The new STX Surgeon RX3 gear is out.

[ParabolicActivity 48]

STX is a very established lacrosse brand. They have a reputation in the industry. Base is cool but their brand is not similar to STX. I do love their site though.

[STXHockey 7]

20 hours ago, alien7364 said:

Well that stinks. Missed opportunity by STX.

We loved our experience with Chase and had a great time walking through our products with him.  Due to our new business model, we hope that you can make your own opinion and determination on sticks buy testing it out during our 14 day Risk-Free Trial.  If you are curious about our sticks and do not want to put all your trust in product reviews or videos you can purchase an elite level STX stick and demo it during our Risk Free Trial period.  If the sticks are not what you expected or want to use a different curve/flex you can activate a return and we will give you your money back or exchange the stick for your new curve or flex.    Product videos are great but why not try the stick out for yourself.  We hope this new business direction becomes the new norm in the hockey industry.

[ParabolicActivity 48]

It may be worth bringing up doing the build your own stick thing a lot of direct sales smaller companies offer. If you were selling a truely top tier customizable stick for under $200 I have a feeling I would be seeing them all over. 

 

A Surgeon with a P38 like blade and a lie 4.5. Sick!!!! Call up your boys, let's do this.

Edited August 18, 2018 by ParabolicActivity

[OzziesDad 89]

2 hours ago, ParabolicActivity said:

It may be worth bringing up doing the build your own stick thing a lot of direct sales smaller companies offer. If you were selling a truely top tier customizable stick for under $200 I have a feeling I would be seeing them all over. 

 

A Surgeon with a P38 like blade and a lie 4.5. Sick!!!! Call up your boys, let's do this.

I don't think you would be seeing them all over. If that were the case, far more people would be using Base 2 and 1 piece sticks.  I'm in a huge hockey market, and people always ask me what my "Base" stick is. 

The fact of the matter is, almost all hockey players out there are fine with the retail curves out there (even though it totally sucks the options are dwindling). We are niche group here, and an extremely small (but awesome) part of the hockey playing community.  Most players don't break down all the minutia of a stick. Its "give me my P88 in 85 flex, and I'm good to go". We are a different breed.

STX is seemingly taking the right steps to do what they feel is the right thing to maximize profit and market properly. 

Base is basically the only viable retailer doing this. While I like their products (I own numerous shafts and blades), there are downsides. The fit and finish of the final product leaves something to be desired at times, as does the turnaround time. I still support them, and love what they provide. I'm just being honest about a couple small annoyances. 

Looking forward to my RX3 too. It arrives Monday. 

 

 

[ParabolicActivity 48]

9 minutes ago, OzziesDad said:

I don't think you would be seeing them all over. If that were the case, far more people would be using Base 2 and 1 piece sticks.  I'm in a huge hockey market, and people always ask me what my "Base" stick is. 

The fact of the matter is, almost all hockey players out there are fine with the retail curves out there (even though it totally sucks the options are dwindling). We are niche group here, and an extremely small (but awesome) part of the hockey playing community.  Most players don't break down all the minutia of a stick. Its "give me my P88 in 85 flex, and I'm good to go". We are a different breed.

STX is seemingly taking the right steps to do what they feel is the right thing to maximize profit and market properly. 

Base is basically the only viable retailer doing this. While I like their products (I own numerous shafts and blades), there are downsides. The fit and finish of the final product leaves something to be desired at times, as does the turnaround time. I still support them, and love what they provide. I'm just being honest about a couple small annoyances. 

Looking forward to my RX3 too. It arrives Monday. 

 

 

Base and STX aren't comparable. I was halfway through a thread here about "Base Hockey sticks" before I realized the discussion was about a brand and not low end models. STX on the other hand is a strongly established brand known for quality. Anyone who has ever walked into a sports store has seen STX gear. They literally took lacrosse from being an ultra niche sport to having more registered lacrosse players than hockey players in the USA. I know that and I've never played 1 minute of lacrosse. Base is cool but STX is huge.

[OzziesDad 89]

2 hours ago, ParabolicActivity said:

Base and STX aren't comparable. I was halfway through a thread here about "Base Hockey sticks" before I realized the discussion was about a brand and not low end models. STX on the other hand is a strongly established brand known for quality. Anyone who has ever walked into a sports store has seen STX gear. They literally took lacrosse from being an ultra niche sport to having more registered lacrosse players than hockey players in the USA. I know that and I've never played 1 minute of lacrosse. Base is cool but STX is huge.

