Who offers the best value in sticks?

[JoeJeeps 4]

Bauer, CCM, and Warrior don't compete on price due to brand recognition, sponsored players, etc. Their top end sticks are $300 and that's that.

In your opinion, which manufacturers consistently offer the most technology, latest construction techniques, and lightest sticks for the lowest MAP prices? Sher-Wood seems to offer 99% of the performance at half the cost. STX maybe? One of the "generic" offerings like All Black or No Name?

(I understand there are occasional deals to be had on sideline swap and through pro stock sites...that's not my question.)

[nutters 218]

1 hour ago, JoeJeeps said:

Bauer, CCM, and Warrior don't compete on price due to brand recognition, sponsored players, etc. Their top end sticks are $300 and that's that.

In your opinion, which manufacturers consistently offer the most technology, latest construction techniques, and lightest sticks for the lowest MAP prices? Sher-Wood seems to offer 99% of the performance at half the cost. STX maybe? One of the "generic" offerings like All Black or No Name?

(I understand there are occasional deals to be had on sideline swap and through pro stock sites...that's not my question.)

Sher-Wood post Momentum RM days has been very good. The Rekker 365 is the lightest non special edition stick on the market and can be had at 50%. The BPM 150 is on sale if you can get passed the colors.

STX you'll pay a bit more, but you're still getting a solid stick and have a trial period. I am currently using the RX3 and love it.

Don't bother with those $129.99 we're as good as the big names' $299.99 sticks but don't pay nhl fees so our sticks aren't costly. It's a lie.

[puckpilot 312]

IMHO, it's all relative. If a stick is feels and performs just right for you, then it's worth every penny. The stick can have all the bells and whistles on it, but if you don't like the feel of it, then as far as you're concerned, it's garbage. We're all different in what we each like and look for. Sometimes what we like skews toward the expensive side of things. Other times it can be in lower price ranges. 

If there was a way to guarantee 100%  that a stick would flex the way I wanted, had a bladed just the right stiffness, and had the curve and weight that fit me perfect, I don't think I'd grumble too much at having to dish out for it.

Edited April 13, 2019 by puckpilot

[Leif 161]

I picked up my Bauer 1N stick at half price, buying the last season’s stick might be better than most cheap alternatives. That said, I’d probably play just as well/badly with a mid range stick. 

[stick9 890]

Kind of hard to tag an overall winner when each brand has a model or two that offers excellent bang for the buck. 

[JoeJeeps 4]

12 hours ago, nutters said:

Sher-Wood post Momentum RM days has been very good. The Rekker 365 is the lightest non special edition stick on the market and can be had at 50%. The BPM 150 is on sale if you can get passed the colors.

STX you'll pay a bit more, but you're still getting a solid stick and have a trial period. I am currently using the RX3 and love it.

Don't bother with those $129.99 we're as good as the big names' $299.99 sticks but don't pay nhl fees so our sticks aren't costly. It's a lie.

You're kind of confirming what I've been seeing. Just getting back in to the sport at 40 years old I don't need the latest and greatest, but think I should be able to find a dang good stick for <$175.

I got the impression the Rekker 365 was prone to breakage. It's weird to me that they are already on clearance. The "Project" sticks look like a solid (and durable) buy for a rec leaguer.

Thoughts on the RX3? The only thing that's holding me back from liking it is the weird shape of the grip. Is it a positive in your mind?

Edited April 13, 2019 by JoeJeeps

[MrData 93]

14 hours ago, nutters said:

Sher-Wood post Momentum RM days has been very good. The Rekker 365 is the lightest non special edition stick on the market and can be had at 50%. The BPM 150 is on sale if you can get passed the colors.

STX you'll pay a bit more, but you're still getting a solid stick and have a trial period. I am currently using the RX3 and love it. 

Don't bother with those $129.99 we're as good as the big names' $299.99 sticks but don't pay nhl fees so our sticks aren't costly. It's a lie.

You're right about most of the "pass the savings on to you" brands that simply import Chinese sticks with lower quality control and no fancy marketing or branding - they're a dime a dozen, and while some offer a decent product (I've heard good things about ABHS), most aren't worth your time or money.

However, the idea that marketing and NHL fees savings would be passed on to customers has some validity to it. It's one of the reasons why BASE can offer its top-of-the-line ~400g custom stick at $240 with no minimum order. I asked Ron Kunisaki about NHL players using BASE (there have been a couple, including Dan Hamhuis and Alexei Kovalev most notably). He told me that he didn't want to pander to pros at the expense of BASE's regular customers. When Dan Hamhuis wanted to try BASE sticks, Ron refused to send him twigs unless he went through the same fitting process that regular customers go through to determine their optimal specs. He did it, and his stick specs did change. He ended up using a regular blacked-out Nasty in a stock BC92 Lie 5 curve. The downside of this philosophy is that BASE doesn't have any NHL pros using its sticks today, and even when Hamhuis and others were using them, they were blacked out. However, we're able to sell a top-quality product at a price that other manufacturers just can't match due in part to their expenses relating to marketing, NHL branding fees, and pro endorsement contracts. I'd put our Reign LT in a blind test against any stick on the market today, and aside from subjective player preference (which is very important), I'm convinced testers would hold it at the same level as $300+ sticks. Of course though, BASE isn't just blindly shipping in no-name sticks from China, since we have manufacturing and technical expertise from Innovative and the early Warrior 'golden days', and we own our own factory.

In that light, I have to give props to Sher-Wood for dropping its NHL branding and player endorsements to focus on grassroots hockey. They make a solid product at a very reasonable price, and if more manufacturers did that, players would have an even greater choice of quality equipment. Instead, you have the "big boys" like Bauer rolling out 'retail custom' sticks at $350 a pop, minimum 2, with less customization options than we offer.

