Equipment: STICKS - Buying Guide and Advice PART 3

[ceg195]

What stick is best comparable to Easton's low kick series sticks ie. Stealth CX?

 

[Nvxs07]

What stick is best comparable to Easton's low kick series sticks ie. Stealth CX?

Give the QR Edge a try. It’ll change your life man

 

[AIREAYE]

Give the QR Edge a try. It’ll change your life man

To expand, the Warrior Covert series of sticks is, in my opinion, the best low-kick stick series out there now. The QRL is on sale everywhere as the QR Edge came out to replace it. I have 2 QRLs and I love them!

Bauer Vapor and CCM Ribcor are the other two stick families to feature low-kick like Easton Stealth.

 

[PiggySmalls]

Which pattern in the QRL has the best toe curve?

 

[puckpilot]

Which pattern in the QRL has the best toe curve?

Define what you mean by best. The p28/w28 is probably the most popular toe curve right now. The W71 is a less open toe curve. Some say the p29/w03 is a toe curve too. The best is the one that works best for you.

 

[Nvxs07]

Which pattern in the QRL has the best toe curve?

Depends how you play.. so for me being a “lazy shot” I cannot use the w28 curve that everyone loves. The rocker lie throws me off every time. So I float in between the w71(deeper mid/toe) and the w03 (p92)

 

[damack]

To expand, the Warrior Covert series of sticks is, in my opinion, the best low-kick stick series out there now. The QRL is on sale everywhere as the QR Edge came out to replace it. I have 2 QRLs and I love them!

Bauer Vapor and CCM Ribcor are the other two stick families to feature low-kick like Easton Stealth.

Just picked up a QRL, on sale $159 at Sport Chek (Canada). Can't wait to try it out. My old Base Nasty finally died.

 

[tadasbub]

To say that I am desperate would be understatement, I can use any help I can get, since I have never played hockey at higher levels.
My 10yo son has been struggling with puck control and we have seemingly addressed almost everything that we could on technique side (which he continues to work on obviously).
It is pretty clear to me that he needs as much help as he can get and getting proper stick may be big step in the right direction. He is currently using uncut Junior CCM Ribcor Trigger ASY 52 flex, P29 Crosby. He is very tall for his age at 5'2" and 105 pounds forward . He has an absolute bullet of a shot, so that is not a problem. He seems to lose puck mostly on the backhand toe area of the blade, which seems to be off the ice higher than I would like. Should I cut his stick an inch (currently at lower lip level on blades) ? switch blade to something more closed? change lie (I think it is 6)? Less rounded toe?
Help please... Thank You!

 

[AIREAYE]

To say that I am desperate would be understatement, I can use any help I can get, since I have never played hockey at higher levels.
My 10yo son has been struggling with puck control and we have seemingly addressed almost everything that we could on technique side (which he continues to work on obviously).
It is pretty clear to me that he needs as much help as he can get and getting proper stick may be big step in the right direction. He is currently using uncut Junior CCM Ribcor Trigger ASY 52 flex, P29 Crosby. He is very tall for his age at 5'2" and 105 pounds forward . He has an absolute bullet of a shot, so that is not a problem. He seems to lose puck mostly on the backhand toe area of the blade, which seems to be off the ice higher than I would like. Should I cut his stick an inch (currently at lower lip level on blades) ? switch blade to something more closed? change lie (I think it is 6)? Less rounded toe?
Help please... Thank You!

When he is on skates, how tall does his stick come up to relative to his body?

 

[puckpilot]

In terms of puck control, cutting the stick down will definitely help. But a drawback will be it'll change the way the stick flexes, so his shot may suffer. A longer stick flexes easier, so your son can get more whip, and thus better shot. A lower lie may help too, but again, it may affect his shot, because the lie will put the blade and puck further away from his body, making it a little more difficult to pull the puck in and drop his weight onto the stick to flex it.

One way to mitigate the difficulty in flexing the stick is to go down in flex. My 11 yo nephew is slightly smaller than your son, about 90lbs and he uses a 30 flex stick, and he has a very good shot.

For more reference, I'm a 5'5 adult and I use a junior stick that's 50", which is two inches shorter than the stick your son is using.

Any ways, good luck on what ever you decide.

