"The Truth about Hockey Stick Flex"

[YukonLiving 6]

Interesting. I'd be curious to see how each manufacturer would compare using the same standard. 

[nutters 218]

11 minutes ago, YukonLiving said:

Interesting. I'd be curious to see how each manufacturer would compare using the same standard. 

I don't  know, but I have played Bauer, Warrior, Easton, Sherwood, CCM/Reebok  at 85 flex (or 87 for Bauer) and they all have felt differnt 

[YukonLiving 6]

1 hour ago, nutters said:

I don't  know, but I have played Bauer, Warrior, Easton, Sherwood, CCM/Reebok  at 85 flex (or 87 for Bauer) and they all have felt differnt 

I agree and have very similar experience. And of course the flex point for each stick would need to be the same as well for such a test.  

[puckpilot 312]

1 hour ago, YukonLiving said:

I agree and have very similar experience. And of course the flex point for each stick would need to be the same as well for such a test.  

In the last year or so I've used Ribcor, Graf, Easton, and Warrior low kick sticks and Warrior always feels whippier. In addition I've used RBZ (variable kick, but I think it fits here more), Tacks, Supreme, and Warrior mid-kick and again Warrior feels more whippy. With the mid-kick not as much as the low kick. It makes me wonder if it's a combination of their dagger taper and/or the way they measure flex. 

[YukonLiving 6]

1 minute ago, puckpilot said:

In the last year or so I've used Ribcor, Graf, Easton, and Warrior low kick sticks and Warrior always feels whippier. In addition I've used RBZ (variable kick, but I think it fits here more), Tacks, Supreme, and Warrior mid-kick and again Warrior feels more whippy. With the mid-kick not as much as the low kick. It makes me wonder if it's a combination of their dagger taper and/or the way they measure flex. 

I've had similar experience with Warrior sticks although it's been awhile since I had one of their sticks in my hands. Last ones were a Mac Daddy and Dolomite and they seemed to feel soft to me. Their technology has changed so much since then and I've been curious to try the Covert QRL and the Alpha QX. Lately I've been a very big fan of the Bauer 1N. 

Ultimately, I agree - it's all about how each stick is measured. So without knowing that, product reviews become all that much more important. 

[GoalForFun 176]

20 hours ago, nutters said:

I don't  know, but I have played Bauer, Warrior, Easton, Sherwood, CCM/Reebok  at 85 flex (or 87 for Bauer) and they all have felt differnt 

I swear CCM sticks play stiffer. I have an 80 flex CCM that feels stiffer than my 87 flex APX2.

[JSK81 400]

People are different. Everybody has their own shooting and playing mechanics which sometimes leads to somebody having a completely opposite opinion on how a certain stick feels.

I, for example have - against the usual opinion  - always felt that Warrior covert series sticks play very stiff compared to other sticks in the same flex rating.

I also feel that my 75 flex Ribcor trigger plays softer than my 77 flex Bauer 1X.

[Kgbeast 195]

15 hours ago, GoalForFun said:

I swear CCM sticks play stiffer. I have an 80 flex CCM that feels stiffer than my 87 flex APX2.

CCM for the most part has pretty stiff blade... perhaps, stiffest in mainstream sticks so far. So what you saying makes sense. But it is also true that "beauty is in eyes of the beholder".

[icewalker_bg 126]

15 hours ago, GoalForFun said:

I swear CCM sticks play stiffer. I have an 80 flex CCM that feels stiffer than my 87 flex APX2.

Not sure what CCM Stick you refer to, but CCM definitely plays softer than Bauer (except Nexus, on par id say). 

[puckpilot 312]

I little while ago I saw a video comparing the QRL 1 to the Bauer 1x 2016 model. The reviewer said to him the sticks felt identical. He went as far to say they're the exact same stick. 

That got me curious, and when I saw the 1X on sale recently, I gave it a go. For clarification, I use junior sticks, so I'm not sure if this scales up to intermediate and senior sticks. Any way, generally junior sticks for me are the right height, 52", off the rack, but in the case of Warrior I needed to put in a 2" plug. And with the case of the 1X, it needed a 3" plug to bring it up to 52". 

Now the 1X stick markings indicate that each inch taken off increases the stick's flex by 3.5, so using that as a guide, I thought adding the plug to the 1x would make it around a 40 flex.  Well after taking the 1X out for a four hour spin, I can say, for me, it plays way stiffer than the QRL. I compared it also to a Rbz Superfast and a Ribcore 47k, which are stock 52", and I think they play at least a hair stiffer.