[nutters 218]

12 minutes ago, MrData said:

You're right about most of the "pass the savings on to you" brands that simply import Chinese sticks with lower quality control and no fancy marketing or branding - they're a dime a dozen, and while some offer a decent product (I've heard good things about ABHS), most aren't worth your time or money.

However, the idea that marketing and NHL fees savings would be passed on to customers has some validity to it. It's one of the reasons why BASE can offer its top-of-the-line ~400g custom stick at $240 with no minimum order. I asked Ron Kunisaki about NHL players using BASE (there have been a couple, including Dan Hamhuis and Alexei Kovalev most notably). He told me that he didn't want to pander to pros at the expense of BASE's regular customers. When Dan Hamhuis wanted to try BASE sticks, Ron refused to send him twigs unless he went through the same fitting process that regular customers go through to determine their optimal specs. He did it, and his stick specs did change. He ended up using a regular blacked-out Nasty in a stock BC92 Lie 5 curve. The downside of this philosophy is that BASE doesn't have any NHL pros using its sticks today, and even when Hamhuis and others were using them, they were blacked out. However, we're able to sell a top-quality product at a price that other manufacturers just can't match due in part to their expenses relating to marketing, NHL branding fees, and pro endorsement contracts. I'd put our Reign LT in a blind test against any stick on the market today, and aside from subjective player preference (which is very important), I'm convinced testers would hold it at the same level as $300+ sticks. Of course though, BASE isn't just blindly shipping in no-name sticks from China, since we have manufacturing and technical expertise from Innovative and the early Warrior 'golden days', and we own our own factory.

In that light, I have to give props to Sher-Wood for dropping its NHL branding and player endorsements to focus on grassroots hockey. They make a solid product at a very reasonable price, and if more manufacturers did that, players would have an even greater choice of quality equipment. Instead, you have the "big boys" like Bauer rolling out 'retail custom' sticks at $350 a pop, minimum 2, with less customization options than we offer.

Don't worry, I didn't have BASE in mind when I was talking about the brands who rely on instagram adds and youtubes to promote their generic sticks. Considers the retail price for a top BASE stick is roughly around one for Sher-Wood or STX, it is obvious the fee for brands to have NHL rights forces them to charge $200 more than ABHS or NN. You guys have a custom element.

I just couldn't vouch for a brand with some noteriety (such as BASE) I have not tried.

[nutters 218]

2 hours ago, JoeJeeps said:

You're kind of confirming what I've been seeing. Just getting back in to the sport at 40 years old I don't need the latest and greatest, but think I should be able to find a dang good stick for <$175.

I got the impression the Rekker 365 was prone to breakage. It's weird to me that they are already on clearance. The "Project" sticks look like a solid (and durable) buy for a rec leaguer.

Thoughts on the RX3? The only thing that's holding me back from liking it is the weird shape of the grip. Is it a positive in your mind?

I haven't heard much about breakage, but that could be the case with the quick price drop. If that is a concern try the Project or give the T90 a try (there is a reason you can still get them). 

The shaft shape doesn't change much. You notice it and it feels comfortable at first. Besides that the difference is so small you won't notice it during game play. Plus they have the HPR with a traditional shaft shape too.

[marka 526]

Howdy,

5 hours ago, JoeJeeps said:

You're kind of confirming what I've been seeing. Just getting back in to the sport at 40 years old I don't need the latest and greatest, but think I should be able to find a dang good stick for <$175.

I really like the True A4.5 for this kinda thing.  ~$150 full retail, with previous clearance versions around $100 or so.

If I hadn't decided I wanted a P28-ish curve with a closed toe, I'll still be using them.  As it is, only CCM makes that.  And to be fair, the clearance SuperTacks 2.0 I'm using now is a stick I really like, but it can be hard to find clearance stuff in the pattern / flex you want, etc.

Mark

[JoeJeeps 4]

Thanks for the suggestion on the True A4.5. I'm really not familiar with any of their product line. I don't think True was even a thing when I was last playing regularly. 😉

[Stewie 721]

11 minutes ago, JoeJeeps said:

Thanks for the suggestion on the True A4.5. I'm really not familiar with any of their product line. I don't think True was even a thing when I was last playing regularly. 😉

Depending when that was, they probably were and you just didn’t know it. They used to manufacture for the other big names 

[JoeJeeps 4]

8 hours ago, nutters said:

If that is a concern try the Project or give the T90 a try (there is a reason you can still get them). 

Funny you should mention that. Last time I was in the market (8 years ago?) I decided the original T90 sticks were great for the money and I bought a couple. They have been absolute tanks. Sadly, the heels are cracking after a few seasons (and many years sitting in a garage). That's why I'm here looking for suggestions.

[lennyboi 9]

Bauer Nexus 2N is actually great bang for the buck imo from one of the “big boys”  

The 2N has the R-lite blade like the 2N PRO and is listed at 425g which is a pretty light stick. Nicely balanced as well  

$224 in Canada if I remember correctly. Not sure what price point you are looking at. I used it only for small number of games/skates so can’t give too much detail but from those times that I did use it, it held its own in terms of performance and puck feel. 

[Giltis 116]

On 4/13/2019 at 10:36 AM, JoeJeeps said:

Thoughts on the RX3? The only thing that's holding me back from liking it is the weird shape of the grip. Is it a positive in your mind?

I was going to mention RX3.1 STX as a a great bang for buck. I have an RX3 and the PUREgrip is super comfy in my hands. Otherwise I think any mid-range sticks, previous year's top model or Pro-stock sticks are ways to get great value.