Why is it so difficult to choose the perfect hockey stick, and why is it so important? We use terms such as length, flex & hook when talking about hockeysticks. What does it mean, and why is it so important to understand the terms in order to choose the right one?
We want to help you find the right stick for you or your hockey player. Take your time, read, reflect and learn.
Modern ice hockey moves fast. You need to be fast on skates, make quick decisions, make quick movements and you want to come to quick finishes. It has been made possible, and is driven by, the material development that has taken place.
If we treat ourselves to an analogy, consider today’s pole vaulter. How high would you have jumped with completely rigid poles compared to when you use the throwing ability of the material? We are fascinated by how a pole vaulter can jump over 6 meters with poles that are only 5 meters long. Then we can also understand the importance of being able to bend, flex, a hockey stick – and to learn to handle the throwing effect the stick gets when it regains its original shape. The “kick-back-effect”
BEST MATERIAL IN HOCKEYSTICKS?
The best hockey sticks are created from 100% carbon fabric and cast in a one-piece mold. With that process, you can create sticks that weigh only a fraction of previous fiberglass hockeysticks or combinations of fiberglass, carbon mass or carbon fabric.
Cast in 100% carbon fabric and in one piece, the sticks are not only extremely light, they are also very durable.
Hockey brands are usually good at creating new junior sticks with Artwork that are very close to identical to the best, most expensive, senior sticks used by the stars. But beware, the material or construction of the stick is not always the same, and with a lot of text in advanced technical language. It is easy to choose the wrong one. And therefore pay too much.
HOW LONG SHOULD THE PERFECT HOCKEY STICK BE?
A simple basic rule is that the stick should reach just above the tip of your nose if you are standing barefoot.
You or your child want to “get down into a hockey stance”, i.e. get down with the legs bent and with preassure against the front edge of the skate. Then the above simple description is correct.
When you want to find out how long the perfect hockey stick for You should be, the easiest way is to measure from the floor to one cm above the tip of the nose. (When looking straight ahead and standing barefoot.) The correct height is usually 91.5% to 93.0% of the hockey player’s total height.
We see many hockey players who accidentally play with a stick that is too long. It could be because the player or parent feels “It is good to have some margin. The player is growing”. Then just consider that a too long stick often gives a too upright basic position in order to assimilate the training you carry out.
Some children feel that they “don’t get a grip” on the puck during practice, this may be due to playing with a stick that is too long. The blade of the hockey stick is not flat against the ice. You can easily tell if a hockeystick is too long if you notice that the taping wears more at the back edge, towards the “heel” of the blade.
Correspondingly, you can see if you are about to outgrow your stick, or have chosen a stick that is too short/can’t get into a hockey stance. Then the taping on the lower edge of the blade is worn far forward on the blade.
Some players wish to play with a slightly longer hockey stick to achieve “better reach”. Just be careful so you don’t lose the opportunity for optimal technology development while growing up.
THE BEST GUIDE HOCKEY STICK TEACHES YOU ABOUT FLEX
Flex is an expression based on how much weight in pounds (lbs) is needed to bend a stick 1” (inch) between the extreme points of the hockeystick. Half of that weight in lbs is the specific flex of that stick. (Imagine that you hang a weight on the stick when it is horizontal.)
Flex is a relatively modern expression that not everyone has full knowledge of. Unfortunately, neither do all salespeople you meet. The new modern hockey sticks with softer flex give opportunities for the new shots. Embrace it, learn and you will be a much better player.
WHAT FLEX SHOULD I HAVE ON MY PERFECT HOCKEYSTICK?
In principle, children should play with a flex on the stick that is “slightly less than or equal to its weight in kg.” In general, it can be said that it is advisable to strive for a stick that is 4-5 lower in flex than the hockey player’s kg body weight.
Do You want to help your young player to get the feeling sooner in their career? Than give them a stick with 5-10 lower flex than their kg weight.
For some reason it is sometimes considered “tough and cool” to play with a high flex stick. The people saying that is so wrong. If they would be correct, why isn´t pole vaulters still jumping with poles made of steel? It is tempting to tell you that Ovechkin, a little over 100 kg, plays with a hockey stick with a flex just under 80.
We are fascinated by hockey stars who, in a whip-rap fashion, quickly push away a hard fast shot called “quick release.” New techniques are invented. The flexing hockeystick makes it possible.
WHAT HAPPENS IF I CUT OFF A PIECE ON MY HOCKEYSTICK SHAFT?
It is important to understand that a stick with specific flex becomes stiffer if you cut it. Make sure you buy a hockeystick that is perfect in flex, without cutting it. Or, consider the change of flex you will get when you need to cut your stick, since it is too long. Think of the long pencil that is easy to break, but if you cut it off, it’s almost unbreakable no matter how hard you try.
So when you find a stick you want, and the seller says; “You only need to cut it by 10 cm”, then you should know that this means that you change the stick to suit a hockey player who weighs about 10 kg moore. (Generally, if you cut 10 cm, the stick will be suitable for a player 10 kg heavier, if you cut 5 cm, it will be suitable for a player 5 kg heavier).
WHAT IS KICK BACK EFFECT ON A HOCKEY STICK?
Something that is rarely talked about is the kick-back-effect of an ice hockey stick. Being able to bend/flex a hockey stick is essential for the future. However, in principle, people have never heard of, or requested evidence of, how quickly the hockey stick regains its original shape. That is, how quickly it straightens out. It is what determines with what force a hockey stick throws a puck.
The kick-back-effect differs from stick to stick and and You can sadly never get facts from the hockey-brands. There is a difference in kick-back-effect between all brands high-end-sticks. The difference is due to how the construction is made and what carbon is used. On the other hand, the difference in the kick-back-effect between a high-quality sticks and variants where you mix fiberglass and/or carbon mass is very big.
IS IT GOOD WITH A LIGHT HOCKEYSTICK?
Yes, it is a big advantage for You and your hockeyplayer when playing with a hockeystick of light weight.
For the young children, that advantage can be the biggest difference in their experience. A lighter hockey stick makes it much easier in stickhandling, passing and learning great shots. We recommend You to invest in a good quality stick with light weight. The worlds lightest hockeystick is JUSTICE PWR, it is a stick for Elite players. Check it out here; worlds lightest hockeystick.
WHAT BLADE ON HOCKEYSTICK SHOULD I CHOOSE?
It would have been easy if hockey stick manufacturers could agree on how to describe the blade variants offered. Some kind of norm. But it is not so. There are countless different names for blades on hockey sticks. However, all blades are not different – they can have different names – but looks exactly the same. Some have the same designation when the hook is equivalent, but sometimes not.
However, you can expect that they always differ in their construction. You want a stiff blade that can hold the force the player generates and a total connection between blade and shaft that holds the twisting energy (torsion) that is generated.
Blades have different properties, and are often created for different purposes. We do not want to describe or assess the different blades available on the market. But study and don’t leave the choice of blade to chance.
PRICE OF HOCKEY HOCKEY STICK?
Don’t buy an expensive hockey stick just because a star plays with it. Feel free to buy a stick that a hockeystar plays with, but – make sure it’s the right hockeystick for you or your child.
A really good stick costs a little more, but think about whether you shouldn’t prioritize buying a hockeystick that fits perfectly in length and flex. It makes a difference. When You want to know how to find the perfect hockeystick, remember that only a perfect hockeystick for the individual has the opportunity to be perfect.