 

[BruinDust]

To say that I am desperate would be understatement, I can use any help I can get, since I have never played hockey at higher levels.
My 10yo son has been struggling with puck control and we have seemingly addressed almost everything that we could on technique side (which he continues to work on obviously).
It is pretty clear to me that he needs as much help as he can get and getting proper stick may be big step in the right direction. He is currently using uncut Junior CCM Ribcor Trigger ASY 52 flex, P29 Crosby. He is very tall for his age at 5'2" and 105 pounds forward . He has an absolute bullet of a shot, so that is not a problem. He seems to lose puck mostly on the backhand toe area of the blade, which seems to be off the ice higher than I would like. Should I cut his stick an inch (currently at lower lip level on blades) ? switch blade to something more closed? change lie (I think it is 6)? Less rounded toe?
Help please... Thank You!

Before you cut his stick (which may make it unusable for him) try extending the stick by an inch to inch and half.

Last year I was using a Lie 5, and picked up a Lie 6 in a different curve, but cut the stick the same length as the Lie 5. The toe of my stick was always off the ice, my puck control and passing was poorer, harder to make a flat pass. You could see the wear of the tape in the heel of the blade was more noticeable. I put an extension in the stick by an inch and a half now my blade is flatter on the ice. I'd try that before cutting the stick or investing in a stick with a different lie like a Lie 5 .

 

[tadasbub]

When he is on skates, how tall does his stick come up to relative to his body?

On skates, standing straight it is up to his lower lip. Measured yesterday.

 

[tadasbub]

Before you cut his stick (which may make it unusable for him) try extending the stick by an inch to inch and half.

Last year I was using a Lie 5, and picked up a Lie 6 in a different curve, but cut the stick the same length as the Lie 5. The toe of my stick was always off the ice, my puck control and passing was poorer, harder to make a flat pass. You could see the wear of the tape in the heel of the blade was more noticeable. I put an extension in the stick by an inch and a half now my blade is flatter on the ice. I'd try that before cutting the stick or investing in a stick with a different lie like a Lie 5 .

So this just got more interesting yesterday. We got a loaner True 5.5 lie with 40 flex (TC2 I think), which is about an inch longer than his usual CCM 52 flex, P29 Crosby (I think it is lie 6, I can't find info). He tried it yesterday in stickhandling practice and while he has not completely loved it, both him and his coach has told me after that there was significant improvement in stickhandling while also making his great shot even better?

My expectation was that he needs it shorter to keep puck closer to his body for better stickhandling and he is 50/60 flex on every scale there is, so 40 flex would make controlling the puck with receiving passes harder since it would flex/move/whip more. Now I am thinking that :

• maybe the 0.5 in lie helped him a tiny bit
• at this tender age of 10 they are not using too much flex anyway, so 40 allows him to flex a bit more or at least does not hurt yet.
• it is lighter a bit, which makes it easier to control
• and length... well that is a mystery... it is counterintuitive.
• maybe there is just enough difference in the curve and the toe to help him, maybe I am splitting hairs...

 

[BruinDust]

So this just got more interesting yesterday. We got a loaner True 5.5 lie with 40 flex (TC2 I think), which is about an inch longer than his usual CCM 52 flex, P29 Crosby (I think it is lie 6, I can't find info). He tried it yesterday in stickhandling practice and while he has not completely loved it, both him and his coach has told me after that there was significant improvement in stickhandling while also making his great shot even better?

My expectation was that he needs it shorter to keep puck closer to his body for better stickhandling and he is 50/60 flex on every scale there is, so 40 flex would make controlling the puck with receiving passes harder since it would flex/move/whip more. Now I am thinking that :

• maybe the 0.5 in lie helped him a tiny bit
• at this tender age of 10 they are not using too much flex anyway, so 40 allows him to flex a bit more or at least does not hurt yet.
• it is lighter a bit, which makes it easier to control
• and length... well that is a mystery... it is counterintuitive.
• maybe there is just enough difference in the curve and the toe to help him, maybe I am splitting hairs...

One thing to keep in mind in terms of flex is the differences between stick to stick, manufacturer to manufacturer, price point to price point, kickpoint to kickpoint. For example, my 75 flex mid-kick Ultra Tacks is more flexible and a better shooting stick than my 75 flex Team RBZ Stage 2 with a variable kickpoint (so it really has no engineered kickpoint at all). So there may be a difference in the way the True 40 flex plays vs. the CCM 40 flex.

For years I was always of the belief that shorter stick = better stickhandling/passing, and being I wasn't much of a shooter, used to cut my stick down a lot. But my opinion now is the lie and height need to fit the player and the way he holds the stick, the length of his arms, his skating stance, his stickhandling/passing/shooting mechanics. I found adding length brought my top hand in closer to my body with my mechanics and allowed the blade to be flatter on the ice more consistently. Granted my mechanics probably aren't the best and likely different from someone else's.

