Mid or low kick point?

[ponder]

What do you prefer, and why?

Personally I'm all about the mid kick sticks, you can really feel the nice, even whip when you shoot, just feels great and helps me shoot better. Low kick point sticks I guess release the shot very marginally quicker, but you can't feel them flex the same way, I just don't like them. My wrister/snapper is probably roughly as good with a mid or a low kick stick, but it just feels better with a mid kick, while my slapper is definitely harder (along with being more fun to shoot) with a mid kick.

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[Jarick]

I don't know how much difference it makes compared to the actual flex of the stick.

That said, I once bought a One95 and a Vapor XXV both in the same flex and curve, and the Vapor XXV gave me harder and more accurate shots, so I stick with low kick.

I'm all about wrist/snap shots, and keep my bottom hand a bit higher up on the shaft, so that might make a difference.

I'm also hoping to experiment with an Oggie grip to put a kick point at the top hand as well, which in theory should help load the stick with my hands closer together.

 

[Galvatron]

I used wooden and then later aluminum sticks, which all had the same general kick point area (middle). The releases felt the same, but the aluminums were more consistent.

I eventually bought an Innovative composite shaft, which had a much lower kickpoint and it took me a while to get used to it.

It didn't take as much force on the composite to get the same general shot power.

The trick was learning to not lean on the shaft too much, as it felt like the flex of the shaft was lagging behind too much when I really leaned on a shot. This messed with the release. I didn't feel the release so well and it seemed a little late for me.

I also think I was having a problem with torsion with that shaft. I'm a left-handed shot, and with the same blades, I was pushing shots to the left somewhat with the composite shaft when compared to aluminum/wooden.

Sorry for digression, LOL. I guess the point is that I think that the composite was better for wrist/snap shots, but maybe less suited for slapshots.

Since I use all of those shots, I eventually went back to my aluminum (and its mid kickpoint), which I am glad I kept.

 

[ponder]

I used wooden and then later aluminum sticks, which all had the same general kick point area (middle). The releases felt the same, but the aluminums were more consistent.

I eventually bought an Innovative composite shaft, which had a much lower kickpoint and it took me a while to get used to it.

It didn't take as much force on the composite to get the same general shot power.

The trick was learning to not lean on the shaft too much, as it felt like the flex of the shaft was lagging behind too much when I really leaned on a shot. This messed with the release. I didn't feel the release so well and it seemed a little late for me.

I also think I was having a problem with torsion with that shaft. I'm a left-handed shot, and with the same blades, I was pushing shots to the left somewhat with the composite shaft when compared to aluminum/wooden.

Sorry for digression, LOL. I guess the point is that I think that the composite was better for wrist/snap shots, but maybe less suited for slapshots.

Since I use all of those shots, I eventually went back to my aluminum (and its mid kickpoint), which I am glad I kept.

Heh, I actually love the feel of that slight lag then whip/launch that you get with mid kick composites. By no means am I saying mid kick composites are "better" than any other sticks, it's clearly 100% personal preference, they just happen to be my favorite

 

[Jarick]

I wonder if that composite wasn't too whippy for you?

 

[Galvatron]

One thing that I didn't mention (which likely really affected my shot with lower kickpoint shafts) is that on a slapshot with a regular shaft, I tend to significantly "choke down" on the stick by sliding my bottom hand down, usually below the trademark.

With the composites I've used, I found myself eventually not moving my bottom hand at all and not even really winding up too much on slapshots. I assume this ends up being a big advantage for the quick release with composite shafts.

I'll apologize in advance, all of this stuff on shaft mechanics is fascinating to me, LOL.

 

[Galvatron]

I think that you're correct on the flex of the shaft being too much.

I had used a Sher-Wood 5030, which was reasonably flexible, and a Titan ASD 2000, which also had good flex.

So, when I got the Innovative, I chose a whippier flex. Their flex numbers were backwards from the conventional flex measurements. For instance, a 360 was called the "whip flex" where the 240 was stiffer.

With Eastons, the 85 is more flexible than the 100.

 

[ponder]

Yeah, maybe you were using an overly whippy, low kick point composite? If you like a stiff flex and a mid kick point, which is what it sounds like, then you can get stiff flex, mid kick composites. However, if you're perfectly happy with your aluminium shaft then it's no biggie, those things are absolute tanks that, unlike composites, pretty much never break.