Are wood sticks going to be extinct?

[IslesZoso]

I'm a die-hard woodie man, but it seems it's getting harder to get my hands on good wood sticks.

When I hit the pro shops, they're constantly pushing their huge selection of composites, whereas the viable choices for woodies are dwindling. Especially for someone like me who favors the "intermediates". Fewer brand names, curve choices, flexes, lengths, etc. Heck, some online hockey stores don't even carry woods anymore!

Are my beloved woodies going the way of the dinosaur?? I'm sure the hockey brand companies would be quite happy to drop them in favor of their "higher-end" composite products that likely carry a greater profit margin.

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[r3cc0s]

Pretty sure they are....

I talked to a couple old timers who no longer use woodies and they state that they just can't find ones that used to like.. i.e. the old eastons, sherwoods that thye thought used to be made out of better quality aspen.

all & all, you can get a decent composite on sale for the price of 2 woodies, and it will last longer IMO and generally perform as good or better as they're lighter.

I bought an Easton S11 for $50, and a T90 for $50 so really that's the price of maybe 4 wood 5030's? I know that they're holding up better than the 5030's wood, as they'd usually start lossing their flex in about 2 games.

good compromise is wood blades and a composite shaft which can also be had cheap, and when the blade breaks, just replace it with another $5 one.

I think Pro's break their sticks for a couple of reasons
#1 - They can REALLY shoot, and are consistantly loading their sticks. I'll bet their snappers have as much load as most of our slappers.
#2 - Their sticks are subjected to some seriously hard stickwork/slashing/lifts/checks
#3 - Prostock S19, TotalOnes, X60s, Crazylights are first off 100% carbon sticks, and I've heard are even lighter and stiffer than the ones we can buy

I think a middle of the pack lets say X:40 Nike will last a beer leaguer who doesn't slap all the time probably more than one season

 

[Hacker10]

As much as I hope not, they probably will be at some point.

After buying a Bauer One60 and Easton SE6, I've gone back to my 5030's and much prefer the Sherwoods to the plastic, and wonder why I spent the money on them.

Maybe when a TotalOne or other high-end stick costs $25, I'll look at going back.

 

[ponder]

Yeah, they're going extinct IMO, eventually wood sticks will likely be as hard to find as any other outdated technology like video or audio cassettes, vinyl records, floppy discs, etc. I wouldn't blame the shops though, the reason they carry less and less wood sticks is not because of some secret pre-composite bias, it's just that most people prefer composites to woodies, so there's really not much of a market for wood sticks, hence little reason to keep significant stock.

Also, agreed that your average low/mid range composite will last your average beer leaguer around a full season.

 

[mbeam]

Yeah, they're going extinct IMO, eventually wood sticks will likely be as hard to find as any other outdated technology like video or audio cassettes, vinyl records, floppy discs, etc. I wouldn't blame the shops though, the reason they carry less and less wood sticks is not because of some secret pre-composite bias, it's just that most people prefer composites to woodies, so there's really not much of a market for wood sticks, hence little reason to keep significant stock.

Also, agreed that your average low/mid range composite will last your average beer leaguer around a full season.

Can we expect specialty shops to start popping up with more expansive collections of woodies to choose from than there ever were when they were the main consumer good? Nice.

 

[Doctor Drej]

I have both and still actually prefer wood. I'm not exactly made of money so when guys go out there in pickup or beer league games and act like it's Game 7 of the SCF slashing everyone and just overall being too rough and over the top, I use the wood sticks. Composites are cheap pieces of **** but also expensive and I don't want some moron breaking my 150-200 dollar stick in half. Woods are more sturdier and it's kind of fun to be "that" weirdo out there using a wood stick anyway.

There's a few online stores that still sell good wood sticks if you search around some. I just wouldn't pay too much for a piece of lumber though. It's all personal preference really.

 

[nullterm]

I hope not, but wouldn't be surprised.

I went to a local hockey shop yesterday and was blown away at how few woodies they now have compared to the last time I was there a few months ago. Was hoping to grab an Easton Classic intermediate. But they barely had anything except 5030s, some Jr sticks, and road hockey woodies w/ ABS blades.

 

[Hockeyfan68]

Pretty sure they are....

I talked to a couple old timers who no longer use woodies and they state that they just can't find ones that used to like.. i.e. the old eastons, sherwoods that thye thought used to be made out of better quality aspen.

all & all, you can get a decent composite on sale for the price of 2 woodies, and it will last longer IMO and generally perform as good or better as they're lighter.

I bought an Easton S11 for $50, and a T90 for $50 so really that's the price of maybe 4 wood 5030's? I know that they're holding up better than the 5030's wood, as they'd usually start lossing their flex in about 2 games.

good compromise is wood blades and a composite shaft which can also be had cheap, and when the blade breaks, just replace it with another $5 one.

I think Pro's break their sticks for a couple of reasons
#1 - They can REALLY shoot, and are consistantly loading their sticks. I'll bet their snappers have as much load as most of our slappers.
#2 - Their sticks are subjected to some seriously hard stickwork/slashing/lifts/checks
#3 - Prostock S19, TotalOnes, X60s, Crazylights are first off 100% carbon sticks, and I've heard are even lighter and stiffer than the ones we can buy

I think a middle of the pack lets say X:40 Nike will last a beer leaguer who doesn't slap all the time probably more than one season

You'll also notice that the SAME players break their sticks many more times than other pro players. Kessel, Bergeron (Patrice), Cammaleri and Ovechkin come to mind.

