Hands on with the new Bauer Vapor Flylite

[VegasHockey 1280]

Had a chance to use a pro stock Bauer Vapor Flylite today at drop-in and was considerably impressed. It's certainly a mix between the Easton GX and a Vapor 1X Lite. The blade feels very rigid and lightweight but has some dampening to it, much like the new CCM FT2. I was able to weigh it with tape and it came in at 393 grams. The stick was slightly longer than retail, 61" in length so I assume without tape and in the standard 60" retail model its probably closer to 380 grams. Overall it had a very quick release and was easy to load but I do think they may have removed a little too much weight from the blade, similar to the mistake I feel Warrior made with the Fantom, as sometimes hard passes seemed to push through the blade if you didn't have the blade face perfectly squared. I wish I could share pictures and such but the player who allowed me to use the stick requested for me to not publish anything on social media. Interested to see how the retail model is different from the pro stock version when released. 

[qmechanic 17]

Thanks for the quick review. Does anyone know when the Flylite stick will be released?

[VegasHockey 1280]

11 minutes ago, qmechanic said:

Thanks for the quick review. Does anyone know when the Flylite stick will be released?

I think Aug 2019

[EBondo 233]

August 2nd is the the release.

[lennyboi 9]

The Flylite is available right now on the my Bauer website as well. 

[Trackweapon 3]

I was at a local store in Blaine and they had them all out yesterday, flylite, flylite pro and flylite 2.7x.  Definitely very light. The colors are very loud, my girls didn’t quite know what to think of them. 

[Buzz_LightBeer 969]

I agree, the Red/Yellow/Grey combo are an eyesore. 

I held one over the weekend, the taper dimensions aren't as oblate as compared to the S19/CX, but it felt more solid. Not as "brittle" as the Easton's tended to feel, the shaft felt thicker and heartier, but not heavier

[YFZ138R 0]

I was shopping local today, and seen the wave of 90’s colors. They felt super light

[VegasHockey 1280]

5 hours ago, YFZ138R said:

I was shopping local today, and seen the wave of 90’s colors. They felt super light

Yeah, not a fan of the coloring. 

 

On 7/22/2019 at 9:24 AM, Trackweapon said:

I was at a local store in Blaine and they had them all out yesterday, flylite, flylite pro and flylite 2.7x.  Definitely very light. The colors are very loud, my girls didn’t quite know what to think of them. 

Yeah, not a fan of the coloring. 

[VegasHockey 1280]

Pics of the retail FlyLite

 

 

Edited July 26, 2019 by Nicholas G

[sbecks72986 51]

Pure hockey has had them for sale in the stores for a couple weeks now I got one about two weeks ago I cut mine to 58.25” and use lizard skins on the grip. Cut and tapes mine weighs 374. About the same before I cut and taped it. I love the stick, the tape is different than the Easton, I compared it to my V9E I had in storage and it’s not as flat and wide as the Easton stick. It’s got a fantastic release a great shooting stick, puck feel is good the blade is very stiff so catching hard passes takes some adjustment but I love the stick will probably be buying another one as a back up.

[BraveFart 1]

Went to Source for Sports at Don Mills and Eglinton (Toronto, Canada) and they've had them since this Monday. They advertise the Flylite at 390 grams for the 87 flex. I've picked on up for myself and I ordered it through a friend who works at SportChek so I can get 40% off the retail price ($349). I'll post back here for a review of it when I get a chance. I had the Bauer 1X Lite GripTac and had it for about 5 months before it broke at the next of the blade off a slapshot. 

[sbecks72986 51]

11 minutes ago, BraveFart said:

Went to Source for Sports at Don Mills and Eglinton (Toronto, Canada) and they've had them since this Monday. They advertise the Flylite at 390 grams for the 87 flex. I've picked on up for myself and I ordered it through a friend who works at SportChek so I can get 40% off the retail price ($349). I'll post back here for a review of it when I get a chance. I had the Bauer 1X Lite GripTac and had it for about 5 months before it broke at the next of the blade off a slapshot. 

Yea pure has it 390 grams on the sign. I weighted it myself on my digital scale it’s 374.6 taped it was about same as before I cut and taped it. Almost 374 on the dot before I cut and taped. I use the lizard skin on the grip it’s a little heavier than the pro gauze tape I used to use.

[sbecks72986 51]

Mine is 77 flex btw 

[BraveFart 1]

12 minutes ago, sbecks72986 said:

Yea pure has it 390 grams on the sign. I weighted it myself on my digital scale it’s 374.6 taped it was about same as before I cut and taped it. Almost 374 on the dot before I cut and taped. I use the lizard skin on the grip it’s a little heavier than the pro gauze tape I used to use.

Good to know. That's crazy that it's so light. Have you had the chance to try it out yet? I won't be getting the chance until next Tuesday but, it's good to know some expectations and even some limitations on this stick. 

[sbecks72986 51]

4 hours ago, BraveFart said:

Good to know. That's crazy that it's so light. Have you had the chance to try it out yet? I won't be getting the chance until next Tuesday but, it's good to know some expectations and even some limitations on this stick. 

Played 3 games with it so far I like it a lot. Great shooting stick, good puck feel. If you like a stiff pingy blade you’ll like the blade of you like dampened you prob won’t bw crazy about the blade.

