Jump to content
Slate Blackcurrant Watermelon Strawberry Orange Banana Apple Emerald Chocolate Marble
Slate Blackcurrant Watermelon Strawberry Orange Banana Apple Emerald Chocolate Marble
Sign in to follow this  
Paddy

Does stick flex affect blade flex?

Recommended Posts

Playing a game tonight, I intercepted a strong pass on my forehand and i swear it seemed as though the blade just twisted out of the way. I'm very used to watching the puck bounce over my blade due to bad technique when accepting a pass; this seemed different.

 

I'm using a very low flex senior stick. The old Sherwood T90. I liked it so much at stick and puck that i bought 2 more backups (discontinued, on clearance for less than $30!). As far as wrist shots and general feel it's been great for me. I was not originally a fan of the smaller diameter shaft but no longer notice it.

I'm just curious if what i experienced is a side effect of running a low flex, or just in my head. Seemed like the shaft was able to twist above the blade, but i don't see how it could shoot effectively if that was able to happen.

Thanks in advance for the education.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Common problem. Could be too much flex and/or the blade is too soft/broken down. 

From my experience, retail sticks (especially low end models) break down faster. The blade isn't necessarily broken, but the structure has broken down (lost its rigidity). Some people prefer a softer blade, for a better feel for the puck, but it comes at a cost of the blade over rotating. You'll probably feel this the most when taking slap shots or one timers. The blade will feel like it opens too soon or too much and the puck will just flutter off the blade. Here's a visible example of a blade (lower end model stick) that I had broke down after a mere 5 uses (you can see where the blade is flexing via the crease/crack lines): 

Image 1 Image 2

The shaft flex also plays a role in this as well. If the shaft flexes too much when receiving a pass, eventually the blade will close too much and come off the ice. Ideally, you shouldn't be using a stiffness that you can flex more than 1 to 2 inches. Beyond that, the flex diminishes the overall results. Here's a great video that demonstrates this effect with different types of objects when shooting (the reverse of this video's demonstration can be applied to accepting passes):

Some retail and pro stock sticks have the option of a stiffer blade. The cost is that it'll be heavier, you'll lose puck feel, and it'll require more torque to shoot. 

For reference, I use about 105-107 flex sticks (85/87 flex cut down). If I use a 75/77 flex cut down to a 95/97 flex, I can feel the shaft and blade flex when taking passes. It becomes incredibly annoying, because the stick will act like a spring and shoot the puck back out if you don't catch it with extremely soft hands.  

Edited by mc88
  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

From my experience, blade flex and shaft flex are completely independent. Each stick brand, line, and price point has specific characteristics that make the blade stiffer or softer. I use junior sticks, almost all rated at 50 flex. For example CCM Supertacks 2.0 has a super stiff blade and hosel. Zero give on hard passes. Compared to my Alpha QX, when catching a hard pass, I can feel the stick flex.

It's the same when I shoot. With something like my RBZ superfast, when I take a slapper, there's zero give, but if take a slapper with say with a QRL, I can feel the blade open up.

Now those are the top end sticks from different lines. With something like say a QRL3 vs a QRL, because of materials and construction, the QRL 3 feels even softer in the blade than the QRL.. 

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Try to flex/twist the blade with your hands. If you can and it makes a crinkling noise, the blade has badly broken down. I've found the biggest impact is like mc88 stated, slapshots and hard snapshots are weak and go off to the right (for me as righty).

The blade could certainly be losing stiffness before you can hear that it is broken down, but if you can hear it crinkling, it's definitely time for a replacement.

Edited by Davideo

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

On the last Easton synergy offerings, HTX and GX, the blades stiffness was based on the flex rating on the stick. So, a 95 flex stick had a stiffer blade than a 75. To my knowledge, they were the only company to specifically tailor blade stiffness to shaft stiffness. Other companies have the same blade on their 75 as their 105. 

It was an interesting concept, and you could probably make arguments for benefits and drawbacks both ways. I only used a 75 flex HTX and felt like I wanted a stiffer blade. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Sign in to follow this  

×
×
  • Create New...