Equipment: STICKS - Buying Guide and Advice PART 2

[AIREAYE]

No I haven't. I have heard others though. Check out thinkingjack on YouTube, iirc, he got his for free, so take that with a grain of salt.

I don't buy their value proposition though. It's relatively easy (and hence common) for a small 'company' to order bulk a 'standard' composite stick batch from a factory overseas. There are a lot of 'small hockey companies' doing it and they're all generic products, I've seen this for a few years now. Could they be as good as a $200 Bauer stick? Absolutely not. $100 stick? Again, if we're looking at their new models, likely not. You're taking a risk here, like I said. Others have accepted that risk.

 

[haveandare]

No I haven't. I have heard others though. Check out thinkingjack on YouTube, iirc, he got his for free, so take that with a grain of salt.

I don't buy their value proposition though. It's relatively easy (and hence common) for a small 'company' to order bulk a 'standard' composite stick batch from a factory overseas. There are a lot of 'small hockey companies' doing it and they're all generic products, I've seen this for a few years now. Could they be as good as a $200 Bauer stick? Absolutely not. $100 stick? Again, if we're looking at their new models, likely not. You're taking a risk here, like I said. Others have accepted that risk.

Very interesting. Thanks for the info.

I wasn't really counting on them being as good as a $200 big brand stick, as nice as that'd be. I'm drawn in mostly by the price, the weight, and the decent reviews I've heard and read.

If you don't mind me pestering you a little more, what would your pick be if you had to buy a stick in the ~100 dollar range +/- maybe 10 or so? Lots of people seem to be recommending clearance high-end sticks, which are tempting, but my budget doesn't really allow for the extra ~50ish dollars.

 

[AIREAYE]

The $100 sticks are getting better and better though! It's still a great price point to be at. I like all of Bauer's $100-$110 models at regular price, as well as TRUE Hockey's A2.2, which is balanced well.

In that price range, you could reasonably get previous year's $150-$200 sticks as well. Warrior's DT2 or DT3 for example, or CCM's RBZ 80 etc.

See if you can find some Pro Stock sticks on clearance even.

Why don't you search around a few retailer sites and pick out a few that interest you and we can go from there. Cross reference with this guide to get a basic understanding of what each model/line entails.

 

[ORLY]

Buy 1 get 1 50% off at sportchek. Lots of great sticks available

http://www.sportchek.ca/family/index.jsp?categoryId=3748095

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

Bought a two piece Total One NXG for $160. 77 flex, P14 Toews. Can't wait to try it !

 

[Hyzer]

If you guys look through eBay, you can literally get APXs/RS2/RBZ/TotalOne for like 100-130 dollars a stick, some even pro stock. It just takes a bit of time to go through the crap and find the gems though, but it's still pretty awesome.

 

[ORLY]

If you guys look through eBay, you can literally get APXs/RS2/RBZ/TotalOne for like 100-130 dollars a stick, some even pro stock. It just takes a bit of time to go through the crap and find the gems though, but it's still pretty awesome.

I've tried and had no luck with ebay, usually the great deals come from the states and shipping isn't worth it

 

[jazzykat]

I am only 5'9" but I am heavy 200# (15 of pure fat ) I cut my sticks down to about 56" for both low and mid-kick sticks.

I buy 70-77 flex sticks and cut them, so the flex is reasonable for my height and strength although it seems like loading a mid kick is ridiculously difficult even when I have time. In contrast, the low kick sticks load up nicely and do what I expect (quick release, less power).

Does anyone find that cutting mid kick sticks 4"+ sort of screws them up? I've tried moving my hands around a little at the beginning of practice, might that be the key?

 

[AIREAYE]

It would have more impact for sure because in effect, you're raising the kick point.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

I am only 5'9" but I am heavy 200# (15 of pure fat ) I cut my sticks down to about 56" for both low and mid-kick sticks.

