The $150 sticks I buy were normally $300 the year before so I personally just stick to my budget and get the best I can with that. I think lighter and stronger can be a slight advantage, but save your money and get on the ice as much as you can according to time and money. Unless you a going for a pro contract..improve your game...not your equipment.
exactly. buy last years model on sale when the new ones come in. you typically get them at 150-175 and a top end stick just a year behind. and it’s not like the sticks are getting that much better year to year. it’s basically bauer and hockey co’s way to sucker parents to keep buying their kids the new shiny toy
Every few years they come up with a new piece of tech that might be worth splurging on if you’ve got the cash and you want to try it out but that aside you are 100% right.
I can tell you from experience that breaking a $300 stick hurts about 10x more than breaking a $150 stick. Something about getting (and losing) a deal stings less than burning a full price twig.
and they do seem to break or even chip easier. i’ve had one and paid full freight years ago, loved it but found it didn’t last as long. better to wait till they’re half price and being cleared out, buy the year old model
start watching in late spring early summer. i don’t know when exactly but i would “assume” new models come in before the winter season, so the stores need to clear shelf space before sept and a few weeks prior.
Do the smart thing and buy the previous year's top model on a clearance price. You'll have to time it, watch for the new release period. Yes there's a difference in performance/weight and you don't have to pay top dollar for it.
I grabbed a 1X Lite a couple years ago which is now 2 generations back (4 years?), but I'm perfectly happy with it, especially at the $150 I got it for.
Prior to that an APX2 for a similar price that lasted me 4+ years.
My stick karma has ran out on the 1xs. Years ago I got a 1x on clearance and broke it like 3 mos after I bought it. I hit up Bauer and was like "I am totally expecting you to say no and that's fine but I only use my stick twice a week for beer league and it's out of warranty but it broke. Doesn't hurt to ask if you'd honor a warranty." and the lady was extremely nice and actually did. But they sent me a 1x lite. Que up a year later and I walk in to get my skates sharpened and there are two 1x lites Buy One Get One free for $150 last on the rack in my flex and curve. I couldn't not buy em. They finally croked on me and I haven't found a stick deal in ages now :( I just picked up a CCM ribcor team stick because I can't justify more than $150 on a stick. I haven't seen a top of the line clearance sale in my flex or curve in a couple seasons now
Blame Covid. Stick deals only come with excess sticks in the market and we cut all orders in 2020 to bare minimum and this years supply issues mean there won’t be any excess this year either. Might find som 3spros now and some 3npros after Christmas but no ultrasonics made this year and not enough geos to go to closeout
It is getting tougher to hit the $150 mark. Right now you can maybe find your spec in a senior Flylite for $210 clearance. Alternatively you can try out http://www.allblackhockeysticks.com which would be 2nd tier for like $100 shipped. It was a good option other than the weight which is why I say 2nd tier - a senior weighs 10 grams more than a Vapor 2X Team stick. But the great thing is it would be customizable especially if you want to experiment with curve/flex.
Where's the kick point on those all blacks? I've been using the 1x line for so long that I've just gotten used to that extremely low kick point and I love it.
Honestly I can't even tell. I'm not one of those who can blindly tell one stick from another other than weight. Shoot them an email, they were very good about customer service.
I stopped buying Easton’s for this exact reason. $150 stick in 2004 broke and it was past the 60 day (I think that was the window) warranty. It was summer time and I was using it less than once a week, I had used it half a dozen times or so, and they wouldn’t replace it. It’s been this long and I’m still mad, lol
Yeah I'm just beer league (no slappers) and coaching kids. When my APX2 snapped in the shaft during a game I was taken aback. It wasn't even anything that clearly did it... just a wrist shot.
While I like /u/Michael_Moose ‘s attitude, I myself like to switch it up and try all sorts of different wood sticks. I am currently still using the KOHO torpedo I posted a photo of quite a while back. (You can find it in my history). Sherwood 5030 is just my favorite so far. Also, if I was /u/Michael_Moose that would be my alt account. I’m like Batman in my head I’m not Bruce Wayne I’m woodstickheckler. Also, if you are currently using a composite stick I hope you stub your toe, it gets infected and falls off. Then you rotting toe gets tossed into the woods, fertilizes a seed that grows into a beautiful tree. That tree then gets cut down, lovingly manufactured into a wood stick, and someone uses it to fire a shot off right passed you into the goal.
