Old school wood stick vs today's sticks.

[tobyandmisty]

I know for the majority of the people who are younger then myself (41), you will most likely choose the newer sticks. There was no choice when I was younger. I know the new sticks are supposed to be superior in most areas if not all.

My question is, is there anyone who chooses to play with a wood stick over the new ones and why?

Thanks.

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[v1c70r]

I know a couple guys on my team choose good quality wood stick because of the weight.

They play D and like skating with a heavy stick compared to a feather. I think its because they say it helps them check better. Dont know if theres any truth to that.

 

[adsfan]

I haven't played since the 1970's. The sticks today cost a lot more and break easily. There are some AHL games where I count the number of broken sticks, the most common number is six. Back in the ancient days it was more like two. These modern sticks are made out of old matchsticks! At least that can be fixed rather than tossed.

 

[Heat McManus]

I haven't played since the 1970's. The sticks today cost a lot more and break easily. There are some AHL games where I count the number of broken sticks, the most common number is six. Back in the ancient days it was more like two. These modern sticks are made out of old matchsticks! At least that can be fixed rather than tossed.

oh these kids today and their carbon composites! In my day I shaved a stick out of a redwood and it lasted me 13 years!!


I prefer the feel of a wood blade over a comp, but you get a much better release out of a comp shaft/OPS.

The majority of breaks I've seen in OPS have been at the blade, or down at the bottom portion of the shaft. This allows you to make the one-piece into a shaft. I know many guys who play with a shaft that was originally a Easton Synergy Si-Core.

 

[Crosbyfan]

oh these kids today and their carbon composites! In my day I shaved a stick out of a redwood and it lasted me 13 years!!


I prefer the feel of a wood blade over a comp, but you get a much better release out of a comp shaft/OPS.

The majority of breaks I've seen in OPS have been at the blade, or down at the bottom portion of the shaft. This allows you to make the one-piece into a shaft. I know many guys who play with a shaft that was originally a Easton Synergy Si-Core.

Nothing beats a nice piece of ash.

 

[Elshupacabra]

mostly because wood sticks don't cost $300

 

[cptjeff]

Wood sticks might stay in one piece longer, but they go soft really fast, and the blades die a fast death. Composites break more spectacularly, but they break less often. If you watch on tv, you see sticks flying apart, which gives the impression that they're not durable, when they really are. What you don't see on TV is all the wood sticks thrown out after each game because they have the approximate feel of a wet noodle.

Composites are new until they day they die, and they last a lot longer then most people think, and when they do break, it's often the blade, not the shaft.

Feel has gotten a lot better over the years. There are also a range different types of feel, something you never had with wood. Pick yer poison as it were. I love the feel of a vapor XXXX. Most people hated it. Thing is, you have options.

You can also regulate flex much better, and you can also choose where the stick flexes to create different kickpoints.

Really, the biggest drawback to composites is the pricetag. To mitigate that, look into a two piece setup, closeouts of old top end sticks or pro stocks.

Elshupacabra, where the hell does any stick cost $300? MSRP on the most pricey is around $240, and nobody ever seems to charge the full price.

 

[Heat McManus]

mostly because wood sticks don't cost $300

neither do composites.

you can get a low-end one piece for probably $50 on close-out. wood sticks are about $25 and up.

 

[Gino 14]

I haven't played since the 1970's. The sticks today cost a lot more and break easily. There are some AHL games where I count the number of broken sticks, the most common number is six. Back in the ancient days it was more like two. These modern sticks are made out of old matchsticks! At least that can be fixed rather than tossed.

I'm no young'un but I disagree about the sticks breaking easily and costing a lot more. Compared to 30 years ago, yes the price of sticks is more but based on the cost of everything is more. My wood sticks do seem to last a bit longer but I like the feel of the composites much better and I like the weight even more. I have yet to see a broken stick, wood or composite that can truly be fixed to as good as new, doesn't happen.

 

[AIREAYE]

Wood sticks might stay in one piece longer, but they go soft really fast, and the blades die a fast death. Composites break more spectacularly, but they break less often. If you watch on tv, you see sticks flying apart, which gives the impression that they're not durable, when they really are. What you don't see on TV is all the wood sticks thrown out after each game because they have the approximate feel of a wet noodle.

Composites are new until they day they die, and they last a lot longer then most people think, and when they do break, it's often the blade, not the shaft.

