I’ve included a couple pictures from different views for contrast.

I’ll note that the A6.0, at full length, comes directly under my chin while standing in my skates. A perfect fit in regards to my preferences.

I was one of the first on the ice and picked up a puck as soon as I could. The puck felt great on the stick. Responsive, yet not too “pingy” – it felt great on the hands. The grip was allowing good shaft movement and stick handling with my glove palms, but I was feeling a bit lost with the added length in the blade pattern. I took my first shot, a nice hard wrist shot. Wow, the whip gave the shot awesome velocity and sent the puck directly on target to where I was aiming. My next shot was a snap shot with similar results – hard, no end-over-end, and right on target. I sent a few passes into the base of the boards and was feeling good about my accuracy and speed. I didn’t get a chance to take any slap shots because they’re a no-go with the shinny I was playing with, but every wrist shot and snap shot I took in warm up left me with a smile on my face. The force of my shots was popping the netting back and definitely seemed more forceful than shots with my APX2.

The game started and I began making nice, crisp passes to teammates. I actually received a couple compliments on my passing during the session, saying that my passes were staying flatter, coming harder and more accurate. Awesome! I was playing defense today, but I had an opportunity to take a few point shots. All were on target and felt great, one even found the corner of the net on the far side. Can’t complain there!

One area of concern that I felt today was while playing in tight against the boards. I’m not used to the extra length on my blade and was fumbling the puck a bit in these situations. It felt like there was a bit too much blade there. I don’t think this is any reflection of the stick itself, rather my need to get used to my new pattern.

The stick really impressed me with its flex, whip and overall feel on the ice. I played the entire 1.25 hr session with the A6.0 and my APX2 sat on the bench. I’m definitely hoping the A6.0 keeps its initial feel and continues to impress. After the game I checked over the stick and found no durability issues despite some good whacks that I received during battles for the puck. The A6.0 passes the first on-ice test, with flying colors!

[Davetronz 109]

Since my last post, I’ve taken the True A6.0 out to two more sessions. I’ve used the stick exclusively for both sessions. I can honestly say that I’m loving this stick. I’m really happy with the way my passes are leaving the stick – flat, sauced, with some force behind them, and on-target. Receiving passes has a bit of “ping”, but it’s a good feel.

The shots continue to have a lot of whip behind them – the puck is literally launched into the net with accuracy. I feel that my shots are harder than when I use my APX2 stick because of the whip and flex in the True A6.0 stick. I’ve been playing with my same group that doesn’t allow slap shots, so I haven’t had an opportunity to let a clapper fly, but I’m looking forward to the opportunity with one of my other groups or league teams.

I’m starting to get used to the additional blade size in contrast to my APX2. My play in the corners is coming a bit more naturally, but I’m still fumbling a bit. I’m not typically a magician when it comes to stick handling, but the True A6.0 feels good in this regard, and I am no worse off when compared to other sticks that I’ve used. The puck has a really good feel on the stick.

The stick feels really solid. I blocked a couple shots with it and got a good, solid, sturdy feel out of the shaft. The blocked shots do not appear to have weakened the performance of the stick in any way.

I showed the A6.0 to a few friends at my favorite LHS yesterday. They all felt that my stick was on-par, maybe a bit heavier than the APX2 (without tape) and all commented on the good flex/whip/balance of the stick. The graphics package and overall aesthetics were appreciated too. The TC2 curve was viewed as a monster for going “bar down”!

[Davetronz 109]

I lost a few review posts that I didn't have saved in Word, but I'll try to address them to the best of my memory in this post.

I've been using the A6.0 for just under a month now. This equates to about 20 ice times for me, maybe a bit more since I had a 5-game tournament mixed in that time.

During the past month I've been using the A6.0 exclusively and I quite like it - to the point that I wouldn't hesitate to re-order! I'll address a few areas of that are forefront in my mind.

Face-offs:

The stick is definitely a bit too whippy for my liking during face-offs. I feel that I don't have the proper leverage during draws, typically as soon as my stick contacts the opposing center's stick. Would this be different with a stiffer flex? Likely. I've also noticed that the additional blade length/size with the pattern I chose is causing me a bit of grief in the circle. The stick feels a tad bit "dead" at the toe during faceoffs. My faceoff win percentage has definitely dropped, but I can't definitively say if this is due to my pattern/flex choice or the stick design.

Overall Flex:

About 3 weeks into my review, I've started to feel that my A6.0 is getting slightly more flexible in the mid-shaft. I compared this against a new 87 flex APX2, and a new 85 flex Easton and felt that the A6.0 was a bit more flexible (I didn't have an 85 flex stick that had been used for the same amount of time and by same weight player - so my science is "off"). I had a friend concur with my findings above. I'm hoping the stick doesn't continue to get softer because it's already starting to verge on being a bit soft for me.

