Equipment: Every Stick I've Ever Used

[Jarick]

Thought about this one from time to time, thought I'd give it a shot. Here's every stick I've used from 2005, roughly in chronological order.

What I've learned:

1. I'm cheap yet compulsive so I will buy sticks on sale that I normally pass by.
2. I rarely spring for good stuff like I should and end up spending more money in the long run.
3. I'm a tweaker who will constantly tinker with stick height, curves, kick points, etc.
4. Every time I want to buy a stick, I ought to just put that money in savings for new APX.

So I'm probably leaving some things out, but I recalled a few "gems" I had forgotten, or maybe banished from my memory.

ONE-PIECE STICKS
================

(2006)
Bauer Vapor XX 87 flex PM9 - first OPS, light, way way way too stiff for me, blade broke actually
(2007)
Bauer Endure 77 flex P88 - thing was a tank, used it for years, kind of heavy and rubbery puck feel
(2008)
Mission Fuel 65 flex Rafalski - first intermediate stick, light, well balanced, decent shot but stiff due to low kick
(2009)
Bauer One95 67 flex P88 - awesome but I didn't like the curve, didn't like mid kick and shot suffered
Bauer Vapor XXV 67 flex P88 - better shot than the One95 but kind of heavy and crap feel
Bauer Vapor XXV 77 flex P92 - same as above but way way way too stiff
(2010)
Reebok 7k Sickick 75 flex Bergeron - great kick and flex, a little lag on it, got bored with the curve
Bauer One95 77 flex P92 - bought it cracked used and it broke right away
Bauer One95 87 flex P92 - actually decent stick but it was too stiff when cut down
Reebok 10k 65 flex Crosby - it literally got stuck in the zamboni door on my first shift with it and the blade broke...but it was too stiff
Battleaxe BX10 65 flex Drury - very light weight with decent feel and great kick, first stick I broke while shooting
TPS R2 65 flex Nash - way old pre-XN10 stick, light and balanced, decent feel, too whippy, torqued on me
(2011)
Bauer Vapor X:60 75 flex P92 - LOVED this stick excellent weight, balance, and kick, meh feel
Warrior Dolomite DD 70 flex Draper - excellent feel but felt too whippy at the time, regret selling this for cheap
Warrior Dolomite Spyne 75 flex Draper - same as above but too stiff, sold it to a teammate who needed it for $20
Warrior Dynasty 70 flex Kopitar - great feel, solid all around stick, used mostly as backup
(2012)
CCM V06 65 flex Crazy Ovi - awful stick, too stiff and heavy, crap feel, awful curve
Warrior Diablo 70 flex Kopitar - great feel, too stiff, blade broke second use
Bauer Nexus 600 60 flex P92 - meh feel, kind of heavy, flex is cool but whippy, it's a backup
Warrior Covert DT2 55 flex Kopitar - great feel, hate the low kick, it torques like a *****
(2013)
Miken Z9 65 flex BP14 - decent feel, a hair stiff, quick release and good shooting

STANDARD SHAFTS
===============

(2005)
Easton Octane 85 flex - first stick as an adult, heavy and shot like crap
(2006)
TPS XN10 whip flex - super light weight, nice whip, too much torque, blade heavy
(2007)
Reebok 5k 75 flex - too stiff and heavy
Easton Cyclone 65 flex - felt like about 150 flex
TPS Rubber X-Stiff flex - felt like about 150 flex
TPS Tricore 60 flex - felt like about 50 flex, way too whippy, had a fake wood grain finish that was weird
TPS Intrigue 65 flex - garbage shaft, pure fiberglass
Bauer One90 67 flex - light but too whippy and blade heavy
(2008)
CCM Vector 08 75 flex - too stiff
Easton Z-Bubble 75 flex - felt like about 150 flex again
(2011)
Warrior AK27 70 flex - nice kick but too light so nothing balanced at all
(2012)
Easton SE16 65 flex - cut from OPS, flipped to take junior standard blades