I buy 70-77 flex sticks and cut them, so the flex is reasonable for my height and strength although it seems like loading a mid kick is ridiculously difficult even when I have time. In contrast, the low kick sticks load up nicely and do what I expect (quick release, less power).

Does anyone find that cutting mid kick sticks 4"+ sort of screws them up? I've tried moving my hands around a little at the beginning of practice, might that be the key?

Sounds like you'd benefit from something that is half way between a mid kick and a low kick. For instance, if you're into Bauer sticks, you'd be the perfect candidate to use Vapor sticks.

 

[ORLY]

Hockeysupremacy has been a god-send for me. Now hoping they can send me a Superfast LH 85 Flex with a Landy curve. US shipping restrictions for CCM have made this way more complicated than need be. My LHS only carries the Tacks Stick and the Stage 2, and Pro Hockey Life only has the RNH and Hossa curve. If they don't have if I'll probably have to request PHL or maybe my LHS to order it for me...I just wanna play...

 

[AIREAYE]

How long would shipping take?

 

[SamsonReinFart]

I've owned an All Black Hockey Stick for a few months now and I will be a customer for a while. I'm a low level beer league player, but it's perfect for me. Light and durable, flex feels great...

I also use it for floor/ball hockey and it's perfect. I recommend it, but then again I might not be able to pick up on some of the minor things that might be "wrong" with it compared to high-end sticks.

Awesome staff as well, I had an email exchange going with the guy just asking questions about the curves that they had in stock and the guy I dealt with was very fast to respond and knowledgeable about the product. It's old-fashioned, but that means a lot to me.

 

[ORLY]

How long would shipping take?

Should be here in a week, they've always been really fast. Emailed me back as soon as their shift started, said they had 1 left, and threw me a 15% off code for the stick which was unexpected but appreciated. Saved $50 from that. I've ordered many things from hockeysupremacy.com and they have all arrived quickly. The live chat is handy too. Can't say enough good things about them.

Advice to everyone, if you're located in Canada which makes hockey monkey a pain, give hockey supremacy a shot. Good sales from time to time and their prices are on par or better than most places.

 

[AIREAYE]

The week's shipping time is about on par as ordering one from a store, at least in my store. Did the LHS give you a time frame?

The coupon off is nice too.

Canadians, for the most part, shouldn't be ordering from HM anyways unless you live near the border.

 

[ORLY]

The week's shipping time is about on par as ordering one from a store, at least in my store. Did the LHS give you a time frame?

The coupon off is nice too.

Canadians, for the most part, shouldn't be ordering from HM anyways unless you live near the border.

Yeah, they said about two weeks but were pretty uneasy about giving me a solid timeline. Maybe they felt it would take longer because they don't carry the stick. I don't really know how that works, but I noticed the email from hockeysupremacy and couldn't say no to the discount.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

The week's shipping time is about on par as ordering one from a store, at least in my store. Did the LHS give you a time frame?

The coupon off is nice too.

Canadians, for the most part, shouldn't be ordering from HM anyways unless you live near the border.

I never a good website to order hockey stuff from in Canada. I always ended up going to my LHS. From now on, if I don't find good deals in stores, I will order from HM and drive to the border to pick it up. Montreal is less than 100 km away from the border.

 

[AIREAYE]

I never a good website to order hockey stuff from in Canada. I always ended up going to my LHS. From now on, if I don't find good deals in stores, I will order from HM and drive to the border to pick it up. Montreal is less than 100 km away from the border.

Provided you have some sort of shipping drop off like a PO Box or whatever.

Doing this is pretty much a cost-benefit thing. Is the hour+ of time and gas worth what you're saving kind of deal.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

Provided you have some sort of shipping drop off like a PO Box or whatever.

Doing this is pretty much a cost-benefit thing. Is the hour+ of time and gas worth what you're saving kind of deal.

I ship my stuff to a warehouse on the other side of the border. I don't mind spending an hour and a bit of gas, because my parents also order stuff in the US, so we end up saving a lot.