Slapshots:

In my previous reviews I didn't have an opportunity to take a slapshot in any of the sessions. I finally got an opportunity in-game and scored on the first one I took. Slapshots come off the stick with great force, snap and authority. Wow. I've found that slapshots are a bit tempermental for me with the stick. If I have the puck a bit too far forward or back in my stance, or if the puck is rolling, it comes off my stick a bit flabby and rolling. Slapshots aren't a big part of my game anymore, so I'm happy with the controlled ones that I take, and will continue to resort to wrist shots in the meantime.

Puck Feel:

Puck feel remains great on the stick while stick handling and sending and receiving passes. Nothing has really changed here.

Durability.

I have a couple chips on the shaft of the stick that haven't affected performance or durability. The grip remains in great shape, which is a contrast to the grip which had worn almost all off my APX2 in the same amount of time. I have picked up a few small chips in the toe of the stick. They aren't currently causing any concern, but I'd like to monitor going forward.

Thanks for reading, and subscribe for future updates.

[Davetronz 109]

On the way into the rink today I caught my hand on a small broken area on the base of the hosel on my True A6.0.

It appears that the broken area is cracked/separating. I can't tell whether this is a fuse point or an area where two pieces of material are joined, but it almost looks this way.

I've been using my A6.0 4-5x a week for just under a month now (under 30 calendar days for sure).

As today was just shinny, I decided to keep playing with the A6.0. Wrist shots, passes (giving and receiving) and stick handling felt same as before. The couple slapshots that I took in warm up were weak and fluttering. Darn.

I'm going to continue playing with the A6.0, but avoid slapshots. Not sure how this will affect faceoffs either. Time will tell. Stay tuned for more.

[Davetronz 109]

Played a few more times with the A6.0 since my last post. The stick felt a bit softer on Friday, but was still fairly responsive and I used it for my entire shinny without issue. During Monday's league game things took a turn for the worse and the stick began feeling extremely soft about half a period into the game. Rotating the stick in my hands I could feel something broken inside rolling from the blade of the stick to the knob area. I switched to my APX2 for the remainder of the game. I opened up the end of the knob (I taped over it) after the game and out fell a shard of hardened foam/injected plastic material.

Nothing else seems to be rattling or rolling inside the stick. I'm going to keep using it for my shinny sessions (around 3x per week), but for now I'll likely remove it from league play.

To provide some contrast, going back to my APX2 (95 flex) was tough. I wasn't getting velocity on my shots and the overall "feel" just felt much different. I definitely prefer the feeling of my A6.0 now.

[Davetronz 109]

Another week down and my True A6.0 is still hangin' in there after being used for another 3 ice times. Surprisingly enough, I wasn't able to put the A6.0 on the bench and start using my APX2 again in game situations - I just like the feel of my A6.0 too much.

I've modified my game play to use more snapshots and wrist shots and I'm getting lower on the shaft for face-offs to compensate for the increased flex and cracking near the base of the hosel.

I'm actually very surprised that the stick has held up this well with the damage noted. The cracked area of the hosel appears to have worsened a bit, but it isn't degrading the performance of the stick past the previously mentioned points.

Based on my enjoyment of this twig, I think I'll order a replacement ASAP so that I have one on hand for when this one gives its last go.

[Davetronz 109]

Around two more weeks in and maybe another 10 sessions at a minimum with my True A6.0.

I'm still using the stick as my primary twig. There have been no performance changes since my last post, however I am starting to see some yellow foam poking out of the cracked area on the hosel now.

I also blocked a shot with the shaft of the stick that resulted in a small area where the graphics have chipped out - but it's barely noticeable.

Last night I tee'd up a hard slap shot from the point that connected just right, which proved to me that this stick still has a good amount of snap and rockets left.

[Davetronz 109]

With sadness, I have to report that my True A6.0 LTR has reached an end.

During a game last night, I went to set up a teammate with a breaking pass, and *SNAP*, that's all she wrote. I received a slash to the shaft of the stick earlier in the shift but thought nothing off it.

Surprisingly enough, the stick snapped at the lower-center of the shaft, rather than on the upper blade hosel where it was breaking (see images below):

There as no damage to be noted around the area it broke, other than the break itself.

Here is a close-up of the area near the hosel where the stick had started, and continued to break down without actually snapping.

While I had started to feel a bit of weakness and softness in the stick over the past few weeks, it still felt like it had some life remaining. I was still getting great shots in the warm up and up to the point the stick broke in the game.

I was hesitant to go back to my APX2, but had no other option. I had used my True A6.0 exclusively since the moment it landed in my hands. It will be missed.

I still haven't got around to ordering a replacement True A6.0, but I'll be doing it ASAP. The only changes that I'll make will be to order a 95 flex rather than the 85, and perhaps try the TC3 curve instead of the TC2.

I'm happy that this LTR has opened my eyes to my new go-to brand of sticks. Once again, I’d like to thank True Hockey, JR and Modsquad Hockey for the opportunity to review this stick.

Overall, I'd rate this stick a solid 9/10. It had the durability, feel, response, weight and quality of any other top stick in its price range. It exceeded all of my expectations and has made me a "True" convert!

Great work, True Hockey. This stick will be a winner for years to come.