prostockhockeysticks

[flip12 727]

2 hours ago, start_today said:

Yeah, his description of both Malkin blades as being “very similar” to a p88 is bizarre. It simply isn’t, and that’s super obvious side by side, and I imagine leads to a lot of disappoint. It’s like the curve on the 712 starts more towards the toe enough that it changes your shooting mechanics. And yeah, for a lot of people who aren’t nerding out on this stuff “similar to a p88” is probably true, but he gets so in the weeds talking about he similarities and differences in other curves, it’s weird he’s lazy about that description. He also seems to kinda hate p88s as old fashioned, so maybe that’s it haha. 

I keep searching for the p88 variant that will make me happy and shoot harder and more accurate and be a more complete and the answer I keep coming back to is…….just the regular p88. There is absolutely 100% not a life lesson there and I refuse to learn anything, and will continue to spend money chasing the dragon. 

As deep as Geppetty's hatred for P88 goes, his loathing for E4/PM9 is even deeper. He refuses to acknowledge its existence, even when it's necessary for explaining both Kovalchuk's and Malkin's curves. Both players have had tons of variations of their curves, but their main set plays on variations of E4/PM9 with a toe curve.

[Yardelm 5]

16 hours ago, Duke16 said:

I used it on the OG Red for awhile - nothing special imo.

It really is just a P92 that is flatter towards the middle and then very straight at the heel. That modification didn't do much for me. It wasn't a difficult adjustment or anything, but I prefer the way a regular P92 feels - more loft earlier helps random quick shots come off nicer and I think saucer passes feel better with it as well, including on the backhand

The main Oatesy benefit is probably a larger backhand sweetspot for backhand shooting specifically, but I think the P92 is just fine. It probably offers better control if you do a lot of your work at the heel of the blade too since it's very straight for the first few inches at the heel.

I've also tried the Zegras, Caufield, and Laine in an attempt to use more toe, but I always come back to a regular P92. It's just so versatile. I find toe curve feels great stickhandling, but really reward good puck placement/mechanics when shooting, and it can go poorly otherwise. Maybe Ive just used the P92 so long and can't properly adjust to anything with the same well-rounded results, but I like that I can always pick spots and get solid shots off without thinking about the puck placement on the blade or the mechanics of my shot. I always shoot off the toe when I have time to think about it, but I'm definitely more prone to whiffing with toe curves in the random/quick shooting scenarios.

I think the perfect curve would have the depth of a Zegras/P92 exact midpoint and the blade shape of the Laine in lie 5.5 or 6. Until that exists, P92 it is. PRO has the P92 with Laine blade shape on the customizer (which I was one of the main pushers of), but Lie 6.5 is too high for me to seriously switch to it.

Thanks! I appreciate the thorough input! I ordered a w77 warrior curve, which is the pro stock code for the Oates curve for Warrior. Found a good deal on some LX2 Pro’s on sideline. Sounds like it’s will be like good ol faithful p92. Which is what I want anyway. I think I will like the flat spot but we’ll see!

[helmet91 18]

After reading this thread and a few others out there on the Google Machine, I ordered two customs PSHS.  My spoiled twins have had a handful of custom Bauer sticks over the last few seasons; one of the boys loves the P106 curve, which is impossible to find anywhere other than with customs.  The other kid likes a P92.

Here's the builds:

Red Line - Senior Right handed

70 flex

Rounded square, mid-kick - gloss with ribbed corners

PRO1616 (supposedly similar to P106), retail textured

Red Line Premium Graphic in LA (silver) colorway

 

2nd build is similar, differences are:

Right

PRO92

Grip, no texture

Ottawa colorway

 

Now to wait the 100+ days!  Should get them in time for captain's skates with tryouts at the end of October (high school hockey).  Definitely excited to see if they like them - if so we'll probably just throw together an order for 5+.

 

Sidenote" one of the boys went through a retail Tracer in less than a month - less than three hours on the ice and the damn thing gave up the ghost.  Currently waiting to hear back from the retailer in Germany to see what they say after providing all the requested details/photos for the warranty claim.