Lacrosse isn't hockey.  You can't bank on brand recognition in one niche sport carrying over to another niche sport. 

I get that there is definitely some crossover between players who do both though.

I'm 40 years old and had never heard of STX anything until they came into the hockey market and I did some research on the brand. I guarantee there are many just like me (as well as many that aren't) that had no clue who they were.

Edited August 18, 2018 by OzziesDad

[stick9 891]

1 hour ago, ParabolicActivity said:

Base is cool but STX is huge.

Define huge?

[Davideo 99]

1 hour ago, ParabolicActivity said:

Base and STX aren't comparable. I was halfway through a thread here about "Base Hockey sticks" before I realized the discussion was about a brand and not low end models. STX on the other hand is a strongly established brand known for quality. Anyone who has ever walked into a sports store has seen STX gear. They literally took lacrosse from being an ultra niche sport to having more registered lacrosse players than hockey players in the USA. I know that and I've never played 1 minute of lacrosse. Base is cool but STX is huge.

I think you are giving STX more than bit too much credit. They did not "literally" take lacrosse from "ultra niche" to more popular that hockey. How about: STX is a large, long-established, and well respected brand in the lacrosse industry, which has more players than hockey. I'm sure STX tries to build their market and create more players, but that only goes so far.

From name recognition from lacrosse and some previous hockey equipment it seems they could make a decent go of DTC. I don't need any gear at moment, but I but wish them success.

[CigarScott 132]

I've been in the lacrosse world for 25+ years as a player and fan and remember when Brine and STX were the only two companies everyone knew about; the sport's Bauer & CCM. Yes, STX is a big name in the sport and until Brine was bought by Warrior, was probably the biggest or not far behind being the biggest. Now with Warrior owning Brine, they're probably a distant #2. STX was innovative in introducing plastic heads and aluminum shafts so they have a good track record of innovation but others came along, like Warrior that had really good marketing in the sport and did their own innovation, introducing titanium shafts to lacrosse, and leapfrogged them, it seems. Paul Rabil's podcast with Dave Morrow was quite interesting if you want to hear more about Warrior's history. Yes, lacrosse is leapfrogging hockey but that is due to people not having to know how to ice skate or be in proximity to an ice rink and I think US Lacrosse has done a great job of expanding the sport so it's not only prep school kids in New England playing anymore. Any school or public park that can accommodate soccer or football can accommodate lacrosse.

I think a lot of these companies that are big in other sports are seeing that it's harder to break into hockey than they thought. STX is a small niche player in the market and outside of Hockey Monkey's HQ, I have never seen a hockey shop stock any of their gear for me to actually put my hands on. Until STX gets into the helmet and skate game, they will only be a small, niche player. Until Warrior gets in the skate game, they'll be a distant #3 to Bauer & CCM. True has been big in golf forever and I guess decided to branch out after seeing what is going on with golf and participation rates dropping, etc. True took the plunge into skates by buying VH but until they get helmets, offer uniforms, and all the other stuff and can increase their dealer network, they'll be a niche player. True is headquartered in Memphis and the closest dealer that I'm aware of is in St. Louis. I, along with probably everyone on here, want to see more players in the market and hope that STX, Warrior, True, etc. can all carve out a piece of the pie but I'm not sure going DTC will work long term if they have no presence in LHS where employees are demonstrating their gear to players, parents, etc; they may go the way of Tackla. We'll see...

[start_today 770]

Harrow was a lacrosse company who moved into DTC hockey sales, and now may or may not still exist in the hockey world. A group of people on here, myself included, were really into them for a few years.

STX is more established than Harrow was and has an NHL presence. Harrow supplied a lot of college teams, but never caught on. 

[alien7364 4]

11 hours ago, STXHockey said:

We loved our experience with Chase and had a great time walking through our products with him.  Due to our new business model, we hope that you can make your own opinion and determination on sticks buy testing it out during our 14 day Risk-Free Trial.  If you are curious about our sticks and do not want to put all your trust in product reviews or videos you can purchase an elite level STX stick and demo it during our Risk Free Trial period.  If the sticks are not what you expected or want to use a different curve/flex you can activate a return and we will give you your money back or exchange the stick for your new curve or flex.    Product videos are great but why not try the stick out for yourself.  We hope this new business direction becomes the new norm in the hockey industry.

