Proper size stick for your height?

gifted88

Dante the poet
Feb 12, 2010
7,301
233
Guelph, ON
I had two lengths of sticks, one was up to my nose on skates and the other is about an inch under my chin. I used the big ones when I played D and the shorter ones when I played forward.

ultimately it comes down to personal preference but you will have more control with the shorter stick, just make sure your not bending over too much or it gets kind of straining.
 

hyster110

Registered User
Mar 21, 2011
1,083
2
its all about your game, your style, your position and your preference. for example, i work for a university team. we have two amazing stick handlers, one uses a stick just under his chin, the other is 5"10 and uses a full length bauer stick. we have a shooter on out team with soft hands who uses a stick to the middle of his chin, and all our D men use sticks between their chins and their mouths (while on skates) when it comes down to it its what you like and what you think benefits you the most.

me i am 5"11 defencemen and i use a full length bauer stick, i have decent hand and a few moves but my passing, shot and defensive game are better with the full length sticks then with a shorter one

just my two cents
 

Skraut

Registered User
Jul 31, 2006
10,473
56
Enter city here
The other thing that you need to take in to consideration when judging stick height is where you put your top hand on the stick.

I'm 6'4" and the guy I normally play defense with is an inch or so taller. My stick comes up to my lips barefoot, his to his eyes (he has to put in a big plug to achieve this)

The difference is that I have a small knob on my stick and put that knob in the palm of my top hand. He wraps up a goalie sized "door knob" on the end of his stick and keeps his entire top hand on the shaft, using that knob to keep his hand in place.

You can't really say "You should cut your stick at point x on your body" without knowing how much of your top hand is on the stick because that will drastically change where that cut point is.
 

BonkTastic

ಠ_ಠ
Nov 9, 2010
30,901
10,092
Parts Unknown
I'm 6'3 and a defensive defenceman, and my stick now comes all the way up just past the tip of my nose. I converted a few years ago, I used to play with a stick that only went up to my chin.

Cons:
-I find having a stick that length does hinder my stickhandling, but I basically have the dangle skills of a goalie anyways (DEFENSIVE defenceman), so it's not like a shorter stick would help much.
-Also, working the puck out of the boards on my backhand is a little tougher, but only because you're fishing it out on more of an angle instead of being right on top of it.

Pros:
-The extra length is HUGE when it comes to poking and stick checking, though... even the few inches I've added have made me much better at defending breakouts. I can frustrate forwards much better with the extra reach. It definitely helps me contain players on the boards.
- I like a nice rigid stick with less whip (102 flex), and as soon as I added the extra couple of inches on my stick, my shot gained a TON of velocity from the point. With my height (6'3) and weight (240), using a 75 flex would be like leaning on a pool noodle.
 

Jarick

Doing Nothing
It's usually around my nose in skates, sometimes a bit longer, sometimes a bit shorter.

A longer stick lets you get more flex on it and have better reach for pucks. A shorter stick lets you handle the puck a little easier especially in close. Depending on your lie, you'll have to experiment to find out what works best for you.
 

gintonic

Registered User
Jan 16, 2009
459
0
Varies depending on player preferences but the general rule of thumb used to be that it should come to your chin when not in skates.
 

blueberrydanish

Registered User
May 5, 2009
1,369
1
Well I am officially pissed off.

Got a ST shaft to replace my one95 and its a 85 flex right...so anyways I also have an S11 85 flex one-piece. Put my old blade into my new ST shaft throw the grip on it, then I place it up against the wall beside my S11 and thats when I notice....its awhole *** *(**8**** *** **** 3-4 inches shorter than any of my other sticks. HOW THE HELL DOES A SENIOR SHAFT COME THAT MUCH SHORTER? I am extremely pissed at the moment and obviously I cant return it.

Why the hell doesnt a senior stick/shaft come with a standard size ???!?!?!?HONESTLY.

Now I basically have a forward stick height wise and Im a defenseman who reallllllly uses a long stick in every part of my game.

Oh well, live and learn I guess now Ill have to research every single aspect to a stick(which I pretty much did anyways...), rant off.
 

ponder

Registered User
Jul 11, 2007
16,928
6,217
Vancouver
Well I am officially pissed off.

Got a ST shaft to replace my one95 and its a 85 flex right...so anyways I also have an S11 85 flex one-piece. Put my old blade into my new ST shaft throw the grip on it, then I place it up against the wall beside my S11 and thats when I notice....its awhole *** *(**8**** *** **** 3-4 inches shorter than any of my other sticks. HOW THE HELL DOES A SENIOR SHAFT COME THAT MUCH SHORTER? I am extremely pissed at the moment and obviously I cant return it.