 

Edited June 9 by helmet91

[A2rhino 76]

helmet91; Not trying to stir the pot here and truthfully your son may not notice but wanted to make you aware that the only part of the 1616 that resembles the P106 is the blade shape. The actual curve is more similar to a P89 (DARBY) with a toe curve. See below.

Description: Very slight loft from the heel like the "Darby" for all the old timers and then has a nice toe curve but still a very modest curve overall.

 

Edited June 13 by A2rhino

[flip12 727]

P86 == Darby? In which brand's catalog?

[A2rhino 76]

My bad. P89. Bauer

[flip12 727]

3 hours ago, A2rhino said:

My bad. P89. Bauer

Easy Jimi the 6 into a 9 now that P86 is the hot new sliced bread. I wish P89 were the hype. My favorite retail curve of all time, just ahead of E4 and P28.

[A2rhino 76]

Agreed. I used it for years and actually still have 5 sticks. 4 OLD SCHOOL Easton S19"s and an old Warrior W04

Edited June 19 by A2rhino

[sturdy22 29]

On 6/13/2025 at 6:19 AM, A2rhino said:

helmet91; Not trying to stir the pot here and truthfully your son may not notice but wanted to make you aware that the only part of the 1616 that resembles the P106 is the blade shape. The actual curve is more similar to a P89 (DARBY) with a toe curve. See below.

Description: Very slight loft from the heel like the "Darby" for all the old timers and then has a nice toe curve but still a very modest curve overall.

 

Being an avid user of the P106 and P89 I agree With your description of the 1616.

I still have P106 and P89 blades that I’m saving and went with the 1616 because of the comparison to the 106 in the description. I have A bunch of PROs and I really Like the 1616 and have been using it for about a year over the others.

my son just got a 1910 in a righty so I can’t use it but it’s a nice curve and I think it will be my next purchase.

[flip12 727]

12 hours ago, A2rhino said:

Agreed. I used it for years and actually still have 5 sticks. 4 OLD SCHOOL Easton S19"s and an old Warrior W12

S19 Darbys! I'm jealous. I have one ST dressed as the Stealth tease. That thing has held up like a tank. I keep coming back to it, even though I'm mostly rotating P28s these days. I keep wondering about the origins of the Darby. I know there's a story about it being named after an Easton exec, but from what I remember about that story, he wasn't even a hockey guy. My guess is it's Ray Bourque's curve.

 

4 hours ago, sturdy22 said:

Being an avid user of the P106 and P89 I agree With your description of the 1616.

I still have P106 and P89 blades that I’m saving and went with the 1616 because of the comparison to the 106 in the description. I have A bunch of PROs and I really Like the 1616 and have been using it for about a year over the others.

my son just got a 1910 in a righty so I can’t use it but it’s a nice curve and I think it will be my next purchase.

That's good to hear about the 1616. I think I'll get one next time I order from Pro. It looks almost exactly like what I want in a curve.

[A2rhino 76]

I had bought a PRO1910 before as well. Its basically the CCM P19 which is more a Mid Heel P92. Really nice curve for sure. 

[helmet91 18]

Thanks for the info on the PRO1616...  I guess we'll see if he notices.

[stick9 905]

I went ahead and ordered a stock PRO VS with the McKinnon pattern from their inventory. I'm not a High Kick guy so the VS isn't really my thing but they had the McKinnon in stock so what the hell, right.

The stick arrived less than a week after placing the order. The fit an finish was perfect, not a mark or blemish to be found. The overall feel, weight, balance, shaft dimensions were almost spot on to my beloved FT5 Pros. The build appears to be very close to the FT5 Pro as well...see attached pics. The pattern is definitely not my thing. Passing is crazy good. Nice puck feel though shooting with it, not so much. Different pattern and kick point plays into that. Anyway, I was more interested in how it compared to what I was currently using. I gotta say, I was pleasantly surprised. The VS didn't blow me away like the FT5 did but I was still very impressed with the performance especially given it's price point, $169USD. It's not all unicorns and show ponies for me. PRO only offers the pattern I'd like on customs and the OG lines, not the VS, VF or VX. And, they do not offer the VF, Hybrid kick point, as one of their custom builds. Argh..

