explain "flex"

[micke 0]

hi there.

well im not much into hockey and i dont know what this flex stuff means.

could you explain that to me?

which flex is good for a beginner and so on.

thanks

[Kovy_Ribs_Fedo 3]

What's your height, weight, do you use long or short sticks?

[micke 0]

Im swedish, so we use a different system.

I googled a bit... maybe this is the right conversion

6'1" 195 lbs. long stick (130cm = ~51 inches)

[kovalchuk71 212]

Id say for you 90-100 flex

Flex is how much the stick "bows" when you shoot. It "bends" when you shoot, then whips forward, putting extra power into your shot

[Sven 1]

Is it actually better if it bends or stays stiff ?

Im playing with 100 Flex and i dont have probs... just being curious

[Eazy_b97 1]

Personal Prefrence really. I'd say most people, in general, find alot of whip better for wrist shots, where stiff sticks are better for slapshots. Alot has to do with your technique and strength.

[LkptTiger 1]

I'm very "wristy" when I shoot the puck - most of the power in my shot comes from below my elbows. I find the whippier sticks really get that extra pop on my quick wristers and snappers (it's rare that I wind it up, so the slapper isn't much of a concern for me...). I'm 5'11" currently using Intermediate TFGs cut down to about the middle of my chest - they all feel like they've "broken down" to about a 75 flex...

[notorious#29 0]

I know its all Personal Preference, but I am the same size as you are,and I also use a 51" stick. I seem to find 90-100 flex to be the all around best for me. So if you need to find a place to start I would look in that area.

[hitz14 0]

I'm very "wristy" when I shoot the puck - most of the power in my shot comes from below my elbows. I find the whippier sticks really get that extra pop on my quick wristers and snappers (it's rare that I wind it up, so the slapper isn't much of a concern for me...). I'm 5'11" currently using Intermediate TFGs cut down to about the middle of my chest - they all feel like they've "broken down" to about a 75 flex...

thats crazy :o , you cut your sticks down to your chest.

[LkptTiger 1]

...To clarify, that is on skates. When I'm standing barefoot, the sticks come up to about the very bottom of my neck.

[seanmccann 3]

Im swedish, so we use a different system.

I googled a bit... maybe this is the right conversion

6'1"  195 lbs. long stick (130cm = ~51 inches)

BYW: the higher the number the less flex it has in terms of Easton, Bauer, etc but Innovative is backwards.

[joshy207 15]

thats crazy :o , you cut your sticks down to your chest.

MUCH better for stickhandling...

[mik3 1]

...To clarify, that is on skates. When I'm standing barefoot, the sticks come up to about the very bottom of my neck.

yeah, that's about how I am, and I play defense lol

[Kovy_Ribs_Fedo 3]

Mik3, is it you on the pic of you avatar.

[forsberg91 0]

I'm very "wristy" when I shoot the puck - most of the power in my shot comes from below my elbows.  I find the whippier sticks really get that extra pop on my quick wristers and snappers (it's rare that I wind it up, so the slapper isn't much of a concern for me...).  I'm 5'11" currently using Intermediate TFGs cut down to about the middle of my chest - they all feel like they've "broken down" to about a 75 flex...

thats crazy :o , you cut your sticks down to your chest.

I cut my sticks to about 2 inches below my chin without skates on. I feel that i have alot better puck control with it.

[Andoy 5]

Does reducing the length of your stick make it stiffer?

I'm a beginner myself and since my main (and only) shot is the wrist shot, I prefer to use flexy sticks but I'm only 5'9 that prefers playing with short sticks so I have to cut quite a bit of material off my sticks.

[Sven 1]

ive heard that i just influences the flex a bit, but not much

[Kobe 0]

Reducing the length of your stick does make it stiffer. This is just physics. It won't affect the flex by that much though. I think a fair guesstimate is probably 1.5-2% increase flex for every 1 inch that you cut off. I'm basing this solely on what I personally believe though: I flexed my full length 10-7 flyweight (~90 flex) and my full length 260 alpha nemesis (~90 flex) and used those flexes as my benchmark for what a 90 flex feels like. I then slid my hand down the shaft about 6" and flexed each stick again. Both sticks felt like around 100 flex this time.

[mik3 1]

Mik3, is it you on the pic of you avatar.

yeah, I don't have to bend over like that 'cause of a small stick though. I just always do that on faceoffs to get started low if I have to break out going backwards real quick in that building 'cause it's really tiny.