I'm currently using and enjoying a True stick, but trying a Surgeon stick is on my radar. Would be awesome is the trial extended down to the 3.2 and 3.1, but understandably sending out one SKU to trial like that has to be a burden, it is amazing that you guys are doing it. Times are changing and it's a great modern business model, but just know some people are so ingrained in trying gear at stores.

Anyways, I ordered my RX3 gloves, elbows, and shins today. I should be enjoying those soon, and the pants are on my radar but I hope my Mako pants never die. 🙂

2 hours ago, CigarScott said:

Until STX gets into the helmet and skate game

I can only dream of the $100 RX5 helmet which outclasses ones twice the price, and $500 one-piece semi-custom RX6 skates.

Edited August 19, 2018 by alien7364

[adam14 182]

17 hours ago, CigarScott said:

I Until Warrior gets in the skate game, they'll be a distant #3 to Bauer & CCM. True has been big in golf forever and I guess decided to branch out after seeing what is going on with golf and participation rates dropping, etc.

Your statements here are false. Warrior is not a distant third, at retail or at the pro level because they have great offerings at great price point. Are they trailing in certain categories? Sure. distant? no chance.

The skate market is oversaturated so I'm glad warrior hasnt pumped all kinds of money into r and d to develop from the ground up.

 

Your statement about true is also false. They didnt just decide to give it a whirl, they've been an OEM for one piece sticks for big players since the beginning of the composite era.

On 8/18/2018 at 12:21 PM, STXHockey said:

We hope this new business direction becomes the new norm in the hockey industry.

Not the best statement to make friends on a board flooded with retail employees, shop owners and techs that have decades of knowledge and experience in the hockey retail landscape. This just comes off as your DTC program will be the norm just because nobody ordered during booking so your hand was forced.

 

Interested to see how heavy the pricing fluctuates when your products get to Canada.

[nutters 218]

9 minutes ago, adam14 said:

Your statements here are false. Warrior is not a distant third, at retail or at the pro level because they have great offerings at great price point. Are they trailing in certain categories? Sure. distant? no chance.

The skate market is oversaturated so I'm glad warrior hasnt pumped all kinds of money into r and d to develop from the ground up.

 

Your statement about true is also false. They didnt just decide to give it a whirl, they've been an OEM for one piece sticks for big players since the beginning of the composite era.

Not the best statement to make friends on a board flooded with retail employees, shop owners and techs that have decades of knowledge and experience in the hockey retail landscape. This just comes off as your DTC program will be the norm just because nobody ordered during booking so your hand was forced.

 

Interested to see how heavy the pricing fluctuates when your products get to Canada.

Retail will always exist because people will always like having something right away and be able to pick up something they need that night.

 

As us Canadians know, our prices will be crazy high and the shipping from the US will also be ridiculous and almost or just not make it worth it at all. This is what it's like here when it comes to hockey equipment.

[flip12 715]

37 minutes ago, adam14 said:

Your statements here are false. Warrior is not a distant third, at retail or at the pro level because they have great offerings at great price point. Are they trailing in certain categories? Sure. distant? no chance.

The skate market is oversaturated so I'm glad warrior hasnt pumped all kinds of money into r and d to develop from the ground up.

Said it before, but I wish Warrior instead of HockeyTron had bought Alkali. That way, there would have been another alternative in the skate space and Warrior would have been able to avoid the R+D process (look how far their gloves came from the first generation!) and also expand their brand in roller a bit. Every once in a while there are still people who want that old Mission fit for ice hockey skates. It would have given a tried and somewhat niche but loved fit another go. That being said, I trust Warrior has looked countless times at the market and has stayed out for reasons that make sense to their accounting. I don't have that view, so my perspective is flawed due to my inherent limitations. I still think there's an appeal there.

[Novotnoa 8]

I wish stx would give the weight of the sticks on their website. I’m sure they’re premium but I’d like to know how light.

[BlueNux 17]

Just now, Novotnoa said:

I wish stx would give the weight of the sticks on their website. I’m sure they’re premium but I’d like to know how light.

I wish STX had the weight of all of their gear on their website. At this point, all I really care about is light, mobile gear for everything but my shin guards since I sometimes have to block shots as a center. Being able to play with even 5% more gas during the 3rd period is worth it if the gear is light and can shed water weight.