[BraveFart 1]

22 minutes ago, sbecks72986 said:

Played 3 games with it so far I like it a lot. Great shooting stick, good puck feel. If you like a stiff pingy blade you’ll like the blade of you like dampened you prob won’t bw crazy about the blade.

Ok got it. Thanks for the response and your feedback. I don't mind a 'stiff pingy blade', but I just want the feel of a durable and stable stick without subtracting the other assets: quick release, power, control, just to name a few. 

[sbecks72986 51]

Feels durable to me it’s only been 3 games but I’ve taken a couple nasty slashes to it off the face off and didn’t scratch or chip or anything 

[VegasHockey 1280]

 

[BraveFart 1]

On 8/2/2019 at 12:10 AM, Nicholas G said:

 

Very in-depth review on mostly technical aspects of the stick. I'd like to see more of the stick in "action" where they're put in through a lot of testing: puck control, passes, wristers, snapshots, slapshots, one-timers, etc.

[bgdawg019 9]

got a chance to use the retail version over the weekend at a tournament. can post some quick thoughts

first, the banner point of this stick is the weight, in your hands it feels light sure, but while playing is where it stands out. the balance is a key point to any stick and I found this to be as perfect as it gets for my game. I was a little concerned since they seemed to have beefed up the blade some, also the taper of the stick seems thicker.

second, taking shots with the flylite is a absolute joy. one thing I didn't care much for about the 1x lite, I felt the blade would open up on some shots. this has been fixed with the thicker blade and taper they have added. shots come off consistent and hard. also, I feel as the kick point has maybe moved up some, has almost like a old dolomite feel when shots come off the stick. I was a big fan of that back in the day so it was a nice surprise.

took a few hard slashes as the day went on and people had more Budweiser courage. see no issues yet, but still early on. 

 

Edited August 5, 2019 by bgdawg019

[BraveFart 1]

22 hours ago, bgdawg019 said:

got a chance to use the retail version over the weekend at a tournament. can post some quick thoughts

first, the banner point of this stick is the weight, in your hands it feels light sure, but while playing is where it stands out. the balance is a key point to any stick and I found this to be as perfect as it gets for my game. I was a little concerned since they seemed to have beefed up the blade some, also the taper of the stick seems thicker.

second, taking shots with the flylite is a absolute joy. one thing I didn't care much for about the 1x lite, I felt the blade would open up on some shots. this has been fixed with the thicker blade and taper they have added. shots come off consistent and hard. also, I feel as the kick point has maybe moved up some, has almost like a old dolomite feel when shots come off the stick. I was a big fan of that back in the day so it was a nice surprise.

took a few hard slashes as the day went on and people had more Budweiser courage. see no issues yet, but still early on. 

 

Thank you for this. 

[bgdawg019 9]

17 minutes ago, BraveFart said:

Thank you for this. 

no problem, I know a lot of people are curious about this. I am also very picky about my twigs and am the furthest thing from a bauer fan boy, but the 1x lite won me back since the days of the O'G total one. have since turned on two other teammates on to it. Its always hard to justify spending so much scratch on a hockey stick. but if you have the means and will to do it, this one comes highly recommended. 

[BraveFart 1]

32 minutes ago, bgdawg019 said:

no problem, I know a lot of people are curious about this. I am also very picky about my twigs and am the furthest thing from a bauer fan boy, but the 1x lite won me back since the days of the O'G total one. have since turned on two other teammates on to it. Its always hard to justify spending so much scratch on a hockey stick. but if you have the means and will to do it, this one comes highly recommended. 

I too am picky about which stick I purchase. I used to be particular about the brand; and my favorite used to be Easton. I actually still have the yellow Synergy stick from way back when. Anyways, hockey in general is an expensive sport. We have a right to be picky when buying a twig. It's so hard to find that right one though. I think the two that I have in mind that came close to perfect was the first Easton Stealth (black, grey, and red) and the Easton SE16. When someone like yourself has provided in-game reviews on something we're all looking to purchase, it really helps us to understand what kind of expectations to have - even if we don't buy it. 

[psulion22 402]

On 8/5/2019 at 10:33 AM, bgdawg019 said:

second, taking shots with the flylite is a absolute joy. one thing I didn't care much for about the 1x lite, I felt the blade would open up on some shots. this has been fixed with the thicker blade and taper they have added. shots come off consistent and hard. also, I feel as the kick point has maybe moved up some, has almost like a old dolomite feel when shots come off the stick. I was a big fan of that back in the day so it was a nice surprise

 

I agree with you.  On some shots, the blade opens up on the 1X Lite.  The video breakdowns say they thickened and stiffened the bottom of the elliptical taper and the blade.  That would cause the two things you've noticed - less opening up and a higher kick point feel.  

I'm personally pretty excited to try one of these.  The '16 1X got me back into Bauer sticks.  And I think a 70 flex 1X Lite is better than that stick.  But I play mostly D and while a quick release is great for in close shots, and even getting outlet passes off, sometimes I want a little more velocity on writers from the point.  A little higher kick point should do that.  How do you feel the flex plays compared to the 1X Lite?  Does the slightly higher kick point and elliptical taper give a little more flex?