When a hockey player grabs a stick from the rack, leans on it to give it a good bend, peers down the shaft like it's the scope of a rifle, and taps the heel of the blade on the ground beneath, what exactly is he looking for? "Feel"... If it doesn't feel right, he ain't buyin' it. Of course, the feel of the stick is just one aspect of its "personality". 'Where's the kick-point?', 'How quickly does it load and release?' and 'Is it gonna break on the 31st day?'... These are all questions that every player asks himself when considering his next weapon of choice.
There are many sticks on the market that offer just about everything you could ever ask for - things that players never even dreamed of 10 years ago. But at what cost? Here's where the Ballistik/Combat sticks take the cake. Combat may be a new name to you, but they've been around for a good while, making top-notch baseball bats and softball gear. They've been manufacturing hockey sticks since 1994, most recently under the name Ballistik, which has now been replaced with the Combat name. These guys have been around since the pre-OPS days, developing their stick technology right alongside the big names we're all so used to seeing, like Easton, Bauer, CCM, Sherwood and Reebok.
I recently had the pleasure of trying out the Combat 45 Caliber Hockey Stick, 100 flex (MC Curve - Modano). At the list price of $134.99 you'll have a tough time finding another stick that weighs less than 470 grams — and to top it off, the 45 Cal is a TRUE one piece composite. In fact, every Combat stick down to the 22 Caliber is a TRUE one-piece. No other manufacturer can say that their price-point sticks are true OPS's, but Combat can. And I'll tell you something else — the 45 Caliber performs like a $180 stick from almost any other manufacturer. With a mid to low-mid kick point, the 45 Cal delivered a lightning-quick release on my snapshot and booming power on my slappers. The feel of the stick was fantastic. It has sort of a square/rounded edge hybrid feel, so you get a good grip on the stick without sacrificing comfort and playability. The walls are slightly concave, but not overwhelmingly so. After just an hour out on the ice, I couldn't believe the amount of punch that the 45 Caliber delivered for such a low price.
Make no mistake about it, Combat sticks are high quality, top notch twigs that perform with the best of the best, and they're incredibly durable & resilient. I would highly recommend that you take a chance—nay, seize the opportunity, to experience the superior performance of Combat hockey sticks. Combat offers their sticks in 7 versatile patterns, based on the most popular curves on the market. So you shouldn't have any trouble finding a pattern that suits your needs.
At HockeyGiant.com, we've got you covered with the 52 Caliber, 45 Caliber, 22 Caliber and 12 Caliber Combat one-piece composite hockey sticks in the most popular blade patterns. We also offer the Combat 52 Caliber, 45 Caliber and 22 Caliber standard hosel composite hockey shafts for the guys who prefer the two-piece twig. At such great prices, what are you waiting for?
