Choosing a intermediate or senior stick

[kc571 0]

Hi. My son weighs about 175 and needs a new stick for travel. His last stick was a Bauer x60 Intermediate. The flex is 67 for that stick. The length on it is good. For his new stick I was thinking of getting him a Nexxus 6000. Seems like a solid upgrade that suits his style of slap and wrist shots along with a little stick handling. As I've read, the rule of thumb for flex is to divide your weight in half. That said he'd be a 85. I know I could cut the stick to get that rating, but the length is good. And if I get a sr stick I'd have to cut it and make it too stiff. So, will the 67 be too whippy and inaccurate? Thx in advance.

[jonesy9020 77]

Was it the old top of the line X60? Or the newer mid-line one? If it was the older one, he might be disappointed in the performance of a 6000. The half weight thing to get flex is a starting point that is mostly garbage. I know small guys that shoot well with a 100 and big guys who shoot well with a 75.

How tall is he? Is the length of the intermediate good or the length of the senior you plan to by? A Senior is going to be taller than his current stick. As a starting point, I'd look at a senior 75, because you're going to have to cut off a few inches to get it the same height as an intermediate, which would bring the flex to around an 82 or so. That seems like a good number without knowing how tall/strong your kid is. I'd also ask him whether he thinks his current stick is too whippy. If he says no, maybe just stick with the intermediate.

[lassek20 1]

keep in mind the nexus will play stiffer than the x60 due to its kick point

[Mimizk 114]

Flex is just sense. I think the best way is equip many kinds of stick flexes and make situation your son can choose what he like. Popular theory is not always suitable...

[rawkstar 45]

I'm 5'10" 180, I've always used senior sticks and cut them down, but recently started getting int sticks because the length is just right and I like them playing whippy, the senior sticks kind of feel dead by comparison.

Like people said its all personal preference, lots of nhlers use super whippy sticks, but that doesn't really mean anything, they have like 30 seconds on the ice and get to hold the puck for like half a second before it has to fly to the net.

I think it helps having a stick that flexes more so you can learn and get used to the mechanics of flexing the shaft and really make that second nature, instead of fighting against a stiff shaft.

I've used the old x60 and it was ok, I also have a nexus 4000 and it's a very nice stick, nothing mind blowing but it has a very nice feel to it. I'm sure 6000 will be a very nice stick.

[kc571 0]

Was it the old top of the line X60? Or the newer mid-line one? If it was the older one, he might be disappointed in the performance of a 6000. The half weight thing to get flex is a starting point that is mostly garbage. I know small guys that shoot well with a 100 and big guys who shoot well with a 75.

How tall is he? Is the length of the intermediate good or the length of the senior you plan to by? A Senior is going to be taller than his current stick. As a starting point, I'd look at a senior 75, because you're going to have to cut off a few inches to get it the same height as an intermediate, which would bring the flex to around an 82 or so. That seems like a good number without knowing how tall/strong your kid is. I'd also ask him whether he thinks his current stick is too whippy. If he says no, maybe just stick with the intermediate.

He's about 5-6. His intermediate stick fits him length wise.

[rawkstar 45]

Yeah at 5'6" you'd have to cut the senior stick so far down it would be borderline unusable. There's this page I found was pretty interesting http://cuthockeysticks.com/ and I know its all personal preference, but that sure is a compelling argument where a lot of pretty good players from different countries playing different positions in different eras all cut their sticks to about the same length. I tried it out, cut it to about chin length without skates on and it feels a ton better. At 5'10" thats a 55" stick (which is the standard int length), at 5'6" you'd be cutting it down to 51" which would result in an intermediate stick of 80 flex. A senior stick is 60" long, so you'd have to lob off at least 5" just to get it to standard int length and you get to just below 100 flex, and if you cut more you basically end up with a stick thats like 120+ flex. Obviously you don't have to cut it that short, I'm just going off of how I cut my sticks and the cuthockeysticks site. Here's a chart:

[JAG 20]

If only there was a way for people to try out multiple sticks with different flex's and blade patterns before they bought a stick...

