TRUE A6.0 SBP HT (2018) - sparky1

[JR Boucicaut 3797]

Open

[sparky1 29]

Long term review of the new TRUE A6.0 HT

 

Disclosure & About me:

First off, I just wanted to give big thank you to JR & TRUE for this opportunity to review their newly released stick. I sincerely hope that my words can do it justice, and if that just does not cut it, hopefully you will be able to gain some of the experience from my highlight videos of myself using it.

 

A little about me. I am 28 years old, 6’3”, 195lbs & currently playing 2 times per week in a church league that ranges anywhere from just started skating to ex- HS/College/Jr. players. If I had to honestly rate myself, I would say that I am C league level, and definitely not the best player out there, but I do my best to stay positive no matter what, be vocal on the ice & always communicate with my team mates. I Primarily play defense where I am hard on the puck and always try to get my stick in the way of oncoming shots to (most of the time) save my goalie from having to make a save & deflect the puck safely into a corner or into the netting. I also enjoy playing in goal as well and have recently picked up the position and have become a reliable backup incase our goalie cannot make it to the game.

 

My previous stick experiences in order starting with the most recent:

Sherwood EK365 – A very close competitor to this stick & likely the closest comparison

Sherwood BPM 150

TRUE A4.5 SBP

Warrior HD Pro

Warrior HD1

Sherwood EK60

And quite a few middle level sticks before this ranging from the ABHS to some used top-end sticks from previous years to start myself off with the sport.

 

The Stick, First impressions & My preferences:

So, to start off, JR & TRUE were able to get me setup with a TRUE A6.0 HT stick. 85 flex, MC2 curve in a right handed curve. I added a blue buttendz grip & a 2” extension to it.

 

My typical stick setup on my last 2-3 stick have been a 95 flex, E28/TC4 curve & an extra 2” Added on due to my height and the position that I play.

 

My first impressions of the stick lead me right to the subtle graphics design & exposed carbon fiber of the stick. I am not a very flashy person or player in general, so I really appreciate TRUE keeping this stick subtle but sharp.

 

Overall, the stick felt light, and the flex felt a bit higher than 85 flex, maybe 90 or so without the 2” extension. One thing I did notice and like is that in the process of flexing the stick, there was little to no shaft rotation leading to a very consistent feel to loading the stick. The biggest issue that I’ve had with lower flex sticks in the past is when I go to load it up on the ice and it feels like a wet noodle twisting all around in my hands. I did not get that feel from this stick in the slightest.

 

Touching on the weight, it did not feel like the “lightest” stick I’ve ever felt, but that is not at all a bad thing. There is such a thing as a stick that is too “light” and this stick hits the perfect balance or light, but sturdy feeling.

 

The First shift & first game impression

On my first shift out with the stick, I ended up getting to the rink late. Because of that, I didn’t get any warmup time to get a feel for the stick, so I knew I was going to be in for a rough game. I ended up getting a pass from someone on my first shift and had it slip right under the blade of my stick (such a rookie mistake)

 

After that initial slip up, I was able to tweak my game and adjust to the feel of the stick to start receiving passes properly. This is where I came to really love the stick.

 

With it being a lower flex, my shots came off harder as a result. The stick was super easy to load up on shots & pucks flew off my stick without effort.

 

The blade of the stick was quite responsive as well, I could really feel the puck on the blade when I was stick handling. I would expect nothing less from TRUE’s 2^nd gen BRT blade that I came to know and love with my TRUE A4.5 SBP.

 

After my first game, I can say that I was pretty much adjusted to the feel of the new curve & flex.

 

The Second & Third game

Here’s a highlight video I made from my 2^nd time out with the stick:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UYwfr_Pa9U

After the initial adjustment to the new flex & curve, I was able to really put the stick through its paces.

 

I found that my passes were a lot harder & flatter because I didn’t have to worry about catching it with the toe of my blade on my follow through. This helped me get some nice passes off to my team mates on breakouts.

