New Bauer stick lines - how do they play in terms of flex?

[tcraig 42]

I've always been an Easton stick guy, but considering they're basically done I'm curious how the current Bauer lines play in terms of flex rating. The last Bauer sticks I used were the One95 and X:60, both of which I felt played a bit stiffer than their rating compared to other brands like Easton (SE and S17 as reference points) and Warrior (Mac Daddy as a reference point). 

I like 85 flex, and the True A6.0 in 85 feels like those Easton's of old in how easy it loads up, but still kicks nicely. I had One95s in both 87 and 77 - the 87 kicked nicely but felt a bit too stiff when loading the shaft, and the 77 loaded comparably to the 85 flex Easton's but didn't have enough kick - I always felt like the stick lagged behind my hands. And I HATED the X:60, I only had an 87 for that, but it felt like trying to shoot with a piece of rebar. 

Since those lines of sticks were a LONG time ago, how do the new Bauer lines play? Is the Vapor still much stiffer feeling than the Supreme line? And where does the Nexus come into the picture? Preferably compared to the True A6.0 in terms of stiffness vs. rated flex, since that's my main point if reference for new sticks. 

Thanks!

[Jamarquan 201]

Not a Bauer guy, nor rich or large enough to use top end Senior sticks, but my understanding is that Supreme is still stiff high kick, Vapor is softer and low kick, and Nexus is just about in the middle. Hope that helps. 

Also, there's always the CX and GX. If you can, grab a few before they're gone.

[tcraig 42]

7 hours ago, Jamarquan said:

Not a Bauer guy, nor rich or large enough to use top end Senior sticks, but my understanding is that Supreme is still stiff high kick, Vapor is softer and low kick, and Nexus is just about in the middle. Hope that helps. 

Also, there's always the CX and GX. If you can, grab a few before they're gone.

Thanks! Interesting that Supreme is stiffer and Vapor is softer, do you happen to know if that's a change or if the X:60 line was just an "off" year for that? 

[Jamarquan 201]

41 minutes ago, tcraig said:

Thanks! Interesting that Supreme is stiffer and Vapor is softer, do you happen to know if that's a change or if the X:60 line was just an "off" year for that? 

Having only used the NXG, and in Junior at that, I don't really know if the X:60 was 'off' or not. I should have said that Supreme is not necessarily super stiff, as Bauer has tried to make the upper a little bit softer for loading, but more stiff than the other lines. 

[Mattc555 22]

I've found all three Bauer lines to generally play stiffer than say True, Easton, or Sherwood.  My 95 flex Sherwood Rekker EK15 plays softer than my 87 flex Bauer 1N, and similar to my 87 flex Bauer NXG.  I also found the 1X to play stiff, but similar to Warriors Covert QR1.   

[tcraig 42]

19 minutes ago, Mattc555 said:

I've found all three Bauer lines to generally play stiffer than say True, Easton, or Sherwood.  My 95 flex Sherwood Rekker EK15 plays softer than my 87 flex Bauer 1N, and similar to my 87 flex Bauer NXG.  I also found the 1X to play stiff, but similar to Warriors Covert QR1.   

Good to know, thanks. I feel like my ideal with Bauer is probably the 82 flex they offer in pro stock then. Guess I'll keep my eyes out for some stuff to try in that! 

[Davideo 99]

48 minutes ago, Mattc555 said:

I've found all three Bauer lines to generally play stiffer than say True, Easton, or Sherwood.  My 95 flex Sherwood Rekker EK15 plays softer than my 87 flex Bauer 1N, and similar to my 87 flex Bauer NXG.  I also found the 1X to play stiff, but similar to Warriors Covert QR1.   

Agreed. Bauer being generally a bit stiffer than most other brands was the conclusion on a thread about comparative stick flex. It is has also been my personal experience with an older Bauer shaft.

[Cavs019 710]

The Vapor most definitely does not play softer than the other two lines. While all three are generally stiffer than other brands at the same marking, I can get away with an 87 in a Nexus or Supreme, but anything other than a 77 Vapor feels like a piece of rebar as you've described. 

[tcraig 42]

8 minutes ago, Cavs019 said:

The Vapor most definitely does not play softer than the other two lines. I can get away with an 87 in a Nexus or Supreme, but anything other than a 77 Vapor feels like a piece of rebar as you've described. 

Hmm interesting.  When you drop to 77 in the Vapor line do you feel like it still has as much kick when shooting as it "should" based on the force required to load the shaft (i.e. comparable to an 85 flex in other brands)? That was the thing that really bothered me way back when with the 77 flex One95 I had - it loaded properly, but always felt like it lagged behind my hands on the release. 

[Cavs019 710]

Yes. I hate laggy feeling sticks so I tend to stay away from mid kick models. The Vapors kick right above the blade so the shaft doesn't lag at all in between your hands in my experience. Make sense?

[Jamarquan 201]

2 hours ago, Cavs019 said:

The Vapor most definitely does not play softer than the other two lines. While all three are generally stiffer than other brands at the same marking, I can get away with an 87 in a Nexus or Supreme, but anything other than a 77 Vapor feels like a piece of rebar as you've described. 

I was wrong then. My bad.

[tcraig 42]

2 hours ago, Cavs019 said:

Yes. I hate laggy feeling sticks so I tend to stay away from mid kick models. The Vapors kick right above the blade so the shaft doesn't lag at all in between your hands in my experience. Make sense?

Makes perfect sense, thanks! I'd started gravitating to mid-kick sticks since I take a lot of slapshots, but I've been interested in messing with low-kick stuff again. I'll have to try and get some hands-on time with a 77 flex 1x and see how that goes.

Have you used any of the low kick recent Warrior sticks like the QRL or QR1? Curious if they play like I remember (closer to Easton/True) where I'd want to stick with 85 flex even with the low kick point.

[Jamarquan 201]

59 minutes ago, tcraig said:

Makes perfect sense, thanks! I'd started gravitating to mid-kick sticks since I take a lot of slapshots, but I've been interested in messing with low-kick stuff again. I'll have to try and get some hands-on time with a 77 flex 1x and see how that goes.

Have you used any of the low kick recent Warrior sticks like the QRL or QR1? Curious if they play like I remember (closer to Easton/True) where I'd want to stick with 85 flex even with the low kick point.

My understanding is that they play whippier than rated, with a very fast release and plenty of pop on wristers. Unfortunately, the next flex up from 85 on the QRL is 100, so it may not be perfect.

[tcraig 42]

4 minutes ago, Jamarquan said:

My understanding is that they play whippier than rated, with a very fast release and plenty of pop on wristers. Unfortunately, the next flex up from 85 on the QRL is 100, so it may not be perfect.

I remember the S17 played whipper than rated as well, but I liked that a lot in 85 since it didn't feel "laggy" to me.  So if the QR1/L keep that quick release and pop, maybe they'll be a good fit.  Terrible thing coming off of basically an 8-year hockey hiatus is now I need to try allllll the sticks.