Hockey stick
It's hard to play ice hockey without a stick, not to mention impossible. Hockey sticks today are made of composite materials. This makes a hockey stick much lighter if you compare it to the wooden sticks that were standard for many years. The advantage of composite is the weight and also that the stick "flexes" which gives the hockey player extra help with shots. That's why it's important to have a straight hockey stick. If you have a stick that is too hard, you will not get the same pressure in your shots as you would if you had a softer stick.
How long should a hockey stick be?
Hockey sticks should be about 80% of your body length. That's about the size of a skate without skates. For beginners or children, something shorter is recommended. So it's easier to learn to dribble, pass and shoot with a shorter stick. Children's hockey sticks are available in a variety of lengths and flexes. The rule of thumb is to go for a soft stick in the right length. All Sticks can be cut to the desired length.
Which stick should I get?
There are plenty of hockey sticks to choose from so it can be difficult to decide which hockey stick to buy. The difference between a more expensive stick and a cheap hockey stick is the weight and the material it is made of. All sticks are made of composite material but the sticks have different types of composite material in them. The higher priced sticks are made of better or cleaner composite material. This gives the Stick better characteristics such as better balance and feel. So a more expensive Stick will give you a different feel than a cheaper Stick. Manufacturers make Sticks that have different characteristics, this is called flex point or kick point. It refers to the way the Stick behaves when it's bowed. Most commonly, a Stick has either a kick point at the lower end of the shaft, called a low-kick, or in the middle of the shaft, called a mid-kick. Which is best is entirely up to the player's own preference. One tip is that if you have been very comfortable with a low-kick hockey stick, you should continue to choose low-kick sticks.