Warrior Covert QREdge - bwhockey17

[JR Boucicaut 3797]

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[bwhockey17 12]

First and foremost, a huge thanks to JR and the amazing team at Warrior Hockey for setting me up to do this LTIR – it is definitely much appreciated, and I hope that I do both Warrior and the MSH Forums good with this review! I actually have been able to use it a few times on the ice already, and have prepared a few notes which I will share in subsequent posts. I'll aim to keep this thread up weekly and if anyone had any questions or concerns, definitely feel free to PM me!

Stick Specs: 
- 85 flex
- W03 pattern (P92 equivalent)
- Grip

Info About Me: 
- 22 years old
- 5’10”
- 140 lbs
- Shoots right
- Forward – Mainly wristers and snappers, main job is being a netfront presence and banging in goals from in tight but I do get involved in the rush a lot and consider passing and snapping shots in the slot a strength of my game. 
- I play about twice a week on average (men's league + stick and puck) and the men's league I'm in is very competitive, so my sticks usually take a lot of abuse. 

Recent sticks used: 
- Sherwood T90 Gen II
- Sherwood T90
- Warrior Dynasty AX1
- Warrior Dynasty
- Easton S19, Easton Mako M3, Easton 75s II

First Impressions: 

For anyone new to the Warrior VIP Program, they definitely take care of the testers! The stick came with a mini "care package" consisting of two rolls of Renfrew Pro tape, and a cool QR Edge baseball cap. 

As far as the stick goes, the first thing I noticed upon taking it out of its packaging was how light it was. I'll edit this post once I get a chance to weigh it, but the Warrior site states that the stick comes in around 407g. It is extremely well balanced, not feeling heavy on either end. The graphics on the stick are phenomenal - I have yet to see a design that is as appealing as the blue/orange/black theme that Warrior has going on with the QR Edge. 

The stick arrived at a length where I didn't need to cut it, though that is likely going to be up to personal preference. 

If you pay attention to a few of those pictures, you may also notice that the taper is a bit different from the traditional "Dagger" taper offered by past Covert lines. This is the new "Edge Taper" which has a very unique shape to it. 

In terms of the blade, it doesn't appear as if the W03 is the "perfect" Backstrom clone, but I do believe that it is similar enough that there shouldn't be huge differences in how it plays. The picture may also be a bit thrown off due to the fact my T90 Gen II is cut down slightly, whereas the QR Edge came ready to play right out of the box. 

Overall, I am very excited to get to use this stick. The balance, graphics, and overall light-weight feel of the stick are absolutely phenomenal and Warrior looks like it has a winner on its hands with the QR Edge. 

 

 

[bwhockey17 12]

On week 4 of the VIP Program and I have a ton of updates for this stick! I'm going to break it down into a few categories to make it a bit more organized and easy to read.

Durability (Cosmetic):

In terms of cosmetics, the Warrior Covert QR Edge passes all the tests (and then some). There is very minimal paint chipping towards the blade, despite the fact I have taken a ton of slashes in that area. Overall, the stick looks pretty much the same as it was out of the box, aside from a few scuff marks, tape marks, and small chips that have occurred in that high-impact area where the blade meets the shaft. 

The one downside is that the blade is chipped on the toe (will provide pictures ASAP). It doesn't appear to be a deep chip (as in, it hasn't penetrated the inner layer) but just to be safe, I have been taping that area over with electric tape/clear tape in addition to the layer of regular stick tape I usually put around the blade before taping the stick. I don't know when this could have happened, as I do not recall anyone stepping on the stick, but it is definitely possible that it took a hard slash in that area, as I do like to grind out plays in front of the net often. This is common with all the sticks I've had - usually it breaks in the blade due to my grindy, hard-impact playstyle, and thus, I am actually very impressed at how well the QR Edge has held up so far. By now, most other sticks would have been showing very significant signs of pain chipping, deep cuts, and skate damage. 

Durability (Performance):

Performance-wise, this stick hasn't missed a beat. 4 weeks in (and roughly 7-8 on ice sessions) and it still feels as crisp as it did when it arrived. That is to be expected, as this is a top end stick, and does come with a pretty significant price tag. I've actually noticed substantial on-ice improvements with my release, shot power, and shot accuracy, and this is coming from someone who's used both mid-kick and low-kick sticks in the past. The numbers back it up as I've put up the majority of my points post receiving the QR Edge. 

