Justify my purchase...

[the_game 452]

So I think it would be a good to maybe start a forum for us guys who walk into a pro-shop and hear a piece of equipment or a stick start talking to us and saying things like, "C'mon, you know want to be the only one on the ice with these pair of gloves." It could be a kind of support group for us who act on our impulses all to often.

heres my story, I stroll into the local store for some tape and stumble across the new easton stealth and vapor XXX. I pick both up, compare flexes, check out the curves. Both are nice but I only need tape and a pair of laces. I do my usually perusing of the store, try on the vapor XXX gloves, look at the new graf skates with t-blades on them, notice Under Armour has come out with some underwear to hold up your socks. But all the while the stealth is calling my name, taunting me, throwing a tantrum about why I should buy it.

The next thing I know, I am about half way on my drive home and there is an easton stealth sitting right beside. I didn't know what happened, I must've blacked out.

All i am asking is for some of you who've used a stealth or even paid for a stealth then used it how good it is, how much its gonna improve my shot, and how spending 2 bills on a stick was well worth it. Otherwise I am taking the stick back to the store and wearing headphones into all proshops from now on to block out the voices I hear.

thanks

[Ogie Oglethorpe 14]

Heh....

I did the same last night. Despite the fact that I have 6 completely operable sticks in my closet (a brand new Vapor XX, a Vector 120, Inno 1100 shaft, Hespleler Kick Lite, modified Busch Balance OPS (into shaft), Modified TPS Response (into shaft)), as well as two Stealth's on the way as a result of Easton's Xmas promo, and I think I have a pro stock 1100 fused from HockeyGeeks on the way.... I found myself at Perani's last night due to their OPS promo. Meant to pick up just one XN10, but got two (and a M1 on top to boot)......

Who needs all these sticks when you can't possibly use more than one at a time (perhaps switch around during a game - two tops as you wouldn't want to lug a ton around, nor worry about someone swiping one off the bench while you're on the ice)?

SO.... welcome to the compulsive hockey stick buyers club..... there are many amongst us who welcome you with open arms (and empty wallets).

[Miserable 6]

Simple solution, buy a house. Everytime I go to the pro shop and look at new sticks I see how many cans of paint or what furniture I could get instead. Then instead of the little voice that says "buy me" I hear my wife screaming about buying hockey stuff instead of varnish for the wood work. I'm just glad that I bought all new equipment last year and stocked up on blades and sticks just before we settled on the house.

[chippa13 1844]

Simple solution, buy a house. Everytime I go to the pro shop and look at new sticks I see how many cans of paint or what furniture I could get instead. Then instead of the little voice that says "buy me" I hear my wife screaming about buying hockey stuff instead of varnish for the wood work. I'm just glad that I bought all new equipment last year and stocked up on blades and sticks just before we settled on the house.

I've found a way around that problem. I have a small side bank account where a little of each check gets direct deposited. This way, if the urge for something new strikes I'm not spending the mortgage.

[CAB 0]

If you can afford it, I guess more power to ya. I personally won't ever (EVER) spend 200 on a stick. These companies are out of their frickin minds. Hockey is already too expensive of a sport, always has been, and now they're inventing $200 sticks to tease us with? I love trying new stuff, especially sticks, but I draw the line at around 100. Look at the latest deals...every year this happens. The latest and greatest from a year or two ago is now cheap - under 100 bones. Besides, none of these sticks with their fancy new technology is gonna make you that much better. In the end (as it's been said before) it's all about what god gave you and how much sweat you put into improving your skills. The best dude on my team skates on old Bauers and uses a Titan wood stick and he skates circles around people...what does that tell you. But I shouldn't say too much cause I'm partly guilty like most of us. What we should do is all bond together and buy only wood sticks for one year and maybe it'll drive these prices down to where they should be. Just ask Easton what it costs for them to make a Stealth...it might make you sick enough to stop buying crap that is truly a product of exceptional marketing more than what it can do for your game.

[Ogie Oglethorpe 14]

If you can afford it, I guess more power to ya. I personally won't ever (EVER) spend 200 on a stick. These companies are out of their frickin minds. Hockey is already too expensive of a sport, always has been, and now they're inventing $200 sticks to tease us with? I love trying new stuff, especially sticks, but I draw the line at around 100. Look at the latest deals...every year this happens. The latest and greatest from a year or two ago is now cheap - under 100 bones. Besides, none of these sticks with their fancy new technology is gonna make you that much better. In the end (as it's been said before) it's all about what god gave you and how much sweat you put into improving your skills. The best dude on my team skates on old Bauers and uses a Titan wood stick and he skates circles around people...what does that tell you. But I shouldn't say too much cause I'm partly guilty like most of us. What we should do is all bond together and buy only wood sticks for one year and maybe it'll drive these prices down to where they should be. Just ask Easton what it costs for them to make a Stealth...it might make you sick enough to stop buying crap that is truly a product of exceptional marketing more than what it can do for your game.

