Toe to heel curve

[pardelius 7]

Hello there! (Said in Alec Guinnes-like fashion)

 

Just wondering if someone is/has been in the same boat as I am?

A couple of years ago I got swept away by the toe curve craze, been playing with Warriors W28 pattern since late 2014. I really enjoy the blade but I'm afraid it doesn't complement my playing style. I'm not the kind of player who rockets down the off-wing and rips a wicked snapshot short side. My strengths are digging in the corners, protecting and deflecting the puck, screening the goalie and overall being heavy (6', ~215lbs)...being mostly a center I also take faceoffs.

I just orderd a CCM 49K with Euro P6 blade pattern (Drury) and it should arrive on tuesday...we'll see how it goes.

 

Thoughts and experiences regarding this?

 

ps. I'm not totally unfamiliar with heel curves. Before my toe curve episode I used CCM's P19 and P5 (Lidstrom) as well as the occasional P92

[flip12 699]

A lot of pro Drury users switched to the P28, so you’ll probably find it’s not too bad just going back to what you knew. P28 is actually a heel curve with a toe curve added on for a bonus bumper at the tip. If having that toe component along with the heel curve isn’t for you, a return to the familiar seems simply like a wise choice.

[Cavs019 702]

My advice would be don't get to used to the heel curve unless you want to drive yourself mad trying to find them. 

[pardelius 7]

2 hours ago, Cavs019 said:

My advice would be don't get to used to the heel curve unless you want to drive yourself mad trying to find them. 

Story of my life...seems like everytime I find something I like (in general, not just hockey equipment) it gets discontinued 6 months later. 

[VegasHockey 1256]

I love the P28 and the HCS too. Great curves. I do play wing or center and don't take slapshots hardly ever but I can pick a top corner with ease. 

[GregHenn19 6]

2 hours ago, Cavs019 said:

My advice would be don't get to used to the heel curve unless you want to drive yourself mad trying to find them. 

Never heard truer words. I have to get all my sticks Pro Stock online (Ebay) or the odd sale at a LHS. But i never am able to find P6, Drury, Staal Sticks in Edmonton. thats all i have used for 15 years. getting to be slim pickin's

[kyleo29 58]

I use both heel and toe and always go back to drury or lidstrom curves. They just feel right. If you can’t find any drury style curves at a retail store try base hockey.

[Buzz_LightBeer 961]

Thankfully this topic was "toe to heel curve,"  and not " toe to heel taping" because only Yoopers do that. Don't be a Yooper. 

[pardelius 7]

6 hours ago, Buzz_LightBeer said:

Thankfully this topic was "toe to heel curve,"  and not " toe to heel taping" because only Yoopers do that. Don't be a Yooper. 

Amen brother!

[ParabolicActivity 48]

I tape toe to heel. And lm in the lower peninsula. I don't get why toe curves are so popular. They seem very one dimensional. Where as with a heel or mid curve you can still shoot off the toe but also have other dynamics to the stick. I snipe off the toe with my PM9s and WO1s just fine. 

[flip12 699]

It’s not the curve but the player who uses it that determines its dimensionality.

[StinkyPinky 11]

I switched from P77 (Coffey) to P14/P28 (Toews/Giroux).

I think they're worse for face-offs, backhand passing, and for sure receiving a pass on the backhand.

I also got switched to center from wing and it might not be the best stick for me @ center. That being said I'm not going to switch as I already have a few hundo invested in my current Nexus sticks P14/P28.

[hawkeyfan 36]

On 3/3/2018 at 12:44 AM, Buzz_LightBeer said:

Thankfully this topic was "toe to heel curve,"  and not " toe to heel taping" because only Yoopers do that. Don't be a Yooper. 

Whats wrong with toe to heel taping?  I would say that the better tape job is toe to heel ANd I dont need to worry about finding scissors to finish out the toe AND that my way also extend the life of the tape job out by the toe.

 

I am amazed at what I see people do when taping their sticks...But to each their own

[getthekidthepuck 32]

On 3/2/2018 at 9:14 AM, flip12 said:

A lot of pro Drury users switched to the P28, so you’ll probably find it’s not too bad just going back to what you knew. P28 is actually a heel curve with a toe curve added on for a bonus bumper at the tip. If having that toe component along with the heel curve isn’t for you, a return to the familiar seems simply like a wise choice.

Can you please explain the rational from switching from a drury to P28? I am pretty close to switching to something other than a Drury as they are hard to find now.

[Buzz_LightBeer 961]

3 hours ago, getthekidthepuck said:

Can you please explain the rational from switching from a drury to P28? I am pretty close to switching to something other than a Drury as they are hard to find now.

I found it easy to make the switch because the blades are of similar shape and length.

[Cavs019 702]

Drury pro stocks are still out there in large quantities. Don't give in!

[flip12 699]

5 hours ago, getthekidthepuck said:

Can you please explain the rational from switching from a drury to P28? I am pretty close to switching to something other than a Drury as they are hard to find now.

I'm fairly certain the P28 is a modified Drury. The heel curve is still there, it's just been warped a bit by the "gravity" of the toe curve. The problem with the P28 seems to be the Bermuda Triangle flub point where the toe is shaved aggressively. If you can get used to that, I think you'll be fine with the toe curve portion. There's still enough of the Drury in the P28 that, as @Buzz_LightBeer found, the switch can be gentle to some.

I can't help that much with the specifics of making the Drury to P28 switch because I've never adapted to the open heel curve. I was a Modano and Modano+toe curve user, now seeing if P28 will work well enough.

[GregHenn19 6]

2 hours ago, Cavs019 said:

Drury pro stocks are still out there in large quantities. Don't give in!

Id like to Know where, because i haven't seen em

[flip12 699]

You can also get Drurys from Base.

[start_today 757]

11 hours ago, hawkeyfan said:

Whats wrong with toe to heel taping?  I would say that the better tape job is toe to heel ANd I dont need to worry about finding scissors to finish out the toe AND that my way also extend the life of the tape job out by the toe.

 

I am amazed at what I see people do when taping their sticks...But to each their own

The layering on heel to toe creates a "rifling" type effect that puts more spin on the puck, making it stay flatter on shots and passes. 

[pardelius 7]

I got the stick today, cut it down, taped it up and came just of the ice...now that's what I call a curve. It's just like @flip12 said, the P28 is actually a heel curve (with a toe kink) so this required very little adjusting. I feel like I might have used the heel portion of the P28 the majority of the time because handling the puck felt almost identical. The puck might have rolled of the toe once and saucers need some minor adjustment, but other than that it's tremendous. Crisp snappers, nice handling, oh God the redirections and that backhand thou'.

This just might be *My* curve.