STANDARD BLADES
===============

Easton wood Forsberg - heavy
Bauer One60 wood P106 - light as a feather and fell apart quickly
Easton ST Heatley - insanely durable, decent feel, heavy
Easton CNT Drury - great feel, super light, very fragile
CCM "Texalium" - awful
Sherwood RM9 PP96 - decent feel and weight, disliked the curve
Montreal M95 Euro - had many of these, great feel, good weight, durable, cheap
Easton Hybrid Sakic - first Sakic, these were cool, composite blade on a wood hosel, super thin
Warrior Bandito Draper - heavy, crap feel, waste of money
Warrior AK27 Draper - good feel but still heavy
Bauer One90 wood P92 JR - got a few of these for my junior stick and tweaked the curve, too light and short and small
Bauer One95 P88 JR - seems like a good blade but too small, was only $5 though
Bauer One35 P92 JR - same as above but with worse feel
Easton wood Hall - small wood blade, tweaked it open, never use it

TAPERED SHAFTS
==============

(2007)
Mission L-2 75 flex - nice kick but lots of lag and torqued open
(2008)
Easton SL 70 flex - great shaft, nice kick, good weight and balance, kind of boxy, should have kept it but no grip
TPS R2 Armor - nice kick but these were notoriously flimsy and broke first time I used it
Warrior Dolomite pro stock 320 flex polar fibre - bit too stiff, polar fibre was weird, snapped it on the boards
Warrior Dolomite 75 flex - had two of these, a bit stiff, great shooting overall
(2009)
Harrow 300 75 flex - too stiff
Harrow 300 60 flex - too whippy
(2010)
TPS XN10 65 flex - way too whippy and light
Reebok 7k Sickick 75 flex - cut from OPS, oddly had fantastic kick to it, donated it
Reebok 8k 75 flex - thought it would be like the above but was WAY too stiff
(2011)
Easton SE16 75 flex - cut from OPS, still have it, nice kick, good balance, kind of boxy
TPS R2 65 flex - cut from OPS above, still have it, light, too whippy

TAPERED BLADES
==============

Mission L-2 Hull + Hossa - light, good feel, lost stiffness and cracked
Warrior Dolomite Vanek + Robitaille = nice weight, ceramic feel, very durable
Christian wood - heated and curved into a toe, soft/dull feel, super light
TPS R2 wood Nash - don't remember much, fairly stiff and decent weight?
Easton SE16 Iginla - great feel, light, hated the curve, started cracking at the heel right away
Warrior Dolomite HD Kovalchuk - great feel, started cracking quickly
Easton Synergy Drury - very old, seemed tough, pingy feel
Mission pro stock Brunette - great feel, super durable, a little heavy, weird curve
Harrow 300 #1, #2, #4, #5, #6 - had a lot of these, good feel, heavy but not as heavy as standard, bulletproof
TPS R2 blade pro stock - good feel, light weight, hated the curve (closed)
Bauer Vapor XXXX P88 - ceramic feeling but insanely tough, used this outside for a couple years
CCM 852 wood blade - unremarkable wood blade, might have given it away?
Easton EQ50 / SE16 / Mako wood Drury, Forsberg, Lidstrom - great weight and wood feel, fairly durable but go soft
Base 4.75 lie Drury - good feel, durable, good weight, hate the sharkskin though
Easton Synergy Forsberg - very old, haven't really used it

WOOD STICKS
===========

Sherwood 5030 Coffey - of course, decent but blade falls apart
Montreal 4400 Euro - LOVED THIS STICK, great kick, great feel, great durability...a buddy still brings his old one to games for mojo
Easton Classic Forsberg = actually had a great shot with this but it broke after a couple games
Sherwood 7000 Coffey - too stiff
Bauer One40 - senior flex = too stiff, intermediate flex = blade torques open
Bauer One55 - actually really liked this but it snapped in half literally the first use

Click to read more...