Feel has gotten a lot better over the years. There are also a range different types of feel, something you never had with wood. Pick yer poison as it were. I love the feel of a vapor XXXX. Most people hated it. Thing is, you have options.

You can also regulate flex much better, and you can also choose where the stick flexes to create different kickpoints.

Really, the biggest drawback to composites is the pricetag. To mitigate that, look into a two piece setup, closeouts of old top end sticks or pro stocks.

Elshupacabra, where the hell does any stick cost $300? MSRP on the most pricey is around $240, and nobody ever seems to charge the full price.

Basically a few of the top end ones here...S19 is 310 before taxes at Pro Hockey Life here http://www.prohockeylife.com/eng/categories/sticks/one-piece-composite/senior

 

[CanadaBacon]

There has been so many wood v comp threads the last few months.

 

[gintonic]

neither do composites.

you can get a low-end one piece for probably $50 on close-out. wood sticks are about $25 and up.

Actually if you keep watching out for sales year round, you can pick up some really good ones at a pretty big discount. I know the Nike Bauer Vapor XXV is a really good stick and it's down to about $60 at this point.

 

[Joe Cole]

I haven't played since the 1970's. The sticks today cost a lot more and break easily. There are some AHL games where I count the number of broken sticks, the most common number is six. Back in the ancient days it was more like two. These modern sticks are made out of old matchsticks! At least that can be fixed rather than tossed.

Hope to shed some light on this.

When you have a wood stick, you tap it's butt end against the concrete floor and hear if the stick is going to break. If it makes "that" sound, you change sticks right away. A composite stick does not make a different sound whether it is new or about to break, so... you never know and you keep playing.

Also... wood sticks lose their snap really quickly. A $25 wood stick would last me 3-4 games before it started to suck or simply break. A $200 Easton ST composite would last me 25 games, easy, plus it would be consistently good from game 1 to the time it shatters. Not for nothing but the value is there too.

Plus weight... often you are poke checking at your arm's length... or stick handling as far as you can control the puck. The lighter the stick, the more power you can transfer to the end of the stick.

Puck feel, well... wood is said to be best. I can hardly remember myself to be honest.

Everyone has their preferences. I will never go back to a wood stick.

 

[pfloyd75]

Just to add in to what has been said already- if you're someone who is pretty easy on sticks like I am, a composite will last next to forever barring someone breaking it with a slash or something. I'm pretty much a wrist/snap shot guy (my slap shot is horrible) so a composite just lasts and lasts where as a woodie- the blade just gets soft and usually cracks along the bottom edge after a few games.

 

[The Tikkanen]

Using a wood stick in 2010 is like going to Best Buy and buying an Atari 2600 rather than an XBox360.

 

[Jarick]

Composite because they're more consistent in terms of flex and curve, have stiffer blades and whippy shafts, don't torque open, and only cost $20-35 more (5030 is $40 around here and I buy clearance higher end sticks at $60-75)

 

[jwise514]

I just switched back to the sher wood pmp 5030. been getting them by the half dozen and the feel is great. not to mention the aesthetics of using a big old hunk of wood...

 

[Hockeyfan68]

I know for the majority of the people who are younger then myself (41), you will most likely choose the newer sticks. There was no choice when I was younger. I know the new sticks are supposed to be superior in most areas if not all.

My question is, is there anyone who chooses to play with a wood stick over the new ones and why?

Thanks.

Wow we get a lot of these threads here ....

I'm 41 and switched to compos last December after using either wood or aluminum shafts when those came around with wood blades for 35 years or so.

I will never go back to anything wood now for several reasons. i tend to be winded so I will try to make this short and not explain why but instead just list my short reasons.

1. Compos last many times longer than wood and perform better staying like new until they eventually break.

2. I've saved literally hundreds (maybe $400+) of dollars because wood doesn't last and composites do. I'm big and strong and play pretty well with a heavy shot I might add. I have broken ONE single blade trying to shoot a knuckling one timer that caight the toe, probably would have broken a woodie as well.

Wood blades get 'puck pocket' where the blade cracks the height of the puck so I would have to constantly replace wood blades at $20-$40 a pop dpending on what I wanted.

3. Consistently the same flex throughout the life of the stick. Woodies cannot do that due to their organic nature.

4. The more expensive sticks (meaning the sticks past the entry level compo sticks) have puck feel comparable to wood. Cheap medium priced composites are not recommended if you like puck feel. I am sure someone will chirp in with an exception and has never used a more expoensive stick but I won a couple of entry levels when I was trying them out to see if I liked them and now use quslity tapered stuff that feels wonderful.