 

[Hyzer]

I've tried and had no luck with eBay, usually the great deals come from the states and shipping isn't worth it

Yeah, that kinda sucks unfortunately. Depends where you live. I live in Canada but really close to border and I own a PO box so I just ship there. Just got 2 RBZ Stage 2's for 220 dollars shipped the other day.

 

[ORLY]

Yeah, that kinda sucks unfortunately. Depends where you live. I live in Canada but really close to border and I own a PO box so I just ship there. Just got 2 RBZ Stage 2's for 220 dollars shipped the other day.

That's one hell of a deal. Would cost me more than that for 1 at my LHS.

My Superfast should be here tomorrow (today I suppose). Very impressed with the fast, free shipping, ordered it just Tuesday.

Sadly the site I usually use (hockeysupremacy) doesn't have the RBZ shins in my size and I've had my eye on them for a bit. I'm using some easton stealth ones I believe the cheapest ones (like $25), and they feel like logs of sweat 5 minutes into a game, they move around etc. I went light and cheap with my last equipment purchases (sherwood 5030 shoulders, elbows, hate that stuff no matter how light it is, the feel is bad), this time I'm doing things differently. Good quality lightweight equipment that I'd actually use for many years will probably me more worthwhile in the long run.

 

[VaughanBender72]

What's the most durable high end stick ?

If i wanna get a high end stick I want it to be durable, so what is the most durable highend stick you've bought ?

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

If i wanna get a high end stick I want it to be durable, so what is the most durable highend stick you've bought ?

Total One sticks are tanks. The blade can be a bit fragile, but don't worry about breaking the shaft.
My old Total One shaft has lasted me 2 years, and I still use it. Meanwhile, I broke an APX in just 2 months, and several blades.

My two best friends use their Nexus 1000 they bought more than a year ago.

Go Supreme or Nexus if you want something durable. The Vapors break easily if you like to lean on your stick a lot to take slap shots.

 

[mattkaminski15]

Total One sticks are tanks. The blade can be a bit fragile, but don't worry about breaking the shaft.
My old Total One shaft has lasted me 2 years, and I still use it. Meanwhile, I broke an APX in just 2 months, and several blades.

My two best friends use their Nexus 1000 they bought more than a year ago.

Go Supreme or Nexus if you want something durable. The Vapors break easily if you like to lean on your stick a lot to take slap shots.

In my experience the original total one is durable, the nxg not so much, and the mx3.. Well it's a median between the two. I had my nexus for six months, though it was incorrect flex and lie so who knows how long it would have lasted if it were tailored correctly.

Sherwood sticks are tanks. The ek15 wasn't as much of a tank as the t100 but they're both really durable. I used the t100 for a full year almost exactly (367 days, which was about 190 or so skates).

The new superfast ccm stick wears out quickly

Ribcor is pretty durable

Anything else on the market is a no go. Stay away from eastons & warriors. Eastons blades break too easily, warriors break everywhere.

Again this is just in my experience with sticks.

 

[AIREAYE]

In my experience the original total one is durable, the nxg not so much, and the mx3.. Well it's a median between the two. I had my nexus for six months, though it was incorrect flex and lie so who knows how long it would have lasted if it were tailored correctly.

Sherwood sticks are tanks. The ek15 wasn't as much of a tank as the t100 but they're both really durable. I used the t100 for a full year almost exactly (367 days, which was about 190 or so skates).

The new superfast ccm stick wears out quickly

Ribcor is pretty durable

Anything else on the market is a no go. Stay away from eastons & warriors. Eastons blades break too easily, warriors break everywhere.

Again this is just in my experience with sticks.

Well, the Superfast and MX3 just came out, so there isn't really any feedback on them yet...

OP, people will say different things. You'll have people swear by one brand and swear off another. People will give a blanket statement that an entire brand of stick is poor for durability based on a very small sample size.

Don't take what you hear at face value.