 

[MJAYK]

What an impressive list!

 

[Jarick]

I'd also like to point out that only twice have I spent more than $120 on a stick: $160-ish for my X:60 and $125 for the Dolomite Spyne.

 

[jw2]

I guess I don't change sticks enough. I find something I like, and buy a bunch of them.


My favorite stick was one I used as a squirt and pee-wee. It was a black-bladed Titan stick with red lettering.

 

[AIREAYE]

I knew you used a lot of sticks dude, but...wow.

 

[neksys]

Cool list. What do you do with all the sticks? Some break I'm sure, but do you just have like, a bunker stocked full of old sticks?

 

[snizzbone*]

Never used an Easton OPS?

 

[thedonger]

Jarick, just out of curiosity, do you think you'd like the dt2 more if you'd have gotten the 70 flex instead of 55?

Right now I'm debating between a dt2 which would be nice as I can get it with my preferred curve(p14/w14) but I'm a bit unsure of how the stick flexes, and the new dynasty ax1(the drawback being I'll have to settle for the kopitar since I'm looking at 70 flex int's).

My favorite stick so far was an int T1 75 flex with p14. Loved that stick to death but snapped on me right at midshaft in a little over a month of use...and I'm not at all hard on sticks. Been looking for something similar with better durability ever since. Wouldn't something similar but just a tad bit heavier too though.

 

[izzy]

I've used about 8-9 sticks since 2005 and I don't even know what they all were. Nice list, will reference next time I buy a stick.

 

[Jarick]

I've been playing since late 2005 so it's not QUITE as bad...60 or so sticks over 7+ years...okay that's still a fair amount.

I could probably do the same thing with all my gear

Cool list. What do you do with all the sticks? Some break I'm sure, but do you just have like, a bunker stocked full of old sticks?

Actually I sold most of them. I've maybe only broken half a dozen sticks and shafts. For a while, especially with shafts and blades, you could recoup a good bit of value selling them. But the last couple years nobody wants to buy them so they just either pile up or recently I've been donating them to equipment drives.

Right now I have the Nexus 600, Warrior DT2, Miken Z-9 for one piece sticks, and then my SE16 shaft and R8 shaft, plus another standard shaft that I didn't list, so I'll have to fix it

Never used an Easton OPS?

Nope, which is weird. I'm really intrigued by the Mako 2 series, especially if the price points are as good as AIREAYE says they are. Just recently busted out my SE16 shaft and like it although it's a bit big and boxy for my tiny hands.

I've come close though. Nearly picked up ST's several times, nearly picked up clearance Stealths, just passed an EQ40 for $50 and a 2010 ST for $65 this last weekend.

Jarick, just out of curiosity, do you think you'd like the dt2 more if you'd have gotten the 70 flex instead of 55?

No, because I tried and disliked the Diablo in 70 flex before it. The Diablo 70 felt just too stiff up near the hands where I like it to flex. With snappers you could feel it kick, but not with wristers like I take. And I didn't want to force myself into a new shooting style.

If you liked the Covert feels like the anti-T1 to me, so you probably won't like the kick point, but maybe you'll love it? It's so personal.

 

[TheeNorthStar]

I was really debating buyin a Closeout Dynasty 70 int Gionta.. After i saw this.. I pulled the trigger...

 

[Jarick]

What, nobody else wants to play?

 

[Jarick]

I was really debating buyin a Closeout Dynasty 70 int Gionta.. After i saw this.. I pulled the trigger...

Dynasty was a solid stick for me. Kind of unremarkable, but solid. I'd be curious to try the new Dynasty as I think it has a more pronounced mid kick?

 

[TheeNorthStar]

Dynasty was a solid stick for me. Kind of unremarkable, but solid. I'd be curious to try the new Dynasty as I think it has a more pronounced mid kick?

I was skeptical of puck feel. Since Ive read some good and some meh reviews on it saying it is kind of a dead blade but some say it was a smoother feel and liked the feel.