They use a whippy flex and are strong blokes.

I posted this already in another thread but I used wood for 35 years and switched to composites 2 years ago. I wished they would have had compos sooner as I wasted tons of money on woodies because they always break and the biggest problem is they lose their flex way too quickly. What I mean by the wood stick breaking is that the blade is weak and cracks at the height of the puck and also water absorbsion issues when you get a small chip of finish to crack off.

Wood is junk. Only woodie guys would understand this ... when you have a brand spank me new stick that feeling of the crisp blade and shaft are absolutely amazing. After a few slapshots or hard wristers the flex starts to give and you end up with a noodle. I would spend much more money on wood sticks because a good woodie is around $30 at least and up. i would use 2 a month or so but my composite 2 pieces last me a year or more. Do the math.

The best part of the compo is you have a fresh new stick blade and shaft every time for the life of the stick which is something you won't get ever with a woodie.

The woodie is done and will be gone forever. There is a reason air planes, golf clubs and car wheels are no longer made from wood.

 

[IslesZoso]

The best part of the compo is you have a fresh new stick blade and shaft every time for the life of the stick which is something you won't get ever with a woodie.

The woodie is done and will be gone forever. There is a reason air planes, golf clubs and car wheels are no longer made from wood.

And the tennis racket too, which has somehow taken a lot of the finesse out of the pro game. Tennis is now 130mph serves and slam-bam thank you ma'am. That said, pro baseball seems to be clinging to its wooden bats.

Anyway, the main reasons I cling to my wormy woodies is the better "softer" feel for stickhandling and passing.

 

[ATLhockey437]

If anyone knows where I could find SR RH Bauer Supreme 3030 woodies, please let me know, they were my favorite sticks ever. 3 years ago I bought 5 for $50 but they're done, I still have 1 left but dont want to use it due to how rare they are now. Heres a pic for you visual people

http://www.sportsauthority.com/graphics/product_images/p233533reg.jpg

best sticks ever, seriously

from what I see in the Bauer Catalogs of new equipment, they still make woodies but only sell them in Europe, can of you euros confirm this for me?

 

[noobman]

Wood sticks will eventually go extinct. I have yet to see a single kid at the rink using a wooden stick in the past five years or so, with the exception of one three year old. Then again, he's three years old. I'm sure his dad's going to get him a composite well before he's 10.

The older guys seem to be making the switch as well. Of the people I play with, there's maybe only one guy that uses a wood stick as his primary. The rest have composite primaries and a wooden secondary, or just two composites (buy 1 get 1 half off deals ftw).



I bought a wooden stick the other day to try it one last time... and it just felt weird. My shot was actually better by some weird miracle and I could feel the puck well, but I kept losing the puck in my skates while skating b/c for whatever reason it felt like the puck wouldn't move as far ahead of me when I pushed it forward as compared to my composite.

 

[Whiplash27]

Yeah, they're going extinct IMO, eventually wood sticks will likely be as hard to find as any other outdated technology like video or audio cassettes, vinyl records, floppy discs, etc. I wouldn't blame the shops though, the reason they carry less and less wood sticks is not because of some secret pre-composite bias, it's just that most people prefer composites to woodies, so there's really not much of a market for wood sticks, hence little reason to keep significant stock.

Also, agreed that your average low/mid range composite will last your average beer leaguer around a full season.

Probably longer. I can make a mid-range stick last for a quite some time.

 

[Rizzy13]

i dont think so... not everyone can afford the fancy composite sticks... i for one started playing ice hockey in grade 10, i'm in my 2nd year of university now... and for 5 years of lots of ice hockey, i used a composite stick and eventually both of my composites broke, one was $100 and one was $60 and the 60 dollar one sucked and chipped away... i bought a $40 wooden easton stick for $20 and the woods chipping but its been well worth it

 

[HowToHockey]

The wooden sticks will never be extinct, they are still an affordable option so some company will always make them, and if the big stick makers stop then a few smaller companies will start doing it to meet a niche market demand. As long as people keep buying them, they will keep making them. People still buy wooden sticks for kids, ball hockey, practice sticks, or to use in games.

 

[darkmoon1196]

i dont think so... not everyone can afford the fancy composite sticks... i for one started playing ice hockey in grade 10, i'm in my 2nd year of university now... and for 5 years of lots of ice hockey, i used a composite stick and eventually both of my composites broke, one was $100 and one was $60 and the 60 dollar one sucked and chipped away... i bought a $40 wooden easton stick for $20 and the woods chipping but its been well worth it

A couple of weeks ago, I broke my $230, custom totalone. That being said, it was only the second stick I have ever broken, but it was a painful experience.

I stopped using wooden sticks before I ever started getting competitive, so I can't offer a real opinion on how good they are.

However, I can say that composite sticks do last long. You just have to be smart. Don't jam your stick into the boards on a poke check, the thing will snap right at the kickpoint. Constantly tape up the blade, a fresher layer will offer better protection, and therefore it's less likely to chip. I try to tape up my stick every 3-4 games.

Sticks break, it's a part of hockey. Personally, I would say a cheaper composite stick is a decent investment. My first real composite was an s11 when i was about 13-14 years old (I hovered with the kinda wood-kinda composite synergy 200 for a while), and I thought it was as good a stick as any at the time. Probably sells really cheap now. A quick google search says about 50-70 each.