Weight, Feel, Stiffness:

Overall when looking at the weight of the stick, I do believe this comes in at around 400-410 grams. Thus, it is a very light stick and is around the same range as other top end sticks. On ice, it has the perfect weight in my opinion - not so light that you don't notice it in your hands, but light enough that your hands feel "faster" and don't fatigue at all when stickhandling. It is also very well balanced in my opinion, and as a true one-piece construction, it does not favour either the blade or the handle end. 

The feel of this stick is also very good. A lot better than the Easton S-series (s17, s19), a lot better than the Easton RS-series (75s II), better than the Mako series (M3), and better than what had become my favourite line in the Sherwood T-line (t90, t90 II). The release is honestly probably the best I've ever felt thus far (that used to be the 75s II), and the puck feel is very good - not too pingy, not too dampened. Feels just right in my opinion, almost like the old days of the two-piece sticks but without the weight. 

The stick has stayed relatively consistent with its 85 flex rating. When I first got it, it felt very stiff for an 85 flex rating, but now it feels a bit more true to that (though still stiffer than the average 85 flex). 

Conclusion (Weeks 1-4):

I am thoroughly impressed with the QR Edge. The durability was something I was very interested to check out, and I do think that Warrior has a winner on its hands here. I usually wouldn't recommend buying a hockey stick at full MSRP, however I can safely recommend that anyone on the fence goes ahead and pre-orders the Cover QR Edge. They won't last long in stores once the general public gets to try them (the stick is THAT good). 

 

Edited August 30, 2018 by bwhockey17

[bwhockey17 12]

Hey guys! Been a while since I've been able to post due to travel, but in between my trips I was able to use this stick quite often. Here's how the past month was (Week 5-now)!

Durability (Cosmetic):

Paint chipping is starting to become quite a bit more noticeable, but overall this stick is holding up extremely well to the test of time. Will edit the post with some pictures. I am worried about the toe chip becoming more of an issue down the road. I tossed some clear tape over it and attempted to heat it on (to create a water-proof seal), but I will definitely be looking to see if I can find some other way to seal that chip off. 

It is definitely important to note that the chip happened quite early in the review and I haven't had any issues yet.. So it might just be a cosmetic chip. Will keep using it and let you guys know!

Durability (Performance):

In terms of performance, this stick still feels as snappy as it did out of the box. Shots are still sizzling off the stick and they go where I want them to. I haven't done much testing on slapshots, but if I get the opportunity to go to stick and puck within the next few weeks I will definitely add to this post with that information. The puck feel is still top notch and I haven't noticed any performance degradation over time with this stick. 

Conclusion (Weeks 5-11):

This stick is still a winner for me. Warrior did an excellent job with this stick and I highly recommend picking it up. I'll probably have 3-4 more updates before I close this review out. I will also be doing a video review, as well as releasing some promotional content that I did not get a chance to release due to travel. Those should be up on Twitter within the next few weeks @brandonwu17. 

Edited August 30, 2018 by bwhockey17

[bwhockey17 12]

Hey guys,

Figured it's been a while (almost a year!) and that would be enough time for me to close out this review. 

First off I want to to extend a sincere thank you to JR and MSH for giving me the opportunity to participate in this! It was an awesome experience and I'm definitely hoping to participate again next time out. Throughout this entire process, the MSH community, JR, and Warrior have been excellent to work with, and I can't put into words how awesome the entire experience was. 

Onto the main part of this - the stick. It's still going strong after 11 months. The paint is chipped in a few areas, but cosmetically, it's definitely held up a lot better than previous sticks I had owned. Performance wise, it still has a ton of whip and pop. Warrior really has an excellent twig on their hands with the QR Edge. I highly recommend picking this up if you have the budget for it, and even better if you can get it on sale. The kickpoint, balance, feel, durability, and sleek exterior have all combined to make this my go-to stick whenever I play. 

Final Overall Grade: 10/10