 

[puckpilot]

So this just got more interesting yesterday. We got a loaner True 5.5 lie with 40 flex (TC2 I think), which is about an inch longer than his usual CCM 52 flex, P29 Crosby (I think it is lie 6, I can't find info).

I'm 99% sure the CCM is a lie 6. When I line up my CCMs next to other brands, it seems to confirm this.

My expectation was that he needs it shorter to keep puck closer to his body for better stickhandling and he is 50/60 flex on every scale there is, so 40 flex would make controlling the puck with receiving passes harder since it would flex/move/whip more.

One thing that might be happening here is, with the lower lie and longer stick, the puck is further from the body, allowing him to more easily see the puck when his head is up, and more easily to control it. Also the lower lie may be forcing his hands away from his body more, allowing him more agility with the puck.

Since he's a good shooter, he might be defaulting towards having his hands closer in to his body, which can be counterproductive to stickhandling. Do you notice his hands jamming up against his body when he stickhandles?

As for flex, charts are just guidelines. You can treat them like gospel or can disregard them. It's all about what the player feels is right/good for them.

The trend now is for lower flex sticks. This allows the stick to do more of the work instead of the player muscling it. I mean Johnny Gaudreau at 165lbs uses a 55 flex stick in the NHL and the 200lb Brett Hull used a 62 flex back in the day.

Here's a video where a guy from Warrior discusses trends in pro and retail sticks. The take away from it is that where before flexes in the NHL tended to ranged from 85-100, now, they tend to range from 85 and below.



As for what you can do to help figure out this puzzle, one thing you can do is with his current stick is tape a secondary butt end an inch or two down the shaft from his current one and have him grip that when he stick handles and shoots, instead. It's not 100% perfect, but it will give you a good idea if cutting the stick will help his stick handling and/or hinder his shot without having to cut the stick.

Maybe you can do that with the true stick too to see if it's length or lie. IMHO, what you want to do is change one variable at a time and see how he likes things and performs. Change too many things at once, and you won't know what change was the significant one.

My 2 cents

 

[tadasbub]

Thanks, I will try "shortening" the stick to see how he responds.
Puzzle it is, unfortunately there are very few right handed shots on our team (and most teams), so there are very few kids you can borrow stick to try from. Also doesn't help he's so tall as everyone else's sticks are good 2-4 inches shorter.

 

[LarryO]

Thanks, I will try "shortening" the stick to see how he responds.
Puzzle it is, unfortunately there are very few right handed shots on our team (and most teams), so there are very few kids you can borrow stick to try from. Also doesn't help he's so tall as everyone else's sticks are good 2-4 inches shorter.

The last time I tried shortening my stick, I took off 2". It took me a week or so to get used to it. But I ended up keeping it that way because it works so much better for me. It now comes up only to my collarbone, which coincidentally is how many if not the majority of NHLers have their sticks. If your son used a stick that's 2" shorter, it would still be well above his collarbone. He might not be crazy about it initially, so he would have to be willing to give it a bit of time to see if it works, otherwise the experiment would be fruitless.

 

[rh71]

Is the Vapor stick line due for the refresh some time in 2019 and around what month?

 

[Rookie109]

To expand, the Warrior Covert series of sticks is, in my opinion, the best low-kick stick series out there now. The QRL is on sale everywhere as the QR Edge came out to replace it. I have 2 QRLs and I love them!

Bauer Vapor and CCM Ribcor are the other two stick families to feature low-kick like Easton Stealth.

I've been using the CCM Trigger and it's simply amazing. Anyone who has picked it up and taken a few shots has said the same thing. This is impressive since I've been using it 2-3 times a week since last December and it's still got tons of pop. I got it online on a boxing day sale at Sportchek here in Canada for $115 after taxes - a steal!

I have it in 85 flex and I added a small extension since I'm 6'3 and about 192 pounds. I previously had the CCM Reckoner, CCM 40K Ribcore, and Reebok 20K - all the same family of sticks and they just keep getting better and better. Got em' all on sale, 50% off or better during the fall usually.

The CCM Trigger has been the best stick I've ever had. When it breaks I'll look for a Trigger 2 on sale, eventually Trigger 3D down the line perhaps. So far it's been extremely durable too, a nice bonus.

Unrelated, I got a new pair of Warrior QRL gloves at over 52% off - $119 vs $229 when they first came out (Sportchek again). They are a nice upgrade from my old Reebok 11K gloves. Similar fit / cuff style, but the Warriors are better in every way from what I can tell. Maybe I'll check out a Warrior stick next time...