Why the hell doesnt a senior stick/shaft come with a standard size ???!?!?!?HONESTLY.

Now I basically have a forward stick height wise and Im a defenseman who reallllllly uses a long stick in every part of my game.

Oh well, live and learn I guess now Ill have to research every single aspect to a stick(which I pretty much did anyways...), rant off.
Never heard of end plugs? A wood end plug is like $4, a composite one slightly more but honestly wood plugs are fine. A lot of guys (including NHLers) actually cut down their sticks too short on purpose and throw a wood plug in cause they like the feel.

A lot of (all?) standard/mid-kick Easton shafts are 50.5", while most standard/mid-kick shafts from other manufacturers are 52", not a huge difference. This is because Easton blades tend to be an inch or two longer from hosel to heel than blades from other companies, so when you put the blade and shaft together Easton 2-pieces are roughly the same length as most 2-pieces. There's really no standard length with shafts though, they vary in length considerably, generally depending on the length of the blade they're meant to be paired with. Tapered/low-kick shafts tend to be another couple inches longer than standard/mid-kick shafts, but that's cause tapered replacement blades are real short from hosel to heel.
 

ponder

Registered User
Jul 11, 2007
16,928
6,217
Vancouver
For example:

Easton ST blade:
ESTCB-ZT-big.jpg


Bauer one95 blade:
BS95C-J-big.jpg



The shot of the one95 blade is a fair bit more zoomed in, but you can see by comparing the blade length to hosel/heel length that the ST blade has a much longer hosel/heel, thus it's paired with a shorter shaft. But again, if you're just off by 3" this is not a big deal at all, just thrown a wood end plug in there.
 

blueberrydanish

Registered User
May 5, 2009
1,369
1
I was always under the impression that throwing in a plug will reduce the sticks flex? Also its not just an inch, it is atleast 3 inches plus which just will throw me off from what I am use to. I do see how using a diff blade can make a difference...but youd hope it doesnt vary this much.

Went back and found out that the shaft is just listed at 51" so my own fault, just sucks that you assume shafts come in the same lengths...

If plug works then Ill just end up doing that.
 

ponder

Registered User
Jul 11, 2007
16,928
6,217
Vancouver
I was always under the impression that throwing in a plug will reduce the sticks flex? Also its not just an inch, it is atleast 3 inches plus which just will throw me off from what I am use to. I do see how using a diff blade can make a difference...but youd hope it doesnt vary this much.

Went back and found out that the shaft is just listed at 51" so my own fault, just sucks that you assume shafts come in the same lengths...

If plug works then Ill just end up doing that.
A 3" plug is not that long, I'm sure it will be totally fine. Most plugs are 8", you can cut it down to size. Just make sure it's a nice snug fit, shim with tape if necessary just like you would with a blade.

As for the flex, IMO you would see a very tiny, close to unnoticeable change in a stick's flex if you, for example, cut it down 3" and added a 3" end plug. But simply adding a 3" plug to your stick without cutting it down at all will actually make it easier to flex, because you get more leverage with a longer stick.

One thing, though, an 85 flex ST feels considerably stiffer than an 87 flex one95, simply because flex ratings are not super comparable from stick to stick in general IMO. So even once you throw the plug in there I'll bet it feels stiffer than you previous stick, but this is not because of the plug, but because of the shaft itself.
 

member 30781

Guest
I am 5'10"-5'11" and I use a stick that is 61" tall. The butt end is in between my lower lip and my chin and works fine for me.
 

blueberrydanish

Registered User
May 5, 2009
1,369
1
cool appreciate the help, noone around here carries plugs so Ill have to hit up the hardware store and do some widdlin
 

ponder

Registered User
Jul 11, 2007
16,928
6,217
Vancouver
cool appreciate the help, noone around here carries plugs so Ill have to hit up the hardware store and do some widdlin
No problem. You sure you can't buy one? They sell them at virtually every hockey shop I've ever been to, even big chains like Sport Chek or tiny pro shops in rinks will almost always carry them.

Or if you live in the States, you can order one here:

http://www.icewarehouse.com/descpage.html?pcode=EJPLUG

Only bummer is shipping is $7.50, which sucks to pay for a $3 plug. Free shipping on orders over $99 if you need some other gear too though.
 

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