 

[Dmitrakov 10]

7 hours ago, stick9 said:

I went ahead and ordered a stock PRO VS with the McKinnon pattern from their inventory. I'm not a High Kick guy so the VS isn't really my thing but they had the McKinnon in stock so what the hell, right.

The stick arrived less than a week after placing the order. The fit an finish was perfect, not a mark or blemish to be found. The overall feel, weight, balance, shaft dimensions were almost spot on to my beloved FT5 Pros. The build appears to be very close to the FT5 Pro as well...see attached pics. The pattern is definitely not my thing. Passing is crazy good. Nice puck feel though shooting with it, not so much. Different pattern and kick point plays into that. Anyway, I was more interested in how it compared to what I was currently using. I gotta say, I was pleasantly surprised. The VS didn't blow me away like the FT5 did but I was still very impressed with the performance especially given it's price point, $169USD. It's not all unicorns and show ponies for me. PRO only offers the pattern I'd like on customs and the OG lines, not the VS, VF or VX. And, they do not offer the VF, Hybrid kick point, as one of their custom builds. Argh..

 

nice post, for what its worth I wasn't a fan of the PRO VF or VX build. The VX felt like I had an intermediate sized lacrosse stick in my hands with an ok release, the VF doesn't compete compared to a 2NPRO or similar which I could get for the same or less money off sideline. I keep buying different PRO sticks thinking its gonna be better but it never is lol

[A2rhino 76]

i just received my VS yesterday. I'm a huge fan of the OG Blue so it will be interesting to see how this compares. They did not have my PRO9271 so I thought I would see what all the hype was about with the PRO9246 in the same flex. Will report back after my game on Sunday. 

[flip12 727]

Strangely, my VF is incredible at slap shots. I found out by accident because I never take them because it's not allowed for the old players league (over 35), but I took one in warm up yesterday and it was much stronger than any slap shot I've gotten out of any of my other sticks--I have enough for a team full of lefties. To see if it wasn't a fluke, I took a few more, including a last one with about half power put into it. It zipped top shelf bar and in. Overall the stick plays alright, but the slap shot kick really stands out. Not that it's much use to me, but it's kind of fun as a novelty. I'm just curious though, has anyone else experienced this with their VFs? It's possible I'm not engaging the kick right on other shots. It took me a while to learn how to adjust from low to mid kick. I had assumed VF would work with either of those approaches. This feels like it actually has a lot more kick than I've previously gotten out of it.

[cougarscaptain87 13]

Just got a three pack of customs for my son, they feel and look the same as the old batches we've gotten but the labeling on the inside of the shaft has changed. This order took about 120-130 days which was longer than anticipated but always happy with the products I get from Gep

[Dmitrakov 10]

Does anyone have a pictures of a Barkov Pro curve they ordered from Gepetto/PRO? Just curious 

[sturdy22 29]

3 hours ago, Dmitrakov said:

Does anyone have a pictures of a Barkov Pro curve they ordered from Gepetto/PRO? Just curious 

 

[Dmitrakov 10]

51 minutes ago, sturdy22 said:

 

How does it play? It almost resembles a toned down malkin?

[sturdy22 29]

4 hours ago, Dmitrakov said:

How does it play? It almost resembles a toned down malkin?

I like it. It’s the third line so it’s over all a heavier stick but it plays a lot lighter. I tend to lean more towards heels but this is a good blend of a slight heel into a slight toe.

[A2rhino 76]

On 6/24/2025 at 11:58 AM, A2rhino said:

i just received my VS yesterday. I'm a huge fan of the OG Blue so it will be interesting to see how this compares. They did not have my PRO9271 so I thought I would see what all the hype was about with the PRO9246 in the same flex. Will report back after my game on Sunday. 

I wanted to give an update on my new VS. Not going to make this long. The stick fires bombs. I should add that I am only in a league that does not allow slap shots. My wrist shots with this thing are (for me) lasers and snap shots are effortless bombs. The ref even said to me that with a snap shot that heavy I can only imagine what a slap shot would be like. Man, I could not be happier with this stick. They refer to this as a high kick but I would say it is a mid kick for sure. Slide that bottom hand half way down the shaft, get the puck under you and let'r fly!!  PROSTOCKHOCKEYSTICKS VS is a GEM!!