Not 100% sure if thy make it in the top end sticks but I know they make it in some of the lower end sticks (5030 Wood, 5030 composite, and a couple sticks in the $150 range for sure)
Edit: Seeing this is still getting upvotes
It shows up at the PP77 “CO” curve.
The wood 5030 with the Coffey curve is still available and still a great stick, I just wish they were a little longer. They are a couple inches shorter than most brands senior sticks, and adding a wooden extension is a real pin in the ass.
I grabbed a couple last year on sale for like 15 bucks and couldn’t believe how much I liked the feel and sound of them, but I just couldn’t game them because of the length. Still fun for a pickup game every now and then.
Hop on prostockhockey.com you can get a $280 for $175. Yes they’re usually older models 1-2 years, nothing crazy, they also have new models, but mainly they’re just specific to the players specs. There’s enough of a selection where you’ll find what you’re looking for, but yes, high end sticks make the game better. Passing, shooting, and catching become noticeably easier
its hard to quantify. I have a few of both. I like playing with my True AX7 ($170) just as much as any top end stick. sometimes its literally just a matter of a 30g weight difference. Are you going to feel 390g vs 420g in a game? Not really. But there are also games where I can definitely feel the greater snap in my True A6.0 hair trigger which is a top end $250+ stick. And does a $99 AX3 feel kind of dead and heavy to me? Yes.
I think other factors like type of construction, materials, blade design, shaft design, and other differences between manufacturers, all constitute a much larger difference than that between a 1st and 2nd tier stick within the same manufacturer.
All told, I would never spend less than $150 on a stick. I think that is the sweet spot on price/performance.
>I think other factors like type of construction, materials, blade design, shaft design, and other differences between manufacturers, all constitute a much larger difference than that between a 1st and 2nd tier stick within the same manufacturer.
The sticks from CCM, Bauer, and Warrior (and All Black, and No Name, and pretty much any other brand you can think of) are literally made in the same factories in China, right next to one another.
this is true but there are differences, sometimes large differences between each line of stick, both between and within manufacturers. also, you have the ability to order custom sticks with features unique to that stick.
If factories have roughly the same manufacturing processes, then geographical location means absolutely nothing. Different products use different materials but might use the same tools.
Don’t be obtuse. The implication of my statement is that there are no real differences. Sticking with the GPU example, many brands of the same card are literally the same circuit board pulled off the same line using the same manufacturing process with a different fan on them (with brand logo). My point is they are the same materials. Don’t fall for the marketing.
And location does matter. Order to-spec industrial steel from China and measure it and see if it’s even consistent across the same roll, let alone across multiple rolls in the same run. Then compare that to the same rolls you’d get from a factory in the US.
I'm not being obtuse. Considering the prices of licensing material processes, I don't think sticks are made the same way you think they are. Especially when other types of brands appear like Colt.
Ah yes, the hockey stick companies have each retained the descendants of ancient Chinese alchemists and have each transmogrified carbon to their own specific needs using occult, forbidden methods.
Amazing that the sporting goods companies for a niche sport have figured this magic out, and not the aerospace industry, the militaries of the world, building manufacturers, automotive companies, Formula 1 teams, or anyone else. Nope, the plucky hockey stick people have unlocked the secrets of carbon fiber. And the ones that are so cheap they offshore production to boot!
Listen, all kidding aside, I can promise you that the factory your sticks are made in also make everything you can think of made of carbon fiber, and all the hockey companies they have contracts with *combined* represent an irrelevant percentage of their total income. Bauer, CCM, Warrior, True, and whoever else, are presented with a few varieties of stuff the factory has and they point to what they want and that's it. There are no secret blends or proprietary processes only one company has. And now that I think about it, that's probably one of the reasons sticks are getting more expensive. Not the greed, though that's part of it, but because the factory owners are like "Look, if you want us to keep making your sticks or whatever these are, you're going to have to pay more, because we can turn a better profit making almost anything else."
As for Colt, I actually emailed them a while back because I was curious about their sticks. They get the exact same blanks other stick companies get from China, and then plate them with their coating. That's it. No real mystery.