 

I also found that with my shots coming off quicker because of the lower flex, I was able to catch goalies off guard with an even quicker release than what I was used to getting on my EK365.

 

My team mates also thought I was crazy by blocking/deflecting some shots with the stick, but what kind of review would it be if I were to spare it from all the normal abuse I would put my stick through? I ended up deflecting a few off the heel of my stick with little to no damage to the stick. Only some light scuffing from what I can tell.

 

Overall, I absolutely love this stick, and will continue to post my thoughts on it as it ages. I know that my A4.5 SBP that I originally had lasted ~20 skates before breaking, but TRUE was kind enough to replace it under warranty. Its replacement lasted me through a whole year of games before it finally snapped on me after blocking one too many shots. I am hoping that TRUE’s new reinforcements in the stick will further prolong the life of the stick making it an even better value for the money.

 

edit: 3rd game video

https://youtu.be/56VXJi6aRk0

 

Pictures

After the 2nd game - A little bit of damage to the toe

'

Tl;dr:
Check out my video from my 2^nd game  out(3^rd coming soon) 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UYwfr_Pa9U

 

3rd game out https://youtu.be/56VXJi6aRk0

Overall, the stick has a fantastic feel to it, very crisp & responsive blade

Easy to flex & load up for a quick and powerful shot

Very subtle but sharp graphics package. Great for someone not looking to stick out from the crowd

If there is any aspect of this stick that you would like me to go over specifically, or in more detail, please be sure to let me know! I am always open to constructive criticism & new ideas. Writing is not my forte, but I know what I like about my equipment and stick with what fits my play style.

 

[sparky1 29]

Game 4 - Today: 

 

 

So, Today went pretty great, other than me taking a hard shot off the stick. The stick now feels like a bit of a sloppy wet noodle. No difference in stick handling feel, but shots I can definitely tell a difference where it takes much less effort to load up, so my shots come off funny after the ~1 minute mark of my video.

 

I took a shot off the stick from up close that seemed to dislodge some of the resin inside of the stick. I took the plug out and quite a few pieces came out. Pictures of that below.

 

So far though, other than having to re-adjust to the additional "whippyness", it held up for the rest of the game after I expected one good wrist shot to do it in. It did feel a bit off balance when I used it afterwards, but I have since pulled the plug on the end to get the pieces out and it feels back to normal as far as the balance goes.

 

We will see what happens either this Wednesday or upcoming Saturday with how it holds up!

[sparky1 29]

Back on the ice today with the stick, everything surprisingly felt great.

 

It's crazy what a few grams of loose resin/material moving around in the stick will do to the balance and feel of the stick.

 

Overall, the stick feels solid still at this point, it is a lot whippier than it used to be when I first received it. There was only 1 time today that a puck slid under the blade of my stick when I went to receive a pass, so that was pretty good.

 

However, I definitely have to be more deliberate about catching passes, because if I use my old lazy way of letting the stick flex do the work for me, it'll just either bounce off, or slide under the blade of my stick.

 

shots came off nicely though, with it being whippier, it was much easier to load up and let off a quick shot.

 

 

 

[sparky1 29]

Sorry for no updates in a while, been on vacation and trying out another stick that I found recently at my local Pure Hockey till the warranty is up on that.

 

I was able to use the stick 2-3 more times since the last post and things haven't changed much. The extra flex is a bit frustrating at times, other times welcome.

 

It is still in one piece though, I'll be going back to using it in another week or two to see how much more life I get out of it.

 

highlights from my last week's game with the BPM 120 that i'm using now so you have something new to watch instead of my old videos, haha

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Vuy3BmQeJE

 

[sparky1 29]

So, i'm playing goal till this next Wednesday. My goal is to go back to using the TRUE stick the following week! More videos/thoughts to come.

 

For now, here's me attempting to play goalie.