 

[ceg195]

I'm noticing that most websites aren't including the hockey stick lie angle in the specs description. Why is this? I believe this is important information to know about buying a hockey stick online. Further, if you're buying a stick in the store, how would you accurately measure a hockey stick lie if the number isn't printed on the stick?

 

[BruinDust]

I've been using the CCM Trigger and it's simply amazing. Anyone who has picked it up and taken a few shots has said the same thing. This is impressive since I've been using it 2-3 times a week since last December and it's still got tons of pop. I got it online on a boxing day sale at Sportchek here in Canada for $115 after taxes - a steal!

I have it in 85 flex and I added a small extension since I'm 6'3 and about 192 pounds. I previously had the CCM Reckoner, CCM 40K Ribcore, and Reebok 20K - all the same family of sticks and they just keep getting better and better. Got em' all on sale, 50% off or better during the fall usually.

The CCM Trigger has been the best stick I've ever had. When it breaks I'll look for a Trigger 2 on sale, eventually Trigger 3D down the line perhaps. So far it's been extremely durable too, a nice bonus.

Unrelated, I got a new pair of Warrior QRL gloves at over 52% off - $119 vs $229 when they first came out (Sportchek again). They are a nice upgrade from my old Reebok 11K gloves. Similar fit / cuff style, but the Warriors are better in every way from what I can tell. Maybe I'll check out a Warrior stick next time...

I picked up a Trigger ASY when they were on clearance at Sportchek back in August. Great stick, although I think I'm more of a mid-kick guy (love my Pro Stock Ultra Tacks). Triggers/Reckoners are by far my favorite stick appearance-wise, just love the green and black combo.

Too bad I cracked the blade off in a freak accident at an old rink I play at where there is a small gap in between two zamboni doors, 30 days after the warranty expired. CCM wouldn't do anything (not that I was expecting them too).

Got a new True Gen-2 A-Series 5.2 SBP 28% off last week I'm hoping to debut tonight if all goes according to plan.

 

[BruinDust]

I'm noticing that most websites aren't including the hockey stick lie angle in the specs description. Why is this? I believe this is important information to know about buying a hockey stick online. Further, if you're buying a stick in the store, how would you accurately measure a hockey stick lie if the number isn't printed on the stick?

There are charts online that can tell you what lie corresponds to which blade pattern in retails models anyways. Although personally I find some of that information sketchy at best as some manufacturers measure lie differently from what I understand.

The method I find best now is to use the True sticks as reference to compare lies while at your LHS. They are good as they carry and mark their sticks 5, 5.5, and 6.0 lie so you can easily compare their lie X against lie of the stick you're considering to purchase.

 

[ceg195]

There are charts online that can tell you what lie corresponds to which blade pattern in retails models anyways. Although personally I find some of that information sketchy at best as some manufacturers measure lie differently from what I understand.

The method I find best now is to use the True sticks as reference to compare lies while at your LHS. They are good as they carry and mark their sticks 5, 5.5, and 6.0 lie so you can easily compare their lie X against lie of the stick you're considering to purchase.

Sketchy indeed. Seems to complicated for something I feel is very important for hockey players. For myself, when I used a 5.5 lie, the toe pointed up too high and I would fan on shots and miss passes. I really wish manufacturers would correspond and streamline the lies and have them printed on the stick. Am I making any sense here?

 

[BruinDust]

Sketchy indeed. Seems to complicated for something I feel is very important for hockey players. For myself, when I used a 5.5 lie, the toe pointed up too high and I would fan on shots and miss passes. I really wish manufacturers would correspond and streamline the lies and have them printed on the stick. Am I making any sense here?

Bauer does it, True does it. Warrior and CCM do not.

It is pretty important, although there are benefits and weaknesses to whichever lie your using. I've been using a Lie 6 most of the past year, it was great for shooting as the puck was closer towards my body, but wasn't ideal for me for stick-handling passing. I recently added an extension and found that helped compensate for the higher lie.

The True 5.2 I just picked up is an MC curve with a Lie 5, so we'll see how much this benefits the passing/stickhandling and what is the impact on my shooting going from a 6 to a 5.

 

[ceg195]

Bauer does it, True does it. Warrior and CCM do not.

It is pretty important, although there are benefits and weaknesses to whichever lie your using. I've been using a Lie 6 most of the past year, it was great for shooting as the puck was closer towards my body, but wasn't ideal for me for stick-handling passing. I recently added an extension and found that helped compensate for the higher lie.

The True 5.2 I just picked up is an MC curve with a Lie 5, so we'll see how much this benefits the passing/stickhandling and what is the impact on my shooting going from a 6 to a 5.

But they don’t advertise the lie online...