Yep, I'm with you - have never spent more that $100 on any of my sticks. But... perhaps that's my problem - I see "deals" on Ebay, or closeouts, or what not and see these great prices with 50% off and feel like I have to buy them because they're such a good deal and I always wanted to try one...

So, while I have 10 sticks that retail for $200 each (which I would never buy at retail), the fact that I have spent no more than the cost of 4 retail sticks to purchase these 10 sticks, it still doesn't really justify the fact that I have something like $800 invested in sticks sitting in my closet (I feel especially bad because I went and cleared out my closet 18 months ago and sold off all my stock to guys from the hockey team that were in need and what not... yet here I am far worse from where I started).

[wickedwrister 0]

Just ask Easton what it costs for them to make a Stealth...it might make you sick enough to stop buying crap that is truly a product of exceptional marketing more than what it can do for your game.

I heard somewhere that it costs less than $20 for any of the manufacturers to make a OPS.

[CAB 0]

I don't doubt it at all.

Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that a Stealth is crap. I'm sure it's a sweet stick, I'd like one myself if it weren't my money paying for it. I don't think it'd make me any better of a player. I might get a shot or two off with a little more snap, but it'd most likely just be in my head. I think buying what works best for YOU is what you should get, whether it be sticks, skates, whatever. A great deal of us have a negativity towards Easton, because to a certain extent they are the primary company who has hit us with fancy marketing and big prices. In the 90s they spent alot of money to make sure the best players were using their sticks, for us all to see.

Little story...just the other day I was in a little shop out by my house, and this moron walks in and asks in a loud voice if they had any Si Cores, cause "that's what he plays with". He didn't want to buy one, he just wanted everyone to hear he had one and apparently he gets some satisfaction from others knowing that's what he plays with. Good for him, glad he gets a boner from it. Then the prick asks one of the workers what the deal with the Havoc is...and he says, well the performance markings on the stick are less, so it must not be as good. Easton really gets over on the clueless...they prey on those people. And as with all business, others are following suit, so I won't put all the blame on Easton.

In the end, it's YOUR money, so enjoy, hopefully all you young pups will make alot of money someday to keep buying those Stealths, or Orange SiCores, or bright green Synergy STs...as for me I agree with what Miserable said...there's more important things. A stick is a stick, finding a good one with the right qualities does NOT mean you have to spend 200 bucks to get it and be able to play well with it.

[Ogie Oglethorpe 14]

Just ask Easton what it costs for them to make a Stealth...it might make you sick enough to stop buying crap that is truly a product of exceptional marketing more than what it can do for your game.

I heard somewhere that it costs less than $20 for any of the manufacturers to make a OPS.

Materials wise, that might be true. However, what you also have to factor in is the marketing costs, the R&D costs, the costs to make the various molds, the cost to ship from Mexico to the various locations, cost to cover sticks that break under warrantee, etc. NOW, per stick it is still not near the $150-200 average price tags for these things, but it is what the market is bearing.

It will be interesting to see, as someone else said, what prices come along in the next few months if/when the NHL folds this season.

(oh, and a correction - Busch was the first to make a OPS. Theirs came out 3, perhaps 4 years before Easton did their Synnergy thing. Theirs, back then, were $200 a pop (but had a year warrantee on it). But, Easton clearly did better marketing their product and getting it in the pro's hands (and once we see the pros rave about them and use them in games, those with extra $$ or kids who HAVE to have it, end up buying, and before you know it, they're a staple)

[CAB 0]

I agree...there are definitely other factors other than what the materials cost. And like you said, if the market is buying it, we can't blame Easton too much for putting that price tag on it. But damn, there's a big part of me that can't help to think about how sad it is that there are $200 sticks these days. I just hope they all continue to advance durability each year with the prices of these sticks (which looks like what they're touting this year more than how long their taper is, etc). I like the idea behind the Bauer Endure, TPS Adrenaline, and Synergy SL...I'll just wait a year till the prices go down ;)

[Ogie Oglethorpe 14]

Agreed (especially about the durability issue).

[GekigangarIII 0]

The old phrase: "it broke just like a $20 stick" applies for me here. There's no way I'd buy one, I'm hard enough on shafts/blades. Not enough price to performance at my level. Plus, it seems like I can break a OPS on command...

[ponty 0]

I think for me its just the rush of finding a cool pro return OPS for the cheap. Justification? Hell there is none. My wife has convinced me of that many a time. Just be sure to always be selling the stuff you wont be using and use that money to buy new stuff. Its an evil cycle but it works for me.