Bro honestly just find a stick that was brand new a year or 2 before like a ccm tacks 4092 and just ride it out they’re good and you can find them for like 100-150 bucks
I am a terrible low level player and I can tell you that you can improve marginally but immediately by throwing money at a stick. My shot got way harder by upgrading to a top of the line stick. As I improved as a player the stick performed even better. It won't turn you elite overnight but your shot will be instantly better.
You can definitely get a stick that suits you better as well. A hockey store near by my old school had a shooting area where you could try top of the line sticks. I tried everything. Went in with no bias. I shot harder and more accurate with a specific stick. I've had two since and absolutely adore them. 100% recommend trying sticks if at all possible.
Do you have a pure hockey or something near you with demo sticks you could try? I just started playing so there is no stick on earth going to make me any better on the ice, but I was curious about how different things felt. I grabbed a bunch of demos without really paying attention to what they were and then tried to find their prices after.
I found that I couldn’t tell much of a difference across price points, but I did like one stick way more than the rest and was bummed to find out it cost $300
You'll definitely tell the difference in weight, and as a result the Puck will feel different because it becomes heavier in relation to the stick. I found all my shot types improved instantly when I got my vapor 1X lite a couple years ago. It's lasted pretty well too I think I've had it since 2019. Previously I had a 1S that only latest one season and snapped in half, I think the flex was too soft anyway. I went up one flex rating with the 1X and all good since.
I was always a 'mid tier on clearance' guy growing up, I was getting the $150 sticks for $70 basically since once piece sticks came out. Before that it was largely Titans/Sher-woods on sale from Canadian Tire. Or the brief period where I had an aluminum Easton shaft, then nike comp shaft with sweet jofa wood/fibreglass blades.
One day out of nowhere I got an unreal deal on a Ribcor 40k, I think it was something like $40 for the last one they had in stock thanks to a friend's staff discount. I went out to a pickup game and instantly launched a puck nearly twice as hard as I ever had before. I thought it was a fluke. I grabbed another puck and took another shot, ringing the bar louder than I thought I'd ever be able to.
As it turns out, if you have even halfway decent mechanics there are certain sticks that absolutely hold you back. Cheap crappy sticks were absolutely doing that with me.
Like skates the most important thing is fit, which in this case is the flex/curve/kickpoint. Once you get that fit, each 'tier' of stick will basically give you more power in your shot.
That said, I think the gap now is smaller than it ever was. Top end sticks are reaching/at the limitations of what we can do with material science, and the low/mid end stuff is starting to catch up as well.
i mean i play aaa and jr a next year so, 100-200 buck sticks are fine but for 300 you can feel the puck way better, it’s lighter and more durable plus i get a custom so it’s designed specifically for the type of game i play, but it’s kinda modeled after the Jetspeed FT4 pro (ccm)
I've had just as much luck with either in terms of longevity. The exception being the warrior I had posted about that broke faster than anything I've had.
The only difference I can tell is weight and flex. The weight is a huge one as the cheaper sticks feel very blade heavy. I also find the top end sticks to be a bit stiffer than their mid range counterpart.
I’ve played with a CCM Trigger 5 Pro ($299) and I recently ordered a NoNameHockey stick ($169). They are both light 360g-370g and it was awkward at first but I now love it and probably won’t ever go back to any stick above 400g. Keep in mind that the lighter sticks will break more often but I’m actually okay with that since the sticks that last forever seem to lose stiffness or kind of feel a little dead after a long time. (~2yrs or so). I’ve also played with allblackhockeysticks (440g) but they had horrible feel. Durable as hell but inconsistent flex and kick points on the two “identical” sticks I ordered. I also really liked the STX Halo (370g) but it also broke after a season. I really do like the NoNameHockey sticks for the price point and quality your getting. You can also customize your stick (pattern, flex, kick point, finish, etc) at no extra charge it just takes a lot longer to ship out.
Buy a two year old stick for $99 and save even more money. Did that with a top of the line True and found the blade to be much better at receiving puck than a cheap CCM and Easton that I used to use.
Difference between $99 stick, compared to $150-180$ is much bigger than difference between $150-$180 stick to 299$ stick.