[Novotnoa 8]

4 minutes ago, BlueNux said:

I wish STX had the weight of all of their gear on their website. At this point, all I really care about is light, mobile gear for everything but my shin guards since I sometimes have to block shots as a center. Being able to play with even 5% more gas during the 3rd period is worth it if the gear is light and can shed water weight.

Plus now that you can’t find it in store you can’t compare stick weights. You can always use the 14 day trial though so that’s nice but it could be a hassle.

[alien7364 4]

3 hours ago, BlueNux said:

I wish STX had the weight of all of their gear on their website. At this point, all I really care about is light, mobile gear for everything but my shin guards since I sometimes have to block shots as a center. Being able to play with even 5% more gas during the 3rd period is worth it if the gear is light and can shed water weight.

Stick weights are listed: RX3 - 435g, RX3.1 - 455g, RX3.2 - 515g

https://www.stx.com/hockey/gear/sticks/surgeon-rx3-stick

https://www.stx.com/hockey/gear/sticks/surgeon-rx31-stick

https://www.stx.com/hockey/gear/sticks/surgeon-rx32-stick

Very good considering the shafts have slightly more surface area than traditional sticks, and the flex profile may add more weight to the construction I'm not sure. They are advertised as having high balance points so the perceived weights should feel even lighter. I can weigh my RX3 gloves, elbows, and shins when they get here hopefully next week. Have you tried on the Stallion shin guards?

 

Edited August 20, 2018 by alien7364

[VegasHockey 1280]

@STXHockey Why dont you accept Paypal? 

[VegasHockey 1280]

8 hours ago, adam14 said:

Your statements here are false. Warrior is not a distant third, at retail or at the pro level because they have great offerings at great price point. Are they trailing in certain categories? Sure. distant? no chance.

The skate market is oversaturated so I'm glad warrior hasnt pumped all kinds of money into r and d to develop from the ground up.

 

Your statement about true is also false. They didnt just decide to give it a whirl, they've been an OEM for one piece sticks for big players since the beginning of the composite era.

Not the best statement to make friends on a board flooded with retail employees, shop owners and techs that have decades of knowledge and experience in the hockey retail landscape. This just comes off as your DTC program will be the norm just because nobody ordered during booking so your hand was forced.

 

Interested to see how heavy the pricing fluctuates when your products get to Canada.

I can see Warrior purchasing True in the future. 

[OzziesDad 89]

6 hours ago, Novotnoa said:

I wish stx would give the weight of the sticks on their website. I’m sure they’re premium but I’d like to know how light.

They are listed on the website for all 6 sticks. 

[OzziesDad 89]

12 minutes ago, Nicholas G said:

I can see Warrior purchasing True in the future. 

Warrior was interested in VH prior. I'm not sure of the semantics, but it never happened,  and then True swooped in.

I'm curious as to what you are basing this on. While both companies are doing well, True just took the leap in acquiring VH. I highly doubt they would be so quick to turn around and basically just sell off everything, and not continue to push forward for their share of the market. 

Edited August 20, 2018 by OzziesDad

[CigarScott 132]

10 hours ago, OzziesDad said:

Warrior was interested in VH prior. I'm not sure of the semantics, but it never happened,  and then True swooped in.

I'm curious as to what you are basing this on. While both companies are doing well, True just took the leap in acquiring VH. I highly doubt they would be so quick to turn around and basically just sell off everything, and not continue to push forward for their share of the market. 

You never know. If some private equity firm or hedge fund made True an offer that they couldn't refuse, I'm sure they'd listen. I was surprised that Warrior didn't pursue Graf; Warrior has New Balance backing so I'm sure they would have had no problem affording it. I just find it ironic that the hockey brand owned by a shoe company doesn't make shoes/boots for their own sport. 🙂

[JR Boucicaut 3801]

So much misinformation in the last few posts.  I can't/won't comment, but what I can say is that several of the comments posted are either incorrect or not how it really happened.

[flip12 715]

1 hour ago, CigarScott said:

You never know. If some private equity firm or hedge fund made True an offer that they couldn't refuse, I'm sure they'd listen. I was surprised that Warrior didn't pursue Graf; Warrior has New Balance backing so I'm sure they would have had no problem affording it. I just find it ironic that the hockey brand owned by a shoe company doesn't make shoes/boots for their own sport. 🙂

From what I recall from scattered posts is the problem with pursuing Graf in that way is it wasn’t a brand acquisition but a liscensing of the brand so it couldn’t be folded in under the any new brand’s roof. Graf-CH is still the parent company.