I wonder if a service like this would be well received by the hockey community.

[lassek20 1]

agreed. I have always wondered why shops at rinks don't do this. they would sell a bunch of sticks this way. almost any golf course pro shop offers this with drivers or even full sets that you can rent or demo before buying.

[jonesy9020 77]

Because shops at rinks have enough kids coming through and messing with their stuff to not buy anything as it stands. To have a shooting cage or the option to try out sticks would be a nightmare. And because most rink shops sell sticks at too low volumes to start with because of the discounts and inventory of the big box guys. Golf clubs are a little different because they don't whip out as much or go soft in the blade over time.

At 5'6" I'd stick with intermediate for now, or at the most go up to a 75 flex senior. One option might be to bump up to a 70/75 flex intermediate that some brands offer.

[Davetronz 109]

Because shops at rinks have enough kids coming through and messing with their stuff to not buy anything as it stands. To have a shooting cage or the option to try out sticks would be a nightmare. And because most rink shops sell sticks at too low volumes to start with because of the discounts and inventory of the big box guys.

This for sure. Well said.

I'd love to offer this service as well, but it would be a logistical nightmare.

I know one place that does it locally in a rink, but they're custom sticks by appointment only.

[jonesy9020 77]

To qualify what I said: as a free service, I'll stand by everything I said above. However, conceptually I think something like this could work on a fee-based model.

[Larry54 243]

This for sure. Well said.

I'd love to offer this service as well, but it would be a logistical nightmare.

I know one place that does it locally in a rink, but they're custom sticks by appointment only.

I don't know if you're referring to BASE Hockey, but they have around 15 locations across Canada and the USA that do just that. I guess the fee would depend on whether you just want to try different curves and flexes, or if you also want the hi-speed camera super slo-mo video analysis. You'd have to contact a BASE rep for details.

[Mimizk 114]

Anyway I'm 5'6 too. And now I'm using 65flex then also planning to go down 50~55flex. Cut at my chin.

But we should think about some kinds of another reasons without its ability for example price or availability. So I had played with normally 75 or 85flex 2piece shaft sticks while I was student. Cut it at my nose or eye to flex it by long.

Now I've been working. I have my income. I know about my body and shooting skills after much year practice. So I'm able to use such low flex stick by 1piece but I couldn't use similar low flex 2piece stick when I tried. It was about 10years ago so I don't know whether it has already been better.

[CB1 8]

At 5'6" I'd stick with intermediate for now, or at the most go up to a 75 flex senior. One option might be to bump up to a 70/75 flex intermediate that some brands offer.

Great advice! My son is 5'7 (13 yrs old) and is in a similar situation. He is currently using a 65 flex intermediate stick, and he is swaping back and forth between that and a 75 flex senior to see what works best before the season starts. He likes a longer stick so the senior stick is not cut down that much. Some sticks have a cut free zone, so that may help if he gets a Sr 75 flex.

I think the most important thing is that they learn to have good mechanics, so I'd rather error on the lower flex side of things if needed.

[jonesy9020 77]

Great advice! My son is 5'7 (13 yrs old) and is in a similar situation. He is currently using a 65 flex intermediate stick, and he is swaping back and forth between that and a 75 flex senior to see what works best before the season starts. He likes a longer stick so the senior stick is not cut down that much. Some sticks have a cut free zone, so that may help if he gets a Sr 75 flex.

I think the most important thing is that they learn to have good mechanics, so I'd rather error on the lower flex side of things if needed.

That, and if you go up to a senior 75, you're cutting it down so much that it's an 85-90, which could work for some stronger shorter guys, but you wouldn't want to go higher than that. Some brands 75 flexes are also shorter than their 85/100 flex counterparts as well.

[automaticman 0]

Graf makes some SR sticks that start at 65 flex so that they can be cut down to size and still end up at a nice 75-85 flex.