JR Boucicaut 3799 Report post Posted June 6, 2015 Open Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mattc555 22 Report post Posted June 10, 2015 I’d like to start out by thanking JR, True Hockey, and MSH for the opportunity to review this stick. I’m honored and incredibly excited to review this new stick. I’m going to start this LTR with some general information, and my first impressions. I’ve used this stick now a total of three times, two pickups and one game.The Stick:Company: True Hockey www.true-hockey.comProduct: XCORE 9Curve: MC (Very similar to or exactly the same as P88)Flex: 85Grip: YesAbout the stick:The XCORE 9 is True’s newest top of the line offering. This stick is being positioned to compete with Bauer, Warrior, CCM, and other’s latest and greatest. True describes XCORE technology as a”compressible urethane insert embedded into the core of the blade starting in the heel and extending just past the center.” This insert is supposed to “increase puck spin”, and ‘dampen and cradle the puck when receiving passes’. This insert should reduce puck fluttering on shots.The other technologies featured are: Axenic (True one piece spear construction), Smartflex (variable shaft flex), and Smartply (True’s carbon laminate design). I’m most interested in Smartflex, because it is billed as combining the best of low, mid, and high kick sticks. Pictures:About Me:Male Height: 5'-9"Weight: 200 33 years oldPosition: Mostly defense, but forward and center too.I am a B level Adult Hockey player with 25 years experience. I’ve been playing hockey most of my life. I played club hockey through Bantam, high school D1 varsity, and college intramurals. I currently play 4 times a week on average. I play on three teams, and regularly skate in two pickups. My strengths are positioning and skating. I’m an average stick handler with a fairly heavy slap shot. My snap shots are puck only, meaning I don’t load the stick into the ice much. I have a decent wrist shot, and am 50/50 in taking them or snap shots. Recent Sticks: I have gone back and forth between mid kick and low kick style sticks and the jury is still out. Presently I’m most often using a Warrior Covert DT1 LT (85 Flex P88). I also have a Bauer Totalone NXG (87 Flex P88, but it gets grabbed much less often. My previous stick was an STX Stallion 500 (85 Flex P88) which I very much enjoyed. The STX blade softened too much, so it has since been retired. I will be shooting back to back with these sticks, and then offer up comparisons.First Impressions: I received the stick on 6/4/2015. It came in a True Hockey box. I’ll go through a rundown, and rate the XCORE against my recent sticks. Ratings are 1st to last from left to right.Appearance: I love the look of this stick. The blue line down the back of the stick, and subtle XCORE 9 logos are the highlights for me. It isn’t flashy, but looks modern. Fit and finish is top notch. RATING: DT1 LT/XCORE 9/NXG/STALLIONPeer Appeal: I passed the stick around to the guys I know that like gear the most. They said it felt light, most enjoyed the look, but nothing blew them away. Only a few guys knew what the stick was at all, and a couple others hadn’t heard of True. You do see some people using True sticks, so this surprised me. RATING: NXG/DT1 LT/XCORE 9/STALLIONWeight: The weight of this stick is 431 grams. I measured this on an Aerospace AS9100 calibrated scale. It feels light, on par with my DT1 LT and Stallion 500. RATING: ALL EQUALBalance: The balance of the stick is, in my opinion, perfect. This is incredibly subjective. I don’t find the stick to be too blade light or heavy. Somewhere in the middle, and exactly how I like it. I think it feels very similar to my DT1 LT. RATING: ALL EQUAL Grip: The grip has a tackiness similar to the Stallion and DT1 LT, however it has a more velvety feel. I quite enjoy it. I use Eagle MSH3 palmed gloves, and have no problem moving my bottom hand. RATING: ALL EQUALFeel: From the first time I touched a puck with the XCORE 9, I knew I was using something with a blade quite different than my previous sticks. The blade is both very stiff and very compliant. It is dampened without feeling soft; stiff without feeling pingy. It is as stiff as the blade on my DT1 LT, but not nearly as pingy. It is stiffer than the Totalone NXG blade and transmits puck location better.The shaft has a slight concave profile, which isn’t my favorite. I prefer square with soft edges. The overall shape is similar to the Stallion and NXG. The blade looks identical to the Stallion, DT1, and NXG P88’s.RATING: XCORE 9/DT1 LT/STALLION/NXG Passing: Passing is where I first noticed the kick of this stick. It feels lower than the NXG, but