Heck like how could I turn down a brand new Barnaby Synergy for $75 bucks with no tax??? I tell you I am a victim! B)

[roadrunner 12]

I've managed to devise a system over the last 5 years. Working at ACC during the uproar of OPS and shafts I managed to accumulate 13 sticks. They were great deals. Centre Sports had no idea what these things were going for at retail and so they were priced at $70.00Cad and shafts came to $36.00 with my discount. Every day I'd be walking out of their with a near to new stick(mostly with curves I hated) but I could not bear the thought of passing up on the latest technology. Anyways, I put in place my "No more than Four" program. I figured 1 for game use, 1 back up, 1 different stick incase I get into slumps and want to tinker with shafts, and one for shinny. The only way I would allow myself to get a new stick would be if I sold one and used the majority of the cash for a new one. I decided that if I were to spend money on sticks I would only buy blades, that way I know I'll need them sooner or later. I'm proud to say it has worked like a gem and that I'm a proud owner of 3 not 4 sticks at this time and have restricted myself to buying the next one when one of them breaks. The thing that drove me to this and has kept me inline is the fact that every game I switch to using a new shaft I end up sacrificing a few games to that adjustment period. I don't want to have anymore bad games because my slapshot flutters everytime i have a scoring chance. Plus you only reallt need 2 sticks at a time.

[Smith 0]

I think for me its just the rush of finding a cool pro return OPS for the cheap. Justification? Hell there is none. My wife has convinced me of that many a time. Just be sure to always be selling the stuff you wont be using and use that money to buy new stuff. Its an evil cycle but it works for me.

Heck like how could I turn down a brand new Barnaby Synergy for $75 bucks with no tax??? I tell you I am a victim! B)

I know what you mean. I been racking in the RP off e-bay like they are going out of style. But for under $70 and no tax, you just have to.

[Ogie Oglethorpe 14]

I think for me its just the rush of finding a cool pro return OPS for the cheap. Justification? Hell there is none. My wife has convinced me of that many a time. Just be sure to always be selling the stuff you wont be using and use that money to buy new stuff. Its an evil cycle but it works for me.

Heck like how could I turn down a brand new Barnaby Synergy for $75 bucks with no tax??? I tell you I am a victim! B)

HA! Brilliant philosophy/theory! :D

[Eazy_b97 1]

At least you'll look cool. Yes, my name is Ben, and I also have a problem. This is where the sell and trade forum become an addicts best friend.

[Chadd 916]

I have such a difficult time finding a lie/curve/flex I like that I feel like I have to buy one when I find one that is even close to what I want.

[Miserable 6]

I've found a way around that problem. I have a small side bank account where a little of each check gets direct deposited. This way, if the urge for something new strikes I'm not spending the mortgage.

I have one of those to but that only keeps the wife from yelling, it doesn't stop me from rethinking purchases. The house should be finished in a couple of weeks so then I can start spending as I make it again. B)

[LegoDoom 0]

If you regret buying the stick, take it back. No one else should tell you it's ok to buy something.

[CAB 0]

Here's some rules for the person who started this thread:

1. No stick is worth $200 unless it single handedly nets you a NHL contract, furthermore, Wayne didn't score 92 in 1981/82 by using a Stealth.

2. If you used your parents money to get this stick, take it back for your parents sake.

3. If you're in high school and your own job paid for it, take it back and start saving for college.

4. If you're a college student who used his student loan money to buy it, stop and think about how much beer that could have bought you and take it back.

5. If you're a little older, supporting yourself, and you're successful enough to afford a stick like that on a whim, keep it. Why not try everything, but remember Rule #1.

...and Ponty, couldn't agree more about the Synergy for $75...let's hope more Denver residents don't learn about buying from "there"....that's where I scored my Xn10 for $75.

[RadioGaGa 162]

...and Ponty, couldn't agree more about the Synergy for $75...let's hope more Denver residents don't learn about buying from "there"....that's where I scored my Xn10 for $75.

Your rules make perfect sence....but I have one question....

Does "There" sell online, and if so, do "They" ship to Canada?

[ponty 0]

Typically they "there" does not ship. Most big cities have a "there" in the area. Just go to your local pro arena and get on the good with the stores manager. Magic backrooms will open up with neat things to pick from. ;)

[LkptTiger 1]

Just go to your local pro arena and get on the good with the stores manager.

Managers usually don't take kindly to teenagers hanging around their store... :(

[sonplaysipay 0]

I've started breaking down the cost of goals for my son. Example, if he get's 10 goals out of a $150 stick before it breaks, that's $15 per goal, so, you can see where that could go. I would hate for my goal cost to average more than that.