5. The lighter weight of the stick is a huge benefit especially for an older guy like me. And the kick point or "sweetspot" I always called it is better with a composite as they launch pucks cleaner than a wood stick.

I will say the velocity difference isn't all that much but it sure does feel like you are shooting harder with a composite as the material is great for launching pucks.

That is my final opinion on compos, I am absolutely sold on either a 2 piece setup or a one piece. I can see why there are no longer any wood tennis raquets or golf clubs, it simply literally is inferior.

Composites are good stuff and one of the best things to happen to hockey no matter what jack Edwards has to negatively say about them he needs to realize the pro-stock super lightweight sticks are easier to break. Most of the sticks the average joe schmo buys are more durable by a lot.

 

[CanadaBacon]

I returned the Swizzle shaft i got for Xmas and got an AK27 and picked up some Montreal woodies. (there is a goalie clinic/shop near me that only deals in Montreal gear. Blades are 27$)

It has worked out fantastic, the plug has balanced the wood blade out great and using wood blades again has confirmed my opinion that no comp blade has the feel of a good woodie.

Awesome shaft and awesome wood blade is my combo of choice at the moment.

Once my R10 goes (if i get lucky and it is only the blade) and if i can make it into a shaft, i think i will try some top end tapered comp blades.

 

[Trailwood]

I played with a wood stick for a few weeks before it broke.... After playing with a composite stick for the last two seasons, I will never go back!

 

[Maupin Fan]

hockeyfan68 had a good point about pros breaking composite sticks. the pro stock sticks they are using are generally made to be lighter and therefore less durable than a retail version.

 

[CanadaBacon]

And pros tend to be stronger and load harder and more often then your average joe

 

[Hockeyfan68]

hockeyfan68 had a good point about pros breaking composite sticks. the pro stock sticks they are using are generally made to be lighter and therefore less durable than a retail version.

I'm sure some people in here use the top end $200 stick and have broken those too as well as the pro-stock sticks.

The strength of pro players has some to do with it but not much in my opinion. I think many guys in here break enough of the $200 sticks as well.

I shoot hard enough to break plexiglas with my slapshots and I have been using the same sticks for about a year now and play twice a week. This includes outdoor "practices" or shinny, stick n puck etc shooting slapper after slapper. I also play defense and block shots, skate whack or stick blade whack everything that moves.

The point is I am a big very strong guy and do not break sticks. I am SURE if I used pro-stock or $200 sticks that I would break some.

In any case I DO shoot hard enough to know this. I've splintered some wood sticks though not very often, the main trouble I had with wood as mentioned above was ruining the blades quickly shooting the puck.

I use a good composite stick and I checked out an RBK 10 sickick stick (whatever the hell those are called) a friend had and it felt so much lighter than the already good stick I was using. It was too light in my opinion. It felt like I would not like using it though I did not try it on ice or shoot with it. One really doesn't know until they actually use it.

I would be afraid of liking it because it would be too expensive to buy one for me.

I spent about $145.00 on a two piece setup, I bought two of them and really like them a lot. They are quality but not the crazy light stick you see now for $200.

I like to have at least some weight left to a stick and still be light enough to reap the benefits of being quicker than using the heavy wood sticks. I think the lightness of these $200 sticks is overkill and not necessary but I do not feel the same way about today's light ice skates for $600. I think they are very overpriced but are good for hockey, I wish I could own some honestly.

 

[Jarick]

And Pros also slash the hell out of each other's sticks.

 

[Hockeyfan68]

And Pros also slash the hell out of each other's sticks.

Great point ... absolutely.

We sometimes see a stick snap in half just receiving a hard pass .... whose to say that same stick wasn't just whacked 3 times in the corner and that was where it broke?

Excellent point.

I have seen some in here post about warranty info because they broke their expensive stick. Sticks break .... I've broken some woodies on faceoffs snapping the shaft on those where the wood core broke and the fiberglas lam was all splayed open and frayed.

I've had my blade stepped on and broken at faceoffs too .... kind oif an oldschool tactic when on the PP .... you break the PK guy's stick "by accident" and vice versa for the PK guy to take out a PP guy's stick.

Wood is more fragile than composites with regards to losing flex in the shaft and blade damage.

I wonder how long this debate will rage .... I would imagine that someday wood will not be available for purchase.