One-Piece Composite Hockey Sticks

Currently, about 85% of players in the National Hockey League use one-piece composite ice hockey sticks. We will discuss composite one-piece ice hockey sticks in pretty great detail because they are by far the most popular ice hockey sticks on the market. They are extremely popular in the NHL and even more popular among youth hockey. Composite one-piece ice hockey sticks are much lighter and flexible than wood ice hockey sticks; however one-piece composite ice hockey sticks are much more expensive. On average, one-piece composite ice hockey sticks are about five times more expensive than wood ice hockey sticks and more expensive one-piece composite ice hockey sticks are up to ten times more expensive than the average wood ice hockey stick.

The construction of a one-piece composite ice hockey stick, as far the curve of the blade and the flex in the shaft, is so much more accurate than a wood ice hockey stick. With wood ice hockey sticks it is difficult for the manufacturer to produce sticks with consistent blade curve and shaft flex with every batch. There are also many manufacturers that will make custom one-piece composite ice hockey sticks for you. This usually brings the costs of the ice hockey sticks up for you and you usually need to buy several at one time.

Nike Bauer, for example, has a new program called “Nike Bauer ID” in which they produce custom ice hockey sticks for you. However this program is quite unique to anything its competitors are currently doing. With the “Nike Bauer ID” program, you can actually customize all the attributes of your one-piece composite ice hockey stick and the best part is you only have to purchase one!

You don’t need to buy the ice hockey sticks in bundles like competitors.One of the biggest issues with one-piece composite ice hockey sticks is that they can break very easily. It can be very frustrating when you break a $200 ice hockey stick. Unfortunately, unlike a lot of ice hockey equipment products on the market, the more you pay for a one-piece composite ice hockey stick, the easier it will be to break. This is because the less expensive one-piece composite ice hockey sticks are made with more fiberglass materials, and so they are a little bit stronger, however they are much heavier. The more expensive one-piece composite ice hockey sticks are made with very light carbon fiber materials and as a result they are more fragile.

The overall wear and tear of a composite ice hockey stick blade will last much longer than a wood ice hockey stick, but it is that random, unlucky snap you need to be worried about. Most big name ice hockey stick companies such as RBK Hockey, CCM Hockey, Easton Hockey, Mission Hockey, Nike Bauer Hockey, and Warrior Hockey all offer 30-day warranties on one-piece composite ice hockey sticks. The way it works is you visit the manufacturer’s website and find their ice hockey stick warranty page. Typically you fill an online form for their website and you mail your broken one-piece composite ice hockey stick along with your receipt back to them. They then mail you a new one-piece composite ice hockey stick with a stamp on the shaft that shows that it is the warrantied one-piece composite ice hockey stick.

When you are first looking into purchasing a one-piece composite ice hockey stick, it may seem a bit confusing or overwhelming due to the fact that it isn’t as easy as just ordering a certain kind of one-piece composite ice hockey stick that you want. You don’t just say to the guy at your local ice hockey shop, “Hey give me an Easton ice hockey sitck!” You need to specify many different attributes that are custom to you as an ice hockey player and the one-piece composite ice hockey stick itself. The one-piece composite ice hockey stick you choose will have many different options. So, for all you ice hockey stick newbies, let’s break down these attributes.

• Senior, Intermediate, or Junior: The differences between these are the lengths of the ice hockey sticks, the widths of the shafts, and the overall shaft stiffness.
  Example: Senior
• Manufacturer: Obviously, this will be the company that makes the one-piece composite ice hockey stick you are interested in buying.
  Example: Nike Bauer
• Model Line: Almost all ice hockey manufactures produce different lines of ice hockey sticks at different price ranges.
  Example: Vapor
• Specific Model: Then, within that model line, you will find the specific one-piece composite ice hockey stick that meets your needs and your price range.
  Example: XXX
• Flex: This is how much the stick flexes, obviously. This is a very crucial aspect of your ice hockey stick. When you take any kind of shot with your ice hockey stick, it needs to flex. Think of it as sling-shot effect. If you let go a slap shot with all your strength and your stick never flexes, the shot will not be very hard. So, when you figure out what flex is right for you, you need to take into account a couple of factors. Your weight is very important because the heavier you are the more weight that is being thrust into the shaft, forcing it to flex. Likewise, how strong you are is very important as well. Also, you want to take into account your height. Keep in mind the flex rating is going to become stiffer, the shorter you cut your stick down. Every manufacturer has a different flex rating system, but one thing stays true for all manufacturers; the higher the flex rating, the stiffer it is. So a stronger, heavier player would use a 100 flex, which is much stiffer than an 85 flex, for example.
  Example: 87 Flex
• Blade Pattern: The ice hockey stick blade pattern is also very dependent on the ice hockey player and their person preference. This is simply the way and to what degree the blade curves. There are many possible blade patterns in the world; however most companies stick to pretty similar patterns, just with different names. You have three basic kinds of curves. There are heel curves, mid curves, and toe curves. This is just where the curve of the ice hockey blade is located at. From there you have different degrees and amounts to which the blade curves, as well as open and closed curves. An open blade curve means that the blade almost begins to twist and begin to face slightly upwards. A closed curve means that the blade does not open up. It simply curves in and that is it. So, for example, a closed heel curve means that the blade begins to curve at the heel of the blade and then doesn’t open up. The different manufactures usually name different blade patterns by NHL player names.
  Example: Hossa
• Handedness: We’ll end with the most basic attribute. Are you right or left handed? If you are left handed, it means your left hand is your bottom hand when you hold your ice hockey stick naturally. If you are right handed, it means your right hand is your bottom hand when you hold your ice hockey stick naturally.
  Example: Right Handed

So, to sum up, if we were going to buy the one-piece composite ice hockey stick we named in all of the examples above, this is what we would be purchasing:
“Senior Nike Bauer Vapor XXX, 87 Flex, Hossa Pattern, Right Handed”