2016 1x stick

[bubaloo 6]

Was wondering if anyone has shot this stick? I'm thinking about picking one up on Friday but curious what anyone's thoughts where. I felt the 1x was a step down from the apx2 in terms of pop so curious if the new 1x has gotten some kick back

[Buzz_LightBeer 961]

I thought the 2015 1X was very average in all regards. Tried the 2016 version and was very underwhelmed. Personally I couldn't justify dropping that amount on it after having used it. 

[Jason 65]

To counter Buzz's comments, I think the 2015 version is the best stick ever made. The blades do go a bit soft after a while, but they still shoot rockets. I am looking forward to the 2016 version. I will likely pick up a couple.

[EBondo 232]

I loved the 2015 1X, until it broke, and I'm not one to usually break sticks. I don't think the 2016 feels any different. Might be better off grabbing a few 2015's on closeout. Or take a look at the new QRL.

[bubaloo 6]

Thanks for the feedback. Agreed on the first version of the stick. Really felt it lacked anything special. I'f no change I may pass then. I miss the original apx

[Buzz_LightBeer 961]

Essentially you're buying a $299 stick. 

$199 for the stick,$100 for the brand and logo. Buy as you see fit. 

[DarkStar50 679]

That other brand has a technology you can feel and actually see for the price point.

Just  my 30,000 cents.

[JGraz15 53]

33 minutes ago, DarkStar50 said:

That other brand has a technology you can feel and actually see for the price point.

Just  my 30,000 cents.

 

What specific stick line are you referencing? Just curious

[Buzz_LightBeer 961]

QRL

[DarkStar50 679]

True XCore 9. The urethane insert in the core of the blade is visible on the bottom. I felt that receiving passes was just like the feel of a wood blade 5030 PMP from back in the 80s. The puck would not jump off the blade of the XCore. To feel a puck just stick to the blade on a sharp pass was a pleasant surprise. I am that old that I have used wood sticks for 80% + of my "career".  I could feel a difference with that blade over any other OPS blade I have used. Just my opinion. As for Warrior, I haven't used their sticks in a long time so I cannot reference them in this conversation. Sorry I wasn't brand specific in the first post. Thanks for asking.

[Monty22 821]

Darkstar is dead on with the XCore9.  The feel is unreal , IMO head and shoulders above anything else out there. 

[psulion22 402]

The difference between the '15 and '16 1X is the addition of the cross-laid fibers that are in the 1N and 1S.  They will help load the flex point more easily and should give a little better pop, plus make the stick lighter.  If you could load a '15 1X easily and didn't mind the weight, the '16 version won't be much of an upgrade to you.  You might be able to go up a flex rating to get some more power though.  If you are like me, and can't load a low kick stick well enough, the addition of this tech will be a welcome improvement.

 

The urethane insert in the Xcore9 definitely gives superior feel.  But if you're a player that wants a low-kick or true mid-kick flex, like me, the amped mid-kick profile isn;t going to work.

[bubaloo 6]

Thank you all for the feed back. 

 

Not it feeling it after what most have said. I'll try another stick 

[Cavs019 702]

I'm still using an old batch of original APX sticks...

 

Having tried the APX2 and 1X, you can add me to the pool of case studies indicating why the industry has become a mess at retail. I'd rather spend the extra money for a new coat of paint on my apartment walls, not on my hockey stick.

[bubaloo 6]

The original apx is still one of my fav sticks. I still remember shooting wristers and snaps when I first got it and was blown away. It was down hill on the Vapor line from there. Apx2 seemed like it lost pop and the 1x was really meh. 

 

 

[Jason 65]

I am really surprised by the amount of dislike for the 1X. I realize that this stuff is all personal preference and we all like different weight, balance, flex profile, blade construction, etc., but man... I really think the weight, balance, design and build quality of the 1X are fantastic. I've never shot or handled the puck better with any other stick and I have used a ton of top end sticks from many manufacturers. I am not brand loyal at all. I simply want the best products I can find. I am definitely a low kick guy, which makes the 1X a good fit. From the first touch of the puck and the first shots, I knew I liked the stick better than anything before it, including previous Vapor line sticks and the EK15 and QR1 sticks that I used prior. To each their own, but I do feel that sometimes people just want to hate on the big companies. Bauer is the big dog on campus and they are easy to hate. They just flat out make great products though. As much as I'd like to buy from a smaller manufacturer, sometimes I just can't.

[bubaloo 6]

I hear you on the Bauer hate. But overall bauers stuff is top notch. Of course other companies make great sticks and gear as well. 

I've been using Bauer sticks for 6-7 years and always been happy moving from the 0ne95 through the supremes and the x60 to the apx2 and nexus line when it first came out. Always liked their sticks. 

