Easton Stealth S19 Hockey Stick
One Wicked Winter Wand
Submitted by Gear Patrol reader Tyler Wagenet
I grew up playing hockey in the Northeast using only wooden sticks. They weighed a ton but were just what everyone used. As time went on and materials got better, I somehow got lost in the shuffle and continued taking strides with my trusty wooden beast. I could never bring myself to pull the trigger on a new stick. The thought of doing so gave me a feeling that I was betraying my roots. However, when Gear Patrol approached me about testing the Easton Stealth S19, I can honestly say that my heart skipped a beat. Here was the opportunity to see what I had been missing… and I’ve clearly been missing a lot.
With each shot, I felt the stick respond more and more efficiently. Each somehow had more snap than the previous take… the poor fella minding the net had the same feeling when I fired one past his right ear and then gave him a dose of my best Happy Gilmore bull dance
From the moment this weapon arrived at my doorstep I was in love. For starters, it weighs about as much as a well-prepared steak. The Kevlar-wrapped, compression-molded shaft is all that it’s cracked up to be. With each shot, I felt the stick respond more and more efficiently. Each somehow had more snap than the previous take. This is due largely to Easton’s TORX Technology that helps transfer power from the shaft to the blade for greater power. The poor fella minding the net had the same feeling when I fired one past his right ear and then gave him a dose of my best Happy Gilmore bull dance.
The one-piece composite stick concept had always raised a question in my mind: how strong could the connection between the shaft and the blade really be? That question was quickly put to bed by Easton’s proprietary Multi-Rib technology, a manufacturing process fuses the shaft and blade at the molding stage. It came in quite useful battling it out in the corner for puck control. Just as important, the stick never slipped from my grasp, due largely in part to Easton’s GRIP Technology, something I typically had issues with when my standard wooden stick got a bit worn. Also, The blade never once twisted on a shot and my passes felt crisp and left my stick with a zip that I haven’t seen in years. The extreme curve of the blade certainly proved beneficial when a much faster (read: younger) player tried to skate away from me.
Easton offers this stick in a number of different flexes and blade patterns; my personal preference was the Sakic model in an 85 flex. Easton is currently producing this stick with a number of different graphic patterns in limited edition for the forthcoming Winter Olympic games.
Cost: $250