I recently started to play with no end cap and idk why i think i feel the puck more so i guess that would help with puck feel a tad.

Plus , just taking your word for it since you have quite the stick resume

 

[esidebill]

The only stick I have is an Easton ST Sakic 115 flex... I decided my next stick will be a bit whippier. 6'5 210 barely can do much bending on it.

 

[Jarick]

Added a couple more

Yikes.

 

[Jarick]

Sadly enough I could probably make a pretty accurate list of my teammate and old roommate's stick history.

I'm also "that guy" who notices whenever a teammate gets a new twig.

 

[Ozz]

Jeez. I've been playing since the early 90s and I haven't had half that many sticks. Not evne that many blades and I used an aluminum shaft forever (I still rock a couple as backups).

I'd love to get my hands on your arsenal for an afternoon!

 

[rbarker26]

Only been playing for a little less than 2 years, here is every stick I have ever used:

Bauer TotalOne LE (87 flex, P08 curve (Ovechkin))
Got this stick back in November on cyber monday, I absolutely love this stick. This ovechkin curve is insane. I have never used this curve before, so it took a couple of sessions to get used to it, but I found that this stick/curve helped me with my accuracy and power. I have no problem going top shelf (in fact, sometimes I shoot over the crossbar). I can shoot the puck pretty much wherever I aim. When taking a slap shot, puck comes off the blade very quickly. The totalone shaft feels great, very light and responsive, but also very durable at the same time. Puck handling feels great, and passing with this stick is no problem at all. Probably the best overall stick I have ever used.

Easton S19 (85-100 flex, Heatley curve)
This was one of my favorite sticks. Got it from the Sharks equipment sale back in June 2012, the blade ended up breaking during one of my games in August 2012. Didn't have any flex number on it, but it felt closer to 100 flex. When shooting with this stick, you can definitely feel the low kick point, as the puck would come off screaming. Great for wrist shots and slap shots. Passing and stick handling were pretty good (although not as great as the total one). Just wish this stick was a little more durable, but nonetheless still a great shooter's stick.

Easton Stealth RS (100+ flex, Handzus curve)
After reading such great reviews and seeing that almost every other player in the NHL last season was using this stick, my expectations were pretty high. This was another stick I bought from the Sharks sale at the same time. This is a pro-stock, Michal Handzus stick. I didn't see any flex number on the shaft, but it definitely feels more than 100 flex. It has a square toe, although I am not a fan of the square toe. It is very light, and probably one of the best stick handling sticks I have ever used, but my shot is awful with this stick. I have a very hard time getting some height and speed on my shot. I think most likely the stick is too stiff, and would be more beneficial with another curve.

Easton S15 (85 flex, Getzlaf curve)
This is a solid stick for the price. Currently my backup stick. Shooting feels good, I would have to add that slap shots felt a little bit better than wrist shots. I have some trouble aiming my wrist shots with this stick. It could be the Getzlaf square toe. Shaft doesn't feel too heavy. Doesn't shoot as nice or fast as the S19/TotalOne, but still a pretty good stick for the price.

Reebok 10K (85 flex, Rahimi curve)
Another pro-stock stick. Good, solid stick. Felt light. Shooting and passing felt pretty good with it. Just wish it was a little more durable, as it only last a little longer than a month. Ended up breaking during a game, I was clearing the puck on PK and the blade decided to follow the puck down the rink.

Bauer One20 (87 flex, Backstrom curve)
First stick I bought when I started playing. Pretty heavy (as compared to top-end sticks), but it's not gonna break. Passing and stick handling are decent with this stick. Shooting is pretty solid. Definitely a beginner stick though.

 

[rbarker26]

I think the next stick I would like to buy is a Bauer Vapor APX...

 

[Fanned On It]

Dude you gotta try an APX... it's a beauty.

 

[izzy3]

Jarick, you're nuts man, but you prolly know that.

