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A2rhino

TPS Response Sticks: Back For Another Iconic Shift

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Ok, again, I’m jaded and don’t like anything. 

But, this is just a brand name stamped on a mediocre stick, right? Like the “synergy” sticks that are a low tier Bauer with Easton graphics and a higher price point than they should have. No one under 40 actually cares if some ancient brand makes sticks again. 

If this were a new, modern build offering something unique, wouldn’t they use a new name to capture the youth market, who is far and away the biggest selling point? And if it’s the “classic” TPS, why does anyone care about people who have been out of the game for 20 years? 

And, outside of the XN10 (which, to be fair, people loved), TPS was never putting out GREAT sticks, right? They were fine, but it’s not like they were pushing boundaries and doing interesting stuff and suddenly stopped.

Nostalgia for the sake of nostalgia. 

I’m happy to be proven wrong but, nothing about this strikes me as actually exciting. 

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On 9/13/2025 at 9:11 AM, start_today said:

Ok, again, I’m jaded and don’t like anything. 

But, this is just a brand name stamped on a mediocre stick, right? Like the “synergy” sticks that are a low tier Bauer with Easton graphics and a higher price point than they should have. No one under 40 actually cares if some ancient brand makes sticks again. 

If this were a new, modern build offering something unique, wouldn’t they use a new name to capture the youth market, who is far and away the biggest selling point? And if it’s the “classic” TPS, why does anyone care about people who have been out of the game for 20 years? 

And, outside of the XN10 (which, to be fair, people loved), TPS was never putting out GREAT sticks, right? They were fine, but it’s not like they were pushing boundaries and doing interesting stuff and suddenly stopped.

Nostalgia for the sake of nostalgia. 

I’m happy to be proven wrong but, nothing about this strikes me as actually exciting. 

Yup, 100% dad market cash grab.

What sort of irks me about these things is trying to make it feel like the original, or hyping it like its some other worldly thing they are bring back for a limited time. Those TPS sticks were great at that point in time. I can't imagine they'd stand up to a modern composite.

I think CCM got it right with the retro Tacks.

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On 9/13/2025 at 9:11 AM, start_today said:

Ok, again, I’m jaded and don’t like anything. 

But, this is just a brand name stamped on a mediocre stick, right? Like the “synergy” sticks that are a low tier Bauer with Easton graphics and a higher price point than they should have. No one under 40 actually cares if some ancient brand makes sticks again. 

If this were a new, modern build offering something unique, wouldn’t they use a new name to capture the youth market, who is far and away the biggest selling point? And if it’s the “classic” TPS, why does anyone care about people who have been out of the game for 20 years? 

And, outside of the XN10 (which, to be fair, people loved), TPS was never putting out GREAT sticks, right? They were fine, but it’s not like they were pushing boundaries and doing interesting stuff and suddenly stopped.

Nostalgia for the sake of nostalgia. 

I’m happy to be proven wrong but, nothing about this strikes me as actually exciting. 

Nostalgia for the sake of nostalgia. This is a great point! And you are correct. The XN10 was a great stick. BUT........  How would it compare to sticks today? No different than any other great stick or skates in the past. Would they really compete? Maybe, but most likely no. 

However, lets face it. Marketing sells and I would believe its safe to say; Marketing OVER SELLS. No different than in this instance. 

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I have an original Dolomite I bust out sometimes. I think it shoots just as well as anything I've tried since. Sure it's heavier, but the balance is nice so I don't notice the weight. I think the newer sticks are mostly marketing hype. There has to be a narrative that promotes their superiority otherwise there's no reason to try anything new, and certainly not anything more expensive than its previous iteration. The original Synergy is a lot closer to today's sticks in performance than it is to the sticks that were around at the time of its release.

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42 minutes ago, flip12 said:

I have an original Dolomite I bust out sometimes. I think it shoots just as well as anything I've tried since. Sure it's heavier, but the balance is nice so I don't notice the weight. I think the newer sticks are mostly marketing hype. There has to be a narrative that promotes their superiority otherwise there's no reason to try anything new, and certainly not anything more expensive than its previous iteration. The original Synergy is a lot closer to today's sticks in performance than it is to the sticks that were around at the time of its release.

With all due respect this is a crazy take haha. My dolomites feel like a weighted rubber training stick and they are severely bottom heavy compared to todays sticks, along with the synergy from 2 decades ago. They blade and shaft torque open and you feel it. I would say there is definitely tech that has improved the stick game, maybe the lightness of todays sticks hasn't "improved" the stick game per say, but the release/balance/power of these sticks compared to the latter is two different worlds in my opinion

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