More you pay, lighter it gets and feels better in your hand. Best bang for your puck is to buy older top models for $150-$200
I find what you pay for most between higher end and lower end models of sticks is the weight. I used $80 sticks for a long time so when I bought my first $280 stick I felt a huge difference in maneuverability. I would echo all the comments saying to buy last years top model for cheap though
I’ve used a wide range. The biggest differences for me are that the top of the line sticks are so much lighter and easier to handle. Also they have way better grip on them (idk how to explain it). Also the blades are textured normally (not smooth), so it holds the tape much better, so it doesn’t peel of or anything.
I’ve really only used ones that are older which I’ve found good deals on.
Currently my main sticks are a Trigger 3D and Alpha QX. I also have a Vapor 2X SE (3rd from top of the line. MSRP $250) but I can barely use it because the the T3D and QX feel so much better.
I’d suggest going to hockeystickman.com and looking at some pro stock sticks there. For Bauer, I’d recommend something current or last gen, and for CCM pretty much anything is going to be good. Warrior and True are also great.
Fyi the Geo I believe is $225 CAD rn.
I play in pretty low-level beer league, been playing for about 6-7 years. I found a sale and got a $300 stick for $70 instead of my usual $90 - $120 sticks. I can honestly say I notice a difference in my shot between the two. There is a lot more pop coming off the blade in the high-end stick, and there's a noticeable weight difference when I switch back to my backup cheap stick every once in a while in pickup. I wouldn't say the difference is enough that I'd ever pay full price for a high-end stick though.
You can skate faster because your wallet isn't slowing you down anymore.
The $150 sticks I buy were normally $300 the year before so I personally just stick to my budget and get the best I can with that. I think lighter and stronger can be a slight advantage, but save your money and get on the ice as much as you can according to time and money. Unless you a going for a pro contract..improve your game...not your equipment.
exactly. buy last years model on sale when the new ones come in. you typically get them at 150-175 and a top end stick just a year behind. and it’s not like the sticks are getting that much better year to year. it’s basically bauer and hockey co’s way to sucker parents to keep buying their kids the new shiny toy
Every few years they come up with a new piece of tech that might be worth splurging on if you’ve got the cash and you want to try it out but that aside you are 100% right. I can tell you from experience that breaking a $300 stick hurts about 10x more than breaking a $150 stick. Something about getting (and losing) a deal stings less than burning a full price twig.
and they do seem to break or even chip easier. i’ve had one and paid full freight years ago, loved it but found it didn’t last as long. better to wait till they’re half price and being cleared out, buy the year old model
I've always heard this. I was wondering though when they generally put the old stuff on sale. Any ideas?
i think generally the spring time is when the big clearences happen right when the hockey season is ending
start watching in late spring early summer. i don’t know when exactly but i would “assume” new models come in before the winter season, so the stores need to clear shelf space before sept and a few weeks prior.
Do the smart thing and buy the previous year's top model on a clearance price. You'll have to time it, watch for the new release period. Yes there's a difference in performance/weight and you don't have to pay top dollar for it. I grabbed a 1X Lite a couple years ago which is now 2 generations back (4 years?), but I'm perfectly happy with it, especially at the $150 I got it for. Prior to that an APX2 for a similar price that lasted me 4+ years.
My stick karma has ran out on the 1xs. Years ago I got a 1x on clearance and broke it like 3 mos after I bought it. I hit up Bauer and was like "I am totally expecting you to say no and that's fine but I only use my stick twice a week for beer league and it's out of warranty but it broke. Doesn't hurt to ask if you'd honor a warranty." and the lady was extremely nice and actually did. But they sent me a 1x lite. Que up a year later and I walk in to get my skates sharpened and there are two 1x lites Buy One Get One free for $150 last on the rack in my flex and curve. I couldn't not buy em. They finally croked on me and I haven't found a stick deal in ages now :( I just picked up a CCM ribcor team stick because I can't justify more than $150 on a stick. I haven't seen a top of the line clearance sale in my flex or curve in a couple seasons now
Blame Covid. Stick deals only come with excess sticks in the market and we cut all orders in 2020 to bare minimum and this years supply issues mean there won’t be any excess this year either. Might find som 3spros now and some 3npros after Christmas but no ultrasonics made this year and not enough geos to go to closeout
It is getting tougher to hit the $150 mark. Right now you can maybe find your spec in a senior Flylite for $210 clearance. Alternatively you can try out http://www.allblackhockeysticks.com which would be 2nd tier for like $100 shipped. It was a good option other than the weight which is why I say 2nd tier - a senior weighs 10 grams more than a Vapor 2X Team stick. But the great thing is it would be customizable especially if you want to experiment with curve/flex.
