cause4alarm 7 Report post Posted March 10, 2020 About 25 years ago, someone told me that the point along the shaft where you can balance a stick is also where to place your bottom hand for a slap shot. I tried it out and it was true (at the time). Just now, I located the balance point on my two-piece stick and found that it was quite lower than where I would put my hand for a slap shot, which I suppose means that this stick is relatively bottom-heavy, i.e., the weight is biased toward the blade. Then I checked again with an OPS and for that one, the balance point and bottom hand spot were fairly close--the balance point was maybe just a touch lower than where I'd go for a slap shot. So what does this mean? Is this balance point thing I heard complete BS? Wood sticks and composite sticks have completely different weight distributions, right? I'm just posting this picture of an Easton aluminum for aesthetics. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
darkhors 88 Report post Posted March 10, 2020 Composite sticks have different balance points based on the kick points, blade weight, etc. If you're taking clappers your hand is going to be lower in general but you don't want it too low to where your hands are too far apart. Take the Nexus, it's a true mid-kick stick. The kick point is made to flex in the middle, where your hand would be when taking a hard wrister or slapshot. If the balance point is lower than that, it doesn't mean you'd want to move your hand lower because you'd be out of the sweet spot for that kick point. With the new construction and tech that's behind the new sticks, balance point has less to do with hand placement and more to do with the feel of the stick and puck. If the balance point is too low on a stick, it may feel harder to stick handle because the majority of the weight is closer to the puck. Hope this helps. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BenBreeg 493 Report post Posted March 10, 2020 2 hours ago, cause4alarm said: About 25 years ago, someone told me that the point along the shaft where you can balance a stick is also where to place your bottom hand for a slap shot. I tried it out and it was true (at the time). Just now, I located the balance point on my two-piece stick and found that it was quite lower than where I would put my hand for a slap shot, which I suppose means that this stick is relatively bottom-heavy, i.e., the weight is biased toward the blade. Then I checked again with an OPS and for that one, the balance point and bottom hand spot were fairly close--the balance point was maybe just a touch lower than where I'd go for a slap shot. So what does this mean? Is this balance point thing I heard complete BS? Wood sticks and composite sticks have completely different weight distributions, right? I'm just posting this picture of an Easton aluminum for aesthetics. Sounds more coincidental than by design. A heavier blade would change the balance point without changing the flex profile, a more tapered hosel would move the flex point down and the balance point in the opposite direction. As an aside, my dad was a HS baseball coach when I was a kid and always had equipment catalogs. I remember when the Easton shafts showed up in those, I thought they were so cool. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cavs019 708 Report post Posted March 10, 2020 (edited) In addition to the above - hockey isn’t golf in that you have your hands in the exact same position for different shots and have time to approach the ball. Ideally you want to be able to get your shots off from a variety of hand/body positions as the play unfolds dynamically. TLDR: Whoever fed you the hold at the balance point idea, fed you nonsense. Edited March 10, 2020 by Cavs019 3 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
