Base Hockey

SammyOB · Post by **SammyOB** » Sun Sep 09, 2012 8:11 pm

I have heard a bunch of talk about Base Hockey and the sticks they make. What is everyone feelings on these sticks and the guy doing the fittings? Thinking about sending my son. All the talk i've heard has been great. Let me know. Thanks!

Shinbone_News · Post by **Shinbone_News** » Mon Sep 10, 2012 9:57 am

Good guys, knowledgable, straight shooters, excellent customer service and responsiveness.

My peewee loves the stick, and (as you probably know) it was cheaper than comparable store brands, plus customized with his name and number (which he thought was pretty "sick").

He had been going through sticks alarmingly fast -- about one a month -- but he's been playing exclusively with the Base for six months now.

I would say with kids, the "fittings" are maybe a little slapdash and one-size-fits-all, but kids aren't that much different from each other if they're playing on intermediates and weigh about the same.

Probably blade design is most important (open or closed face on the curve, rounded toe or squared, etc.), and the Base guys seems good at diagnosing what works best for any particular shooter, if they get a chance to watch your kid shoot (and watch how or if the puck flutters, for example).

barry_mcconnell · Post by **barry_mcconnell** » Mon Sep 10, 2012 10:08 am

How much are the sticks? Do they have a warranty? Couldn't find find either answer on their website.

Shinbone_News · Post by **Shinbone_News** » Mon Sep 10, 2012 11:39 am

If I remember correctly, I paid $120 for an Intermediate that was, at the time, nearly identical with the Easton Stealth (but not nearly as fragile, especially in the blade. Eastons have great touch, but tend to get crinkly in the blade pretty fast).

I think they were also pretty much industry-standard as far as warranty goes -- against any manufacturing defect.

This is only a speculation on my part, but it's tough to build a personal, customized, word-of-mouth based business without backing up your product in a big way.

SammyOB · Post by **SammyOB** » Mon Sep 10, 2012 1:16 pm

Base's Warranty is 30 days per stick...buy two sticks you get 60 days. My son keeps breaking Bauer APX in the heal...3 sticks in 4 months.

www.basehockey.ca

YouthHockeyHub · Post by **YouthHockeyHub** » Mon Sep 10, 2012 4:15 pm

I just did a story on Base sticks on Saturday. Didn't want to post here, but i thought it was fitting (no pun intended).

Enjoy,

http://youthhockeyhub.com

A buddy of mine (who plays 3X a week) said that his stick is the best stick he's ever had.

I shot with a few of them - the P81 curves are "sick"

BenDangle · Post by **BenDangle** » Tue Sep 11, 2012 8:50 am

...my kids have Base sticks, they like them a lot...the ordering process is pretty easy. We got ours in 2 weeks...we will likely re-order 1 each for the kids moving into association season.

Aimforthefivehole · Post by **Aimforthefivehole** » Tue Sep 11, 2012 12:30 pm

If you want to make your sticks last 50% longer put some epoxy on the tip and all the way around the bottom. Any hardware store sells the twin tubes of epoxy, which cost about $4.00. Mix the two tubes together, just a little bit, and paint a thn layer all the way around the stick end and bottom. Let it dry for 24 hours before taping it. I bought both my sons the Easton grip sticks made about 4 years ago from Strauss ( best sticks ever made IMO) and they've bothed used them for the past 4 months. The paint has worn off the shafts but the tip and bottom are in great shape. One tube of epoxy will handle about a dozen sticks at least. You are right, all the tips break on these new sticks, protect the end and you will be more apt to spend the cash on a better stick with more response.

C-dad · Post by **C-dad** » Tue Sep 11, 2012 1:51 pm

Aimforthefivehole wrote:If you want to make your sticks last 50% longer put some epoxy on the tip and all the way around the bottom. Any hardware store sells the twin tubes of epoxy, which cost about $4.00. Mix the two tubes together, just a little bit, and paint a thn layer all the way around the stick end and bottom. Let it dry for 24 hours before taping it. I bought both my sons the Easton grip sticks made about 4 years ago from Strauss ( best sticks ever made IMO) and they've bothed used them for the past 4 months. The paint has worn off the shafts but the tip and bottom are in great shape. One tube of epoxy will handle about a dozen sticks at least. You are right, all the tips break on these new sticks, protect the end and you will be more apt to spend the cash on a better stick with more response.

Most stick failures I've seen have been shafts breaking and the epoxy obviously does nothing for that. I do have my kid run a piece of tape on the bottom edge the length of the blade before taping which is similar toyour epoxy.

JSR · Post by **JSR** » Tue Sep 11, 2012 3:56 pm

C-dad wrote:
Aimforthefivehole wrote:If you want to make your sticks last 50% longer put some epoxy on the tip and all the way around the bottom. Any hardware store sells the twin tubes of epoxy, which cost about $4.00. Mix the two tubes together, just a little bit, and paint a thn layer all the way around the stick end and bottom. Let it dry for 24 hours before taping it. I bought both my sons the Easton grip sticks made about 4 years ago from Strauss ( best sticks ever made IMO) and they've bothed used them for the past 4 months. The paint has worn off the shafts but the tip and bottom are in great shape. One tube of epoxy will handle about a dozen sticks at least. You are right, all the tips break on these new sticks, protect the end and you will be more apt to spend the cash on a better stick with more response.

Most stick failures I've seen have been shafts breaking and the epoxy obviously does nothing for that. I do have my kid run a piece of tape on the bottom edge the length of the blade before taping which is similar toyour epoxy.

Funny I've always run a piece of tape along the bottom edge as well and have taught my sons the same thing. It''s a throw back to the wood sticks but I do think it helps with these new composite sticks as well as far as longevity for the blades.

edgeless2 · Post by **edgeless2** » Tue Sep 11, 2012 9:16 pm

Love the epoxy idea I'd bet gorilla glue would work also. I can't believe I haven't heard of this idea before. That and no more 50 flex shafts!

Aimforthefivehole · Post by **Aimforthefivehole** » Wed Sep 12, 2012 3:00 pm

Agreed that we have two problems with the sticks. There is a guy out of Orono that does mid stick repairs for $30, I'll get his company name and throw it out here. I believe he places a piece of light weight aluminum in the middle and seals it up. The flex point might be the issue with that repair method but at least the kid has his $180 stick back in his hands

PuckMugger · Post by **PuckMugger** » Thu Sep 13, 2012 1:17 pm

Stick Wizard is the company. His name is Dan Strot, the phone number is 612.723.0788. The cost is $40-45, not $30.