Stick Death Rattle

[jazzykat]

When your stick is breaking down and it sounds like there are little pebbles inside. Also, when you drop it from an inch or 2 off the ice/ground it makes a funny sound compared to a new stick.

I usually break my sticks on the blade with 0 warning but I'm assuming this is a shaft issue. Can I use this in a game, or is it also liable to fail without additional warning (this is way more than I usually get so I'm happy to just use it for pick up)?

Also, where is the stick most likely to break (somewhere in the shaft near the kickpoint)? Just curious.

 

[AIREAYE]

Take out your end plug and shake the stick out to see if the rattle is loose glue/resin.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

Does your stick vibrate oddly when you hit it on the ice? If it does, it means your stick is about to die. When I hear it, my stick usually snaps a game or two after the first occurrence.

 

[jazzykat]

Does your stick vibrate oddly when you hit it on the ice? If it does, it means your stick is about to die. When I hear it, my stick usually snaps a game or two after the first occurrence.

Yes it does, and I've noticed that it seems to flex a bit more than normal so my slapshots are all over.

 

[NDiesel]

My stick had this and had a pretty big chip near the shaft at the bottom of the stick. Lasted maybe another month and then snapped on a one-timer. I'd look for the biggest wear on your stick to see where it's likely to snap.

 

[Jisatsu]

I see most broken sticks have the break just above where the hosel ends on most shafts. Makes sense in a way. If you hear stuff rattling around in the shaft, could be like Aireaye said and is loose resin or glue bouncing around. If it sounds like it's in the blade itself, then you probably don't have much life left out of the blade. I usually retire sticks when the blade starts going soft. Then again, I've never broken a stick at the shaft, except for an easton V9E, just above the blade.

 

[CornKicker]

hammer a few one timers before the goalie gets out in warmup and when it snaps you look cool as can be.