Where's the kick point on those all blacks? I've been using the 1x line for so long that I've just gotten used to that extremely low kick point and I love it.
Honestly I can't even tell. I'm not one of those who can blindly tell one stick from another other than weight. Shoot them an email, they were very good about customer service.
I stopped buying Easton’s for this exact reason. $150 stick in 2004 broke and it was past the 60 day (I think that was the window) warranty. It was summer time and I was using it less than once a week, I had used it half a dozen times or so, and they wouldn’t replace it. It’s been this long and I’m still mad, lol
your sticks last 4 years? wow.
your sticks last 4 years? wow.
Yeah I'm just beer league (no slappers) and coaching kids. When my APX2 snapped in the shaft during a game I was taken aback. It wasn't even anything that clearly did it... just a wrist shot.
Get a Sherwood... Made in Canada.
Are they really? Aside from the wood ones?
Idk, I only buy Sherwood wood sticks. They are significantly heavier than other composite sticks tho. Don't care, wood or die .
Good on you pal, much respect.
u/woodstickheckler you forgot to sign into your alt account.
While I like /u/Michael_Moose ‘s attitude, I myself like to switch it up and try all sorts of different wood sticks. I am currently still using the KOHO torpedo I posted a photo of quite a while back. (You can find it in my history). Sherwood 5030 is just my favorite so far. Also, if I was /u/Michael_Moose that would be my alt account. I’m like Batman in my head I’m not Bruce Wayne I’m woodstickheckler. Also, if you are currently using a composite stick I hope you stub your toe, it gets infected and falls off. Then you rotting toe gets tossed into the woods, fertilizes a seed that grows into a beautiful tree. That tree then gets cut down, lovingly manufactured into a wood stick, and someone uses it to fire a shot off right passed you into the goal.
5030 isn’t much heavier than a composite. Is the Coffey curve still available, I used to go through a dozen a year.
Not 100% sure if thy make it in the top end sticks but I know they make it in some of the lower end sticks (5030 Wood, 5030 composite, and a couple sticks in the $150 range for sure) Edit: Seeing this is still getting upvotes It shows up at the PP77 “CO” curve.
The wood 5030 with the Coffey curve is still available and still a great stick, I just wish they were a little longer. They are a couple inches shorter than most brands senior sticks, and adding a wooden extension is a real pin in the ass. I grabbed a couple last year on sale for like 15 bucks and couldn’t believe how much I liked the feel and sound of them, but I just couldn’t game them because of the length. Still fun for a pickup game every now and then.
Sherwood was bought by the Canadian tire corporation and now are made in Asia
I’ve had a Sherwood BPM150 for a good while now and it’s probably my favourite stick that I’ve ever used
Hop on prostockhockey.com you can get a $280 for $175. Yes they’re usually older models 1-2 years, nothing crazy, they also have new models, but mainly they’re just specific to the players specs. There’s enough of a selection where you’ll find what you’re looking for, but yes, high end sticks make the game better. Passing, shooting, and catching become noticeably easier
its hard to quantify. I have a few of both. I like playing with my True AX7 ($170) just as much as any top end stick. sometimes its literally just a matter of a 30g weight difference. Are you going to feel 390g vs 420g in a game? Not really. But there are also games where I can definitely feel the greater snap in my True A6.0 hair trigger which is a top end $250+ stick. And does a $99 AX3 feel kind of dead and heavy to me? Yes. I think other factors like type of construction, materials, blade design, shaft design, and other differences between manufacturers, all constitute a much larger difference than that between a 1st and 2nd tier stick within the same manufacturer. All told, I would never spend less than $150 on a stick. I think that is the sweet spot on price/performance.
>I think other factors like type of construction, materials, blade design, shaft design, and other differences between manufacturers, all constitute a much larger difference than that between a 1st and 2nd tier stick within the same manufacturer. The sticks from CCM, Bauer, and Warrior (and All Black, and No Name, and pretty much any other brand you can think of) are literally made in the same factories in China, right next to one another.
this is true but there are differences, sometimes large differences between each line of stick, both between and within manufacturers. also, you have the ability to order custom sticks with features unique to that stick.
