07 Crop, The Good, The Bad and the Future
Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Posted by chisel_my_nizzle

"It's X Times Faster". That was the slogan for the Vapor XXXX skate, one of several new pieces of equipment recently released onto the hockey market. Hit or miss the evolution of the game of hockey as well as the equipment is truely fascinating. With the extinction of T-Blades, the introduction of Therma-blades, and a stick with holes punched through the shaft, consumers have seen almost everything this past year. Almost.

Starting with wheels, NikeBauer led the way with the vapor XXXX as well as the Supreme One90. although made by the same company these skates have vast differences. The vapor XXXX is a much narrower skate with considerably less forward flex in the ankle. The boot is stiff, almost too stiff which does increase the life of the product as well as the durability but also creates many comfort problems such as lace bite and insecurities with the heel. Very light, it fashions a hydro-phobic liner to keep a wrap on moisture management inside the boot. It also has a carbon sole opposed to a plastic sole to maximize energy transfer from your leg to the ice. A new ergonomic toe-cap is the cherry on top of a wonderful skate. The Supreme One90 is in a class of its own. With a fully moldable one- piece composite weave boot, it is the first of its kind to deliver a fully moldable skate that adjusts to every aspect of your foot. Containing the same interior liner and carbon sole as the XXXX, it also features a slimmer fitting tounge with extra lacebite protection. Both of these skate are great but in my humble opinion I believe the One90 wins in a head to head battle of performance, comfort, and overall style. Now to everyone's favorite piece of sniping technology, the twig. Besides flex and curves there is much more to a new goal-potter these days. Here's a brief over-view. Easton- S17- first of its kind for the simple fact that it is made on 2 seperate mandrel's. 3/4 of the shaft is created on a carbon mandrel just like every other one-piece composite. (I use the term "one-piece" lightly because there are few true one piece sticks) The remaining piece including the blade is made on a silicone mandrel and the stick is fused together. This allows for a disgustingly narrow, but increasingly strong, taper for quicker loading and a more accurate release. The strong silicone composite almost eliminates the dreaded "second flex". (When you watch a one piece stick flex in slo motion there are 2 flex points. The original flex point is in the shaft, the second is in the blade. If blade rotation is extreme then your shot will not even be close to accurate.) Listed at a shocking 395 grams it is claimed to be the lightest stick on the market. NikeBauer- XXXX - Like the XXXLite, these sticks are perfectly balanced. What i mean by this is that the weight is distributed evenly throughout the stick, it is not blade heavy. This gives is a weird but original feel. Impact foam inside the blade gives great cusion for passes but also delivers incredible energy on shots. A .470 taper gives the sniper an almost unfair advantage over tenders :D. RBK- 9K O Stick - I know what your thinking, you'd rather wipe your ass with a pine cone than be caught using this attrocious twine-tickler. I agree it is the ugliest thing to grace this planet and it looks like it belongs in a tool box somewhere. But the performace doesn't lie. Every one piece composite stick is hollow right. Well, RBK decided to utilize one of the oldest bits of information known to man. Arch's (bridges) are the strongest weight bearing shape. By creating the holes in the shaft it actually increases the durability of the stick tenfold. It also reduces wind resistance and reduces the overall weight. The O Stick has a good performace rating, even though it looks like a measuring level. Mission - Fuel 2 - The first good thing Mission has ever made. 395 grams, lightest made. 80-90% dampening ratio, best ever made behind wood sticks. Second best balanced stick only behind the XXXLite/XXXX. Titanium mesh weave throughout blade and shaft allows for a 60, yes, 60 day warranty. With a unique feather-touch grip and flashy color combo, this is the biggest kept secret in the hockey world. I suggest trying this stick out. New Bauer One95 Skates. http://nhldigest.com/bauer-one95-skates/ <--- this website will give you a really good outline of the skate being released this spring. It will have white holders instead of those bogus clear blue Lightspeed holders which is a bigtime upgrade. Alright I'm tired of typing and there is an endless amount of equipment to talk about, so enjoy this little bit i know. This article contains my opinion of the equipment and I realize that it may be different than others, but I hope you maybe learn something you didn't know before or get a feel for the products. Cheers .