Are low kick sticks just hype?

[VegasHockey 1280]

5 hours ago, z1ggy said:

I think I'm grabbing a Nexus 2N pro off HSM tonight... hopefully even with the holidays I'll have it here by end of next week for use in my game. They don't have my flex and curve available but I'm also possibly going to grab an AS2 pro and/or 1X lite and finally decide which kind of stick is best for me.

I definitely prefer my FT2 over the QRL.  The blade on the QRL is like a rock compared to the CCM and I only needed about 3 minutes with it on the ice to switch right back to my FT2.

Whats HSM?

[z1ggy 81]

5 minutes ago, SkateWorksPNW said:

Whats HSM?

hockeystickman

[z1ggy 81]

Purchased a prostock Trig4 and also a 2N pro. Will give thoughts in a week or two about how I feel they compare... if more pucks are going in with one vs the other, if I feel one shoots harder/faster than the other and so on.

 

[dasuchin 20]

44 minutes ago, z1ggy said:

Purchased a prostock Trig4 and also a 2N pro. Will give thoughts in a week or two about how I feel they compare... if more pucks are going in with one vs the other, if I feel one shoots harder/faster than the other and so on.

 

Does the prostock trigger 4 actually have the same taper as the retail one? I've been debating picking one up, but I can't tell if the taper is the same or not.

[z1ggy 81]

31 minutes ago, dasuchin said:

Does the prostock trigger 4 actually have the same taper as the retail one? I've been debating picking one up, but I can't tell if the taper is the same or not.

I'll let you know when I get it haha. 

[VegasHockey 1280]

2 hours ago, dasuchin said:

Does the prostock trigger 4 actually have the same taper as the retail one? I've been debating picking one up, but I can't tell if the taper is the same or not.

I bought a bunch of the Trigger 4 Pro and they all had the retial taper design. 

[z1ggy 81]

So I got the trigger 4 in andddddd to my little surprise, the bar code would indicate it's actually a FT2. HSMHK2SP 

I really don't want to go thru the hassle of returning a hockey stick so I guess I'll just keep it? my FT2 I think is an R shaft geometry, this one says C so maybe I'll let that feel a little better. So.. FYI, anybody buying from HockeyStickMan.com, call them up and make sure they are going to check the barcode for you since CCM dresses up a lot of sticks. 

They did get the 2N Pro correct though so... I'll be getting that out for a test spin soon. 

Edited January 26, 2020 by z1ggy

[VegasHockey 1280]

1 hour ago, z1ggy said:

So I got the trigger 4 in andddddd to my little surprise, the bar code would indicate it's actually a FT2. HSMHK2SP 

I really don't want to go thru the hassle of returning a hockey stick so I guess I'll just keep it? my FT2 I think is an R shaft geometry, this one says C so maybe I'll let that feel a little better. So.. FYI, anybody buying from HockeyStickMan.com, call them up and make sure they are going to check the barcode for you since CCM dresses up a lot of sticks. 

They did get the 2N Pro correct though so... I'll be getting that out for a test spin soon. 

Thats crappy. They shouldn't sell it as one thing if it is in fact another. I would be pissed. 

[iameric 15]

Yeah, I bought a QREdge from HSM, turned out to be a T4QR, mid kick Dressed as a QRE

[z1ggy 81]

2 hours ago, SkateWorksPNW said:

Thats crappy. They shouldn't sell it as one thing if it is in fact another. I would be pissed. 

Well... I think they know about it but maaaaybe are too lazy to structure the website like PSH's where it tells you if it's dressed up as something else. I wonder how many people who buy pro stock know about the codes?

I called and they will take the stick back and send me a shipping label.

[VegasHockey 1280]

10 hours ago, z1ggy said:

Well... I think they know about it but maaaaybe are too lazy to structure the website like PSH's where it tells you if it's dressed up as something else. I wonder how many people who buy pro stock know about the codes?

I called and they will take the stick back and send me a shipping label.

Thats a good point. There are a bunch of guys I skate with that use pro stock sticks and I point out to them what they are using isn't what they think it is. 

I had this one guy tell me he could only use a Ribcor. He went on and on and on and on about how it's the best stick for him. Blah blah blah. I was like, "Hey bud, that's a Super Tacks..." The look on his face was priceless. 

[z1ggy 81]

1 hour ago, SkateWorksPNW said:

Thats a good point. There are a bunch of guys I skate with that use pro stock sticks and I point out to them what they are using isn't what they think it is. 

I had this one guy tell me he could only use a Ribcor. He went on and on and on and on about how it's the best stick for him. Blah blah blah. I was like, "Hey bud, that's a Super Tacks..." The look on his face was priceless. 

That is priceless lol. I really think that many ppl just don't know. I'll look for pro stich all the time on side line swap and I'll ask sellers to send me pics of the bar code and at least 80% respond with something like, what why?? Or okay but this is Def a xyz stick. Low and behold its dressed up and I tell them, most don't eveb respond or just go like oh.. Okay thx. How can you sell pro stock and not realize they have manufactured codes!! 

I'd say atleast 60% of supply I see is dressed up or team stock but sold as genuine pro stock (not counting prostock hockey, mostly on SLS). 

[noupf 42]

Resurrecting this thread that I came across.  @VegasHockey , four years later, as a hockey shop owner, where is the market right now?  More low kicks, mid kicks or hybrids?  Just curious.

[VegasHockey 1280]

19 hours ago, noupf said:

Resurrecting this thread that I came across.  @VegasHockey , four years later, as a hockey shop owner, where is the market right now?  More low kicks, mid kicks or hybrids?  Just curious.

 

Depends on the age group.

Younger kids (>12) seem to gravitate toward low kick. It's easier to load for them and overall shot power is not as important as opposed to a faster release. 

Teenagers (13-17) seem to prefer hybrid or mid kick. Many of these players seem to want a harder shot and understand how to better load the stick, pushing into the ice as they shoot to load the shaft.

18+ and pro level players is a mix. Depends on your position, shooting style, etc. It's all over the map. Examples -> https://www.geargeek.com/nhl-totals/sticks

[All Flash 49]

Just wanted to throw my 2 cents into this discussion....

I prefer low kick over mid kick as I can feel the lag in my shooting and passing. To me,  it is very noticeable. And if I understand what was said correctly earlier ,  the blade opening up on low kick because of kick point and shaft shape makes sense thinking back to any time it has happened to me. Whenever I try to tell people how I think kick points work ,I always said low kick makes it easier to shoot with just arms only or with the least amount of effort and still get a decent shot off.  Nevermind the fact that flex hasnt even been factored into the equation. As for flex, early on most beer league players only used stiffer sticks because super soft,  whippy sticks break down, or flat out break faster than stiff ones. Hockey is an elite sport that costs alot and not everyone could afford to blow through twigs.  Pros are a completely different animal as they can afford a new twig every period if they wanted. Performance is priority for pros. Money is no object. Also,  technically the stiffer the flex you can bend while shooting the harder the shot. I'm 6' , 230lbs. Give or take a few pounds. 😉Been using a 100 flex most of my life, now down to a custom PRO 95 flex LK. Everytime I move down to experiment with 85 flex , every aspect of using a stick except for shooting suffers. Long and hard passes, face offs, corner battles. In my 40 plus years of playing the game we all love, I conclude that I dont believe that kick points are all hype. Having said that, I have minimal experience with variable kick, old easton shaft mainly ,but jetspeed recently was decent. I would like to think that if I try a mid kick stick again, the flex needs to be stiffer to negate the lag I feel. 

Just one players experience.......