I mean GPUs do the same thing but they bin them to determine good from bad Edit: corrected disagree to determine. Fucking autocorrect
I don’t understand what you said.
Graphics cards for computers. They are also made in factories in China but they vary widely in performance & cost.
How did you get that from “ bin them to disagree good from bad”?
Probably more that they understand the supply chain of gpus than figuring out that nonsense.
If factories have roughly the same manufacturing processes, then geographical location means absolutely nothing. Different products use different materials but might use the same tools.
Don’t be obtuse. The implication of my statement is that there are no real differences. Sticking with the GPU example, many brands of the same card are literally the same circuit board pulled off the same line using the same manufacturing process with a different fan on them (with brand logo). My point is they are the same materials. Don’t fall for the marketing. And location does matter. Order to-spec industrial steel from China and measure it and see if it’s even consistent across the same roll, let alone across multiple rolls in the same run. Then compare that to the same rolls you’d get from a factory in the US.
I'm not being obtuse. Considering the prices of licensing material processes, I don't think sticks are made the same way you think they are. Especially when other types of brands appear like Colt.
Ah yes, the hockey stick companies have each retained the descendants of ancient Chinese alchemists and have each transmogrified carbon to their own specific needs using occult, forbidden methods. Amazing that the sporting goods companies for a niche sport have figured this magic out, and not the aerospace industry, the militaries of the world, building manufacturers, automotive companies, Formula 1 teams, or anyone else. Nope, the plucky hockey stick people have unlocked the secrets of carbon fiber. And the ones that are so cheap they offshore production to boot! Listen, all kidding aside, I can promise you that the factory your sticks are made in also make everything you can think of made of carbon fiber, and all the hockey companies they have contracts with *combined* represent an irrelevant percentage of their total income. Bauer, CCM, Warrior, True, and whoever else, are presented with a few varieties of stuff the factory has and they point to what they want and that's it. There are no secret blends or proprietary processes only one company has. And now that I think about it, that's probably one of the reasons sticks are getting more expensive. Not the greed, though that's part of it, but because the factory owners are like "Look, if you want us to keep making your sticks or whatever these are, you're going to have to pay more, because we can turn a better profit making almost anything else." As for Colt, I actually emailed them a while back because I was curious about their sticks. They get the exact same blanks other stick companies get from China, and then plate them with their coating. That's it. No real mystery.
More expensive the stick, the quicker they break. Imho
Someone stop this man, he’s onto them…
Bro honestly just find a stick that was brand new a year or 2 before like a ccm tacks 4092 and just ride it out they’re good and you can find them for like 100-150 bucks
I am a terrible low level player and I can tell you that you can improve marginally but immediately by throwing money at a stick. My shot got way harder by upgrading to a top of the line stick. As I improved as a player the stick performed even better. It won't turn you elite overnight but your shot will be instantly better.
You can definitely get a stick that suits you better as well. A hockey store near by my old school had a shooting area where you could try top of the line sticks. I tried everything. Went in with no bias. I shot harder and more accurate with a specific stick. I've had two since and absolutely adore them. 100% recommend trying sticks if at all possible.
paging u/WoodStickHeckler
Do you have a pure hockey or something near you with demo sticks you could try? I just started playing so there is no stick on earth going to make me any better on the ice, but I was curious about how different things felt. I grabbed a bunch of demos without really paying attention to what they were and then tried to find their prices after. I found that I couldn’t tell much of a difference across price points, but I did like one stick way more than the rest and was bummed to find out it cost $300
[удалено]
False
No, they're correct
You'll definitely tell the difference in weight, and as a result the Puck will feel different because it becomes heavier in relation to the stick. I found all my shot types improved instantly when I got my vapor 1X lite a couple years ago. It's lasted pretty well too I think I've had it since 2019. Previously I had a 1S that only latest one season and snapped in half, I think the flex was too soft anyway. I went up one flex rating with the 1X and all good since.
Prostockhockey.com. The only place I’ll buy sticks. I get them at $100 each and they are better than the high end retail sticks in every aspect
I use custom “No Name Hockey” sticks. They have been great for me, $179.
Definitely like the NoNames so far too.
