True OPS

mbeam

Registered User
Jun 8, 2008
334
0
I'm looking for a list of true OPS as oppose to those that are fused at the factory and sanded over to appear as a OPS.

I've been searching google but I can't find a list and I even find conflicting reports for individual sticks! :help:

Can anyone shine a light on which sticks on the market are true OPS?

Thanks.
 

ponder

Registered User
Jul 11, 2007
16,928
6,217
Vancouver
People will have different definitions, some say Busch makes the only "true OPS," but I think they're being overly picky with their definition. To me a "true OPS" is anything without a hosel, which would include top of the line sticks from a bunch of manufacturers like the Bauer TO/X60, the Warrior Widow, the Easton S19 (and EQ50??), etc.
 

Jarick

Doing Nothing
I really don't think it matters. The only real difference would be weight and balance, and of course the price tag. Like Ponder said (except I'd say they don't have a blade tenon rather than a hosel), most high end sticks are close enough to one piece for me.
 

Islander102

Registered User
Dec 28, 2006
1,328
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This isnt the only thing you should be looking for in a stick. Certain brands (easton, for one) make fused sticks that I much prefer to their true OPS, and certain brands make true one piece sticks that I prefer to their fused sticks. But anywho, here is a list of the major brands top sticks that are and arent true one pieces.

True one piece sticks
CCM U+CL
CCM U+FCL (new arrival)
Bauer X60
Bauer TotalOne
Easton S19
Easton S17, if you can find any left
Warrior Kronik (old)
Warrior Widow
Reebok 10K
Reebok 11K

Top of the line FUSED two pieces
Easton SE16
Easton EQ50
Bauer One100
CCM U+ OctoLight
Reebok 8.0.8
Warrior Dolomite
Warrior AK
 

mbeam

Registered User
Jun 8, 2008
334
0
Thanks for the list.

I'm using a U+ CL Tavares right now and I've used a friends 2010 rbk 10k. My main stick was a 2-piece tapered 11k shaft and SWD T90 blade but it quickly became my backup to the CL. I just noticed that with both those OPS my shot had a lot more jump on it than the tapered 2piece, even with higher-end parts.

The thing is, my CL blade is starting to split and I may need to replace it soon, so I was wondering which sticks to look out for on clearance at my LHS. I'm hoping that the CLs will be marked down again to ~150 instead of 200+, when and if I need to replace it. Hopefully it will last a while longer but who knows.
 

ponder

Registered User
Jul 11, 2007
16,928
6,217
Vancouver
I really don't think it matters. The only real difference would be weight and balance, and of course the price tag. Like Ponder said (except I'd say they don't have a blade tenon rather than a hosel), most high end sticks are close enough to one piece for me.
Is there any difference between a hosel and a tenon? I always thought of them as being two words for the same thing. But yeah, I really don't care whether my sticks are true OPS or fused, top of the line fused sticks can perform every bit as well as top of the line OPS stick IMO.

Thanks for the list.

I'm using a U+ CL Tavares right now and I've used a friends 2010 rbk 10k. My main stick was a 2-piece tapered 11k shaft and SWD T90 blade but it quickly became my backup to the CL. I just noticed that with both those OPS my shot had a lot more jump on it than the tapered 2piece, even with higher-end parts.

The thing is, my CL blade is starting to split and I may need to replace it soon, so I was wondering which sticks to look out for on clearance at my LHS. I'm hoping that the CLs will be marked down again to ~150 instead of 200+, when and if I need to replace it. Hopefully it will last a while longer but who knows.
Worth noting that with a OPS that is actually a fused 2-piece the fit will be perfect and will be bonded with a stronger adhesive like an epoxy, while with a normal 2-piece there can be some slop to the fit (requiring tape shims) and you just use hot glue. Sticks like the Warrior Dolomite and Easton SE16 have been very popular, great shooting sticks despite being fused 2-pieces.
 
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mbeam

Registered User
Jun 8, 2008
334
0
Is there any difference between a hosel and a tenon? I always thought of them as being two words for the same thing. But yeah, I really don't care whether my sticks are true OPS or fused, top of the line fused sticks can perform every bit as well as top of the line OPS stick IMO.


Worth noting that with a OPS that is actually a fused 2-piece the fit will be perfect and will be bonded with a stronger adhesive like an epoxy, while with a normal 2-piece there can be some slop to the fit (requiring tape shims) and you just use hot glue. Sticks like the Warrior Dolomite and Easton SE16 have been very popular, great shooting sticks despite being fused 2-pieces.


I was thinking about an SE16 but they seem hard to find now. They've been discontinued I think? It's a shame I didn't pick one up for $150 back in December when everyone was buying them up. I've never liked warrior sticks, maybe that's because I can't find a comfortable blade pattern with them.

Maybe I could try thickening the blade hosel with tape, though it doesn't seem loose to me at all. It seems to fit perfectly, but I definitely feel like I'm losing some energy on my weight transfer and I figured that was just the difference between a two-piece and either a true OPS or a fused OPS, with an edge going to the true OPS.
 

Jarick

Doing Nothing
I could be wrong, but I always understood the hosel to be the narrow section of the blade above the heel and the tenon to be the actual piece that sticks into the shaft.

reebok-rbk-3k-ice-hockey-blade.jpg


Hosel is the part of the blade where "BOK" is written from "REEBOK" while the tenon is the black part of the blade that goes in the shaft.

So technically a "true" OPS would be made of the same material in one mold all the way from the butt end of the shaft through the toe of the blade, but in my opinion, sticks aren't durable enough for that to make much of a difference, and it would just jack up prices. Better to make the shaft and the blade separately, then join them as low on the hosel as possible, then wrap it with an overlay of carbon fiber for durability in that slash zone. And that's probably how most sticks are made nowadays.
 

Jarick

Doing Nothing
Also, don't use glue to take up the slack in a two piece, use strips of hockey tape over the tenon of the blade until the blade won't fit, then heat up the shaft with a heat gun or hair dryer and slide it in. The heat expands the shaft, then cools it over the thicker blade, and it's incredibly solid. Glue will crack with the cold ice and pressure and it will rattle and come loose.
 

ponder

Registered User
Jul 11, 2007
16,928
6,217
Vancouver
Re: Jarick, touche, you're spot on, forgot my terminology apparently :)

And mbeam, have the OPS sticks you've used been the same curve and flex as your 2-piece?
 

mbeam

Registered User
Jun 8, 2008
334
0
Re: Jarick, touche, you're spot on, forgot my terminology apparently :)

And mbeam, have the OPS sticks you've used been the same curve and flex as your 2-piece?

They have been stiffer sticks. anywhere from 85-95flex and the two piece I have is about an 80 (but this is the best for me I find, at 5'8 150ish), though the blade pattern is not conducive to snap shots, It's a mid-heel very open and is great for stickhandling and getting it up quick so I mostly take wrist shots with it. I may try a more moderate heel or mid-heel curve in it and see what difference that makes. I saw some decent looking harrow blades for about half the price as the high end easton or bauers and they felt about the same weightwise. I'll probably give that a go when my CL snaps since most people seem to say the difference between a true ops and a fused is negligable.
 

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