'Elevate' hockey sticks that are (purposefully) bent

[g3k 29]

https://www.kare11.com/video/sports/minnesota-company-reinventing-the-hockey-stick/89-8134706

 

Not sure what I think about these, kinda doubt they could gain real popularity, but there website has no detail on what the bends do.

[puckpilot 312]

Interesting. The Curtis curve for goalie sticks, the offset stick blade, the S blade curve. Will this join them on the list of nice-tries or is it truly a revolution?  

[the iceman 132]

I know looks can be deceiving, but it doesn't look very durable.

[chippa13 1844]

My doubt comes from the fact that everyone prefers a different stick length and I'm thinking certain lengths would be more optimal than others based on the curved design. It is a new idea and who knows but I don't think it will catch on.

[yrhmblnr8r 69]

Didn’t Louisville(?) make wood blade with a similar bend in the hosel years ago?

edit: it was hespeler. 

http://www.schoolyardpuck.com/2010/07/tblfan-ub-offset-blade-review.html

[ParabolicActivity 48]

I don't think STX has even gotten any pro player to use their new shaft design yet. Every Surgeon I've seen a pro using lacks the added area. So I can't imagine this stick will ever even get a glance by serious players.

[Coldclay 53]

The idea and shape of the stick is crazy... Probably tough to catch on just on looks alone. With that being said, I'd LOVE to test one out.

[Buzz_LightBeer 969]

I’m curious to see where the blade is relative to a normal stick. 

 

That being said, my gut tells me just the amount of time it would take to acclimate to the bend would far outweigh any benefits. 

[salibandy 21]

We've had these sticks in floorball before some 8 years ago, with single curve sticks and then the double (S) curved sticks like these Elevate ones. They were very popular for a while with the pros, but after awhile, everyone went back to straight sticks, so much so that curved sticks do not really exist in floorball anymore.

[ViperRy 8]

You're supposed to have you're hands out in front and when striking the ice before the puck on say a snap shot, your top hand should be in front of your bottom to create some load/flex. I believe what the elevate stick is essentially doing is this. It creates the load on the stick easier with the bend in the shaft.

[Larry54 243]

Does the advantage gained on the forehand come with a disadvantage on the backhand?

[KennyWu 24]

I would like to try it.

[Cosmic 178]

I am interested to try too. I wonder if it is more comfortable to hold due to ergonomics. 

[60PlusWinger 82]

This is stupid. Period.

[BruinDust 42]

I'd love to see him go on a show like Shark Tank or Dragon's Den. The upfront investment cost he must of already sunk into this idea has to be extremely significant now on his 3rd prototype.

Got to give him credit for his ambition. It takes a lot of guts to do what he's doing, because he's up against some massive challenges. Not only just acceptance of his product by the overall hockey community, but just getting into the major retailers to get his product in front of potential customers. He's going to be fighting an uphill battle if he goes the online distribution only model, how many people will purchase one of these sticks without actually holding one first?

His best bet would likely to patent the technology (which I would assume he has or is going to soon) and sell it to a major brand like Bauer or CCM. My guess is if he tries to go at it himself, he'll end up losing his shirt.

[Novotnoa 8]

I don’t think shows like shark tank would help. The products on those shows are geared toward everyone, not just a niche of hockey players that are looking for something new and exciting in sticks. They wouldn’t understand what makes the product more useful/better (and who knows if it even is).

I think selling it to a brand is a good idea but I don’t think Bauer/CCM/Warrior would just flat out well a stick like this. It would end up like the OD1N project and have features trickle down through the years.

[BlueNux 17]

I feel like the market for hockey sticks left over for niche players is much much smaller than most would imagine. Ice hockey just isn’t popular enough to support new players. The existing big brands already struggle to keep pace. Retailers like discount hockey just went out of business and even big brands like Easton had to leave.

I never want to count out entrepreneurs, but this seems like a pipe dream. I hope he was frugal with his own money when starting.

If it were up to me, I think he would have done better without such a strange feature. Instead of the bent stick, he should have just gotten artists to create the most standout, flashy limited edition graphics on generic mid to high end tier sticks. Slash the prices and sell them direct online. Let people know that the curves and features are pretty much the same as sticks from the industry leaders so customers can buy online with confidence, knowing the performance is the same as their usual stuff.

It’s a much simpler business plan and if the designs are truly great and catch eyeballs, there are enough players who obsess over looks to pick one up for casual pond hockey or pickup games. It’s much easier to market. 

[stick9 890]

I sort of like it, not the stick itself. I like that someone out there is trying something different. Too many smaller players try to enter the market touting lower prices, better duribility, funky colors and yet it’s just the same old hockey stick.

Props to them for trying something different even if it isn’t entirely new or unique. 

[JunkyardAthletic 505]

On 9/1/2018 at 5:27 PM, 60PlusWinger said:

This is stupid. Period.

It's this mentality that will keep the stick from selling unless someone goes and scores 50 this coming NHL season and directly attributes it to the stick.  Then what?  

[Davideo 99]

On 9/2/2018 at 9:45 AM, Novotnoa said:

I don’t think shows like shark tank would help. The products on those shows are geared toward everyone, not just a niche of hockey players that are looking for something new and exciting in sticks. They wouldn’t understand what makes the product more useful/better (and who knows if it even is).

I think selling it to a brand is a good idea but I don’t think Bauer/CCM/Warrior would just flat out well a stick like this. It would end up like the OD1N project and have features trickle down through the years.

Dragon's Den is Shark Tank is Canada. Colt hockey sticks made a deal in Dragon's Den. Hockey players are not a small niche in most of Canada like in most of the US.

That being said, Colt Hockey had a simple to understand proposition: sticks break, this still will be harder to break. You are correct that it is difficult to understand why it is better and if it is.

[VegasHockey 1280]

On 9/3/2018 at 6:29 AM, stick9 said:

I sort of like it, not the stick itself. I like that someone out there is trying something different. Too many smaller players try to enter the market touting lower prices, better duribility, funky colors and yet it’s just the same old hockey stick.

Props to them for trying something different even if it isn’t entirely new or unique. 

They are pretty nice but they need to work on how they fuse the stick/blade. Also, the blade itself is terrible and needs some work. It feels dead.