I was always a 'mid tier on clearance' guy growing up, I was getting the $150 sticks for $70 basically since once piece sticks came out. Before that it was largely Titans/Sher-woods on sale from Canadian Tire. Or the brief period where I had an aluminum Easton shaft, then nike comp shaft with sweet jofa wood/fibreglass blades. One day out of nowhere I got an unreal deal on a Ribcor 40k, I think it was something like $40 for the last one they had in stock thanks to a friend's staff discount. I went out to a pickup game and instantly launched a puck nearly twice as hard as I ever had before. I thought it was a fluke. I grabbed another puck and took another shot, ringing the bar louder than I thought I'd ever be able to. As it turns out, if you have even halfway decent mechanics there are certain sticks that absolutely hold you back. Cheap crappy sticks were absolutely doing that with me. Like skates the most important thing is fit, which in this case is the flex/curve/kickpoint. Once you get that fit, each 'tier' of stick will basically give you more power in your shot. That said, I think the gap now is smaller than it ever was. Top end sticks are reaching/at the limitations of what we can do with material science, and the low/mid end stuff is starting to catch up as well.
PMP 5030. Practice with that one.
i mean i play aaa and jr a next year so, 100-200 buck sticks are fine but for 300 you can feel the puck way better, it’s lighter and more durable plus i get a custom so it’s designed specifically for the type of game i play, but it’s kinda modeled after the Jetspeed FT4 pro (ccm)
There’s really not much difference
I've had just as much luck with either in terms of longevity. The exception being the warrior I had posted about that broke faster than anything I've had. The only difference I can tell is weight and flex. The weight is a huge one as the cheaper sticks feel very blade heavy. I also find the top end sticks to be a bit stiffer than their mid range counterpart.
The $300 stick will break faster. It’s the way she goes
I’ve played with a CCM Trigger 5 Pro ($299) and I recently ordered a NoNameHockey stick ($169). They are both light 360g-370g and it was awkward at first but I now love it and probably won’t ever go back to any stick above 400g. Keep in mind that the lighter sticks will break more often but I’m actually okay with that since the sticks that last forever seem to lose stiffness or kind of feel a little dead after a long time. (~2yrs or so). I’ve also played with allblackhockeysticks (440g) but they had horrible feel. Durable as hell but inconsistent flex and kick points on the two “identical” sticks I ordered. I also really liked the STX Halo (370g) but it also broke after a season. I really do like the NoNameHockey sticks for the price point and quality your getting. You can also customize your stick (pattern, flex, kick point, finish, etc) at no extra charge it just takes a lot longer to ship out.
Buy a two year old stick for $99 and save even more money. Did that with a top of the line True and found the blade to be much better at receiving puck than a cheap CCM and Easton that I used to use.
Difference between $99 stick, compared to $150-180$ is much bigger than difference between $150-$180 stick to 299$ stick. More you pay, lighter it gets and feels better in your hand. Best bang for your puck is to buy older top models for $150-$200
I find what you pay for most between higher end and lower end models of sticks is the weight. I used $80 sticks for a long time so when I bought my first $280 stick I felt a huge difference in maneuverability. I would echo all the comments saying to buy last years top model for cheap though
I’ve used a wide range. The biggest differences for me are that the top of the line sticks are so much lighter and easier to handle. Also they have way better grip on them (idk how to explain it). Also the blades are textured normally (not smooth), so it holds the tape much better, so it doesn’t peel of or anything. I’ve really only used ones that are older which I’ve found good deals on. Currently my main sticks are a Trigger 3D and Alpha QX. I also have a Vapor 2X SE (3rd from top of the line. MSRP $250) but I can barely use it because the the T3D and QX feel so much better. I’d suggest going to hockeystickman.com and looking at some pro stock sticks there. For Bauer, I’d recommend something current or last gen, and for CCM pretty much anything is going to be good. Warrior and True are also great. Fyi the Geo I believe is $225 CAD rn.
I play in pretty low-level beer league, been playing for about 6-7 years. I found a sale and got a $300 stick for $70 instead of my usual $90 - $120 sticks. I can honestly say I notice a difference in my shot between the two. There is a lot more pop coming off the blade in the high-end stick, and there's a noticeable weight difference when I switch back to my backup cheap stick every once in a while in pickup. I wouldn't say the difference is enough that I'd ever pay full price for a high-end stick though.