Equipment: Why Did You Start Buying One-Piece Sticks?

[greyraven8]

Went from wood to composite a while back (for player's stick - still using old wood sticks for goal). Never got into the 2 piece sticks.

First my usual brands disappeared for wood sticks.
With the choices going down and the prices going up, even for this luddite it was apparently time, a while back, to reluctantly adopt the newer technology - at least at the lower price end range for sticks.

 

[Neutrinos]

Well, my Sher-Wood Force 100 Flex shaft - which I've been using for over a decade - finally broke!

I've got all kinds of replacement shafts, but because I use a longer stick, only one of them is long enough for me when I insert the extension

It's a RBK "Snake Grip" Flex 85 and I can already tell it'll be a wet noodle out there

What I do have is a one-piece Mission Fuel "Soft Touch" Pro Hossa Flex 85 that was broken at the blade, so I've trimmed the heel of the blade into a handle and my plan is to insert my replacement blade into the butt end of the shaft and use the stick inverted

It'll still be an inch or 2 shorter than I'd like, but we'll see how she goes

 

[leftwinger37]

I was using standard two-pieces and somewhere around '07 or '08, the top of the line shafts and blades became almost exclusively tapered... or at least that was the preference the retailers I frequented at the time catered to. Unfortunately, the top-end tapered shafts and blades were almost as expensive as the top one-piece models, and I was fresh out of college, flat broke. and still trying to wrap my head around the rapidly increasing price of sticks.

I went to the University of Michigan end of season team sale and bought a used (it was cut and taped, but looked new) pro stock Warrior AK-27 (Dolomite repaint). I didn't like it at first; coming from two-piece sticks, I thought the blade was too active. My first time ever using it in a game, I couldn't get used to how the puck just flew off the blade. Receiving passes was even worse. I felt like I couldn't control the puck. It definitely took me a couple stick and puck sessions to make some adjustments.

It didn't take me long to see the benefits of the one-piece in terms of my shot, but I still prefer the puck feel of a two-piece and to this day I still use both. When it comes to "pop" it's hard to beat a one-piece, but a well-balanced two-piece comes close.