 

With the 1x it was the first time it just didn't seem to fit for me. I was hoping the new 1x maybe had some changes and I could give it a go again but it's tough when retail sticks are 300$ if u don't like it your stuck. 

 

I I went with another nexus 1n instead for my stick but perhaps will get a chance to shoot the 1x since a team mate has one coming and I'll get to try it. 

[EBondo 232]

21 hours ago, Jason said:

I am really surprised by the amount of dislike for the 1X. I realize that this stuff is all personal preference and we all like different weight, balance, flex profile, blade construction, etc., but man... I really think the weight, balance, design and build quality of the 1X are fantastic. I've never shot or handled the puck better with any other stick and I have used a ton of top end sticks from many manufacturers. I am not brand loyal at all. I simply want the best products I can find. I am definitely a low kick guy, which makes the 1X a good fit. From the first touch of the puck and the first shots, I knew I liked the stick better than anything before it, including previous Vapor line sticks and the EK15 and QR1 sticks that I used prior. To each their own, but I do feel that sometimes people just want to hate on the big companies. Bauer is the big dog on campus and they are easy to hate. They just flat out make great products though. As much as I'd like to buy from a smaller manufacturer, sometimes I just can't.

 

See, in my case, it's not so much a dislike for the new 1X, but rather I don't think there's enough that's different about this year's 1X than last year's to justify a $30 price hike on the senior (by the way, anyone else notice the junior dropped $10?).

[Stryker 37]

It's not worth the extra money, and I'm sure the 2015 1X will be on some kind of discount really soon. Take advantage of the large amounts of inventory and quick turnover combined with clearance prices. 

[JGraz15 53]

On July 15, 2016 at 10:18 PM, EBondo said:

 

See, in my case, it's not so much a dislike for the new 1X, but rather I don't think there's enough that's different about this year's 1X than last year's to justify a $30 price hike on the senior (by the way, anyone else notice the junior dropped $10?).

 

On July 15, 2016 at 10:27 PM, Stryker said:

It's not worth the extra money, and I'm sure the 2015 1X will be on some kind of discount really soon. Take advantage of the large amounts of inventory and quick turnover combined with clearance prices. 

 

I consider myself an informed consumer and I have thought along these lines for a long time...it just seems that the price escalation has forced the average consumer to do the same thing. As mentioned in the TH thread, people have become trained to wait for closeouts. About the only thing I pay full retail anymore is helmets.

 

As others have pointed out...this sounds like a wider sports industry issue that has caused ripple effects at Sports Authority and Dicks in the States.

[kovalchuk71 212]

 

On 7/15/2016 at 10:18 PM, EBondo said:

 

See, in my case, it's not so much a dislike for the new 1X, but rather I don't think there's enough that's different about this year's 1X than last year's to justify a $30 price hike on the senior (by the way, anyone else notice the junior dropped $10?).

Exactly. The fact that we have to clearance our 2015 1X sticks (and lose $$$ on them) now because of essentially a "new paint job" is ridiculous. Cross Laid fibers my butt. It's a terrible move and a middle finger to the consumer. Add new paint, "cross laid fibers" and then add $30 to the MSRP. LOL. Such a joke.

 

Ill stick with the brands that are looking for new tech, and not the ones ripping off someone else's tech.....

[Healthyscratch 11]

28 minutes ago, kovalchuk71 said:

 

Exactly. The fact that we have to clearance our 2015 1X sticks (and lose $$$ on them) now because of essentially a "new paint job" is ridiculous. Cross Laid fibers my butt. It's a terrible move and a middle finger to the consumer. Add new paint, "cross laid fibers" and then add $30 to the MSRP. LOL. Such a joke.

 

Ill stick with the brands that are looking for new tech, and not the ones ripping off someone else's tech.....

 

This. I'm looking out for the brands who are hungry. Those are the guys who are putting their hearts into making a stick.

 

Bauer is basically the Apple inc. of Hockey equipment now. Once a revolutionary, now just rides the popularity wave and let's someone else innovate - copies it - slaps Bauer brand on it and sells it for $100 more.

 

Case and point: For those of you who have young kids... Up until Raven came along, Bauer had zero interest in selling you a youth stick that was adequate for young players. They were cool with selling parents of 5 year olds 50 flex sticks (which became 80 flex after being cut) with the same paint job as the adult sticks. Raven comes along, has success, now Bauer has 20/30/40 flex sticks. I think they even copied the same paint scheme as Raven (green 20, orange 30 etc). 

 

 

Back to the Apple comparison. 

 Apple puts out a new phone every year, sometimes the only noticeable improvement is a couple of mega pixels on a camera and people go crazy over it. 

 

Support the the smaller guys like True. Those guys lose sleep at night on how they can make their product better. 