higher than the DT1 LT. My saucers fly higher and more consistent with the XCORE 9. Receiving passes is a joy. The puck doesn’t want to hop off of the blade, and the shaft doesn’t flex out. I’m using “flex out” to describe when the shaft flexes in a way that allows the puck to slip under the blade. RATING: XCORE 9/DT1 LT/STALLION/NXGShooting: Snap shots are hard and very accurate. There isn’t any flutter, and the stick loads easily. Wrist shots are natural, accurate, and consistent. Slapshots release higher than my previous sticks, and are heavy and hard. Slap shots are harder with this stick than anything else I’ve had. I haven’t had any one timers yet.SNAP SHOT RATING: DT1 LT/XCORE 9 OR STALLION/NXGWRIST SHOT RATING: ALL EQUALSLAPSHOT RATING: XCORE 9/NXG/STALLION/DT1 LTOverall: I am very impressed. I was nervous that I wouldn’t like the stick at all, and would be stuck using it for the purposes of this review. I LOVE my Covert DT1 LT, and I mean LOVE. I had no intention of replacing it. However, I am at the very least just as smitten with the XCORE 9. It will be the only stick I use going forward, and that is saying something. I hope the slap shot improvement produces more goals, and the stick proves durable. Stay tuned. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mattc555 22 Report post Posted June 15, 2015 Update 6/15: I've now used the XCORE 9 in two games and three pick ups. Total ice times: five. I played four days last week alone. That adds up to a lot of post ice hot dogs and beer. Its ok to be jealous. I have used the XCORE 9 exclusively during this time, and I am enjoying it more and more. It really does feel like the stick flexes the same regardless of where your bottom hand is. This gives me a harder release when I don't have time to load up on a shot/pass. The shaft feels like it is loading more now than my first skate, and my shots seem harder . Durability has been good. The stick has taken hard face offs, deflected shots, loads of slap shots, slashes, and other hockey nonsense. There are a few nicks in the paint, but that's about it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mattc555 22 Report post Posted July 2, 2015 Update 7/2: I've now used the XCORE 9 in a total of 15 ice times. Mostly games, and a few pickups. My last two games I was able to go bar down with slap shots . One from close range on a tough angle, and the other from the far corner of the blue line. The stick is soooo easy to load, and definitely helped in both situations. I don't think my shot would have been as good with any of my other sticks. The stick has not degraded at all and the flex hasn't changed. Just more nicks and scratches. The grip is also holding up well. This is really a fantastic stick. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mattc555 22 Report post Posted August 7, 2015 Update 8/7: I've now used the XCORE 9 in a total of 30 ice times. The majority of these were competitive games playing defense. Slapshots are still great and the flex is holding true. I am starting to see some abrasions on the top of the stick where the shaft transitions into the blade. This might be signs that the blade is starting to fail. I'm not sure yet, and will have to keep an eye on it. I was an attendee at the most recent MSH Summer Jam, and got to use quite a few sticks. They were: Covert QR1 and QR Pro, RBZ Speedburner, STX Surgeon Rx, CCM Ribcore, and True A6.0. Of these sticks, I found the Ribcore and A6.0 to have the most similar flex and kick point to the XCORE 9. The A6.0 has a blade that feels pingy in comparison, while the Ribcore's felt more similar to the XCORE.I left Summer Jam thinking that I wouldn't choose any of the sticks over the XCORE 9. The Ribcore and A6.0 were close seconds though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mattc555 22 Report post Posted August 18, 2015 Update 8/18: I am sad to report that the stick is on its last legs. The abrasion on the top of the stick where the shaft transitions into the blade has worsened and is now a split crack about 2.5 inches long. Shot performance has degraded drastically, and I can no longer load slap shots on the blade. Everything is coming off weak and to the right. I will try and use it until it is in two pieces, but I can't use it in a game setting anymore. I'm super bummed. My sticks normally last 6-10 months, so two months seems very premature to me. The XCORE 9 is the best stick I've used to date, and I can't believe our time is over so soon. True is making a wonderful product, and I hope that my sticks short life span is an anomaly. I will take a few pictures shortly and post them up. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