Here's my list, in chronological order:

1st year: Being kinda clueless, buying *****:
1) CCM V04 Wood SR - knew nothing about the stuff, I didn't tape the blade on the top on it for the first few weeks... It died due to roller hockey on asphalt...
2) RBK 4K 85, 11 - flat curve, almost no loft - Cut it too much, was a ***** to flex for my small frame, but I had a deadly backhand with it. My wristers sucked though. Donated to my teams equipment pool
3) CCM V06 85, Sakic - Still too stiff, my wristers were getting better with this one, but I hated it for some reason. Donated.
4) Reebok 4K 85, Sakic - Still too stiff, best wristers up to this point. Heavy as hell though, donated.

2nd year:
5) Warrior Bentley 65, Draper - First try with an INT, and I loved this stick. Improved my game all around. It was donated cause I got my Dolo Spyne.
6) Warrior Dolo Spyne 65, Draper - Had it on a bankrupcy sale. Awesome stick, great puck feel, first time I was able to stickhandle head up, loved it to death. And death came cause the blade was made of glass.
6) Warrior Dolo Dragon 75, Draper - Bought it on the same sale, but actually did not use until recently. Great stick, and I was able to use the flex. Awesome shots, slightly worse puck feel than the Spyne. Guess what, blade broke.
7) CCM CL 65, Sakic - Hated it first, because the blade is rigid as hell (pingy), so collected dust for 2 years. Now it is my game stick, awesome shots due to the rigid blade, but needs really soft hands for pass receiving. Puck feel is not excellent, but a good trade off for hard shots.

3rd year:
8) Easton ST 2009 65, Sakic - Never used, bought dirt cheap on a summer sale
9) Easton ST 2010 65, Sakic - Never used, bought dirt cheap on a summer sale
10) 2 x Bauer TO Shaft, 65 + 2 x Bauer TO Blade, P92 - Bought primarily for roller play, and they're def better than my old wood V04 was... , great clappers, puck feel is mediocre.

4th year:
11) Easton RS, 65 flex, Hall curve - Birthday gift. Probably the best allround stick I've ever used, great shot, great puck feel, and awesome on receiving passes. Lasted almost 7 months of play (2-3 times/week), and countless practice shots at home. I am thinking about getting a few on sale, even though I still have a few sticks never used...

 

[KieranA91]

Wouldn't be able to list every stick I've used in 15 years of playing but my first was probably some wooden stick. First I actually remember was an Easton aluminum stick.

This year I've gone through a System V, Winnwell GX8, Easton Synergy ST with CCM V08 blade and an Easton S19. Currently have an Easton Synergy SE16 Pro Stock and a Combat 45Cal as backup, just get whatever is on offer really as long as its the right curve not too fussed what I use.

 

[Wilch]

In chronological order:

Easton ST 85f Hall - first curve I ever used but it's too stiff.

Warrior Dolomite 75f Toews - I don't know why it says Toews on it when it's a Drury, but it was fine in every aspect except slap shots. Felt flimsy but was great bang for the buck.

RS Stealth 75f Cammy - My favourite stick at the time. Never really got used to the curve though. It's what really got my backhander going.

Warrior Bentley 70f Kopitar - Piece of **** stick I got because I didn't have a stick in Vancouver at the time. Now I know why some sticks are cheap and some are expensive. Flex was great though.

Easton EQ50 75f Parise - Hated the curve. Never got used to it. Backhand was absolute garbage with it, and never got used to toe-dragging with it.

Warrior Dynasty 75f Kopitar - Solid stick. Not much else to say about it.

RS Stealth 75f Hall - My go to stick now.

Warrior Covert DT1 70f Kopitar - Only got to use it 4-5 times before I started doing my mandatory military duties in some ****hole without an ice rink. So we'll see. Felt great in the few times I did use it.

 

[Philybrook]

I don't want to make that list because I don't want to know how much money I spent on hockey sticks... It's probably the total price of a used car haha!