 

 

 

 

[IW Team - Chase 184]

13 hours ago, Healthyscratch said:

 

This. I'm looking out for the brands who are hungry. Those are the guys who are putting their hearts into making a stick.

 

Bauer is basically the Apple inc. of Hockey equipment now. Once a revolutionary, now just rides the popularity wave and let's someone else innovate - copies it - slaps Bauer brand on it and sells it for $100 more.

 

Case and point: For those of you who have young kids... Up until Raven came along, Bauer had zero interest in selling you a youth stick that was adequate for young players. They were cool with selling parents of 5 year olds 50 flex sticks (which became 80 flex after being cut) with the same paint job as the adult sticks. Raven comes along, has success, now Bauer has 20/30/40 flex sticks. I think they even copied the same paint scheme as Raven (green 20, orange 30 etc). 

 

Back to the Apple comparison. 

 Apple puts out a new phone every year, sometimes the only noticeable improvement is a couple of mega pixels on a camera and people go crazy over it. 

 

Support the the smaller guys like True. Those guys lose sleep at night on how they can make their product better. 

 

I'd like to point out that all three 1st gen 1S, 1N & 1X sticks came with brand new retail flex profiles. Both the 1X & the 1S sticks used all new molding that helped to give them their quickest releasing and the hardest shooting sticks to date. We even saw the Nexus Line use a very popular pro-stock kick point.

 

This may sound like marketing fluff but the difference going from APX2 -> 1X and MX3 -> 1S and even 8000 -> 1N was quite significant. While the 1X's taper is similar to the Dagger Taper, I don't see how Bauer is "slapping their brand" on some else's innovation. New tooling for a completely redesigned stick is extremely expensive so it is understandable why they seem to be getting two generations out of each update. 

 

To the youth stick point, the original Prodigy sticks were available in 30 & 35 flex back in 2013. 

 

To the True point, the SBP sticks are using blade technology based off of the X-Core Line. Not to say these guys aren't trying to push the envelope and take stick technology to the next level, just playing devil's advocate here. 

[psulion22 402]

I'm in agreement with Chase.

 

After I broke my beloved Nexus 1000, I went through almost every true mid-kick stick on the market - Nexus 8000, CCM Tacks and Ultra Tacks, True 5.2, Warrior AX1LT, and even QR1.  None of them performed overall as well as that Nexus 1000.  The True was the closest, but it didn't have the same kick, and lost it's pop after a short time.  When the 1N came out, it easily exceeded every other stick I had been using.  Maybe it was marketing hype, but it kicked harder and was easier to load than any of the others, even the 8000 before it, because of the cross-laid fibers.  Sadly, I ended up breaking it after months of use.  I went back to the True while I was waiting for the replacement to come.  It was awful, I switched to the Ultra tacks by the end of the game.  It wasn't much better.  I was so frustrated that I used an old Nexus 1000 in a different pattern I had lying around instead of the others.  Even it wasn't as good of a stick as the 1N.  The addition of the cross-laid fibers and tweak in flex profile was a tremendous improvement.  To further that, I went down to the gear expo at my rink to test out a P28.  Talking to the Bauer rep, he explained why the fibers make the difference in ease of loading and energy transfer.  I told them what I was there for and how I played, and he watched me shoot some shots.  He suggested I use a Vapor stick because it would best suit my playing style.  But when I told him I couldn't load a low kick stick at all, he told me about the new 1X coming out that would have the new fiber alignment and would be better for me.  He also suggested that because of the fibers, I may be able to go up in flex from 77 to 87 on the 1N which would give me better pop and velocity on my shots, but I'd still be able to load it.  So I decided to wait for the new 1X, and in the meantime I found a 1N p28 87 flex on eBay really cheap that I took a chance on.  He was exactly right.  The 87 loads just as easily as the 77 in anything else (helped by the P28 curve), and my shots are harder and release faster because of the higher flex.  So you can say it's all marketing BS, but I have first-hand experience that says otherwise.  The 1N performs better than any of the directly comparable sticks I tried, and that is a result of the new fiber alignment.

 

While I was waiting for my skates to be cut last night, I was checking out the new 1X.  No shots on the ice, but just handling and flexing it in store it flexed easier and was lighter than the pervious version.  And that's a direct comparison bewteen the identical sticks, I had them both at the same time - old and new.  Sure, we all know that leaning on it a little in the store is not nearly indicative of real performance.  But I'm confident that the new one will load easier than the old on the ice as well, because of the cross-laid fibers.  That's a pretty big change to me.  My 1N is fine, so I'm not going to run out and spend $300 just for funsies.  But when I need a new one, I have another option to choose from, and the only low-kick stick to boot.  

[DarkStar50 679]

Which brings us back to the question : $300 ???????

 

"Hey Ma, I just broke my $300 stick."