Negatives of Using a Carbon Fiber Hockey Stick

One of the most important components of playing hockey is to have a great hockey stick. Without one, even the most experienced player will not have the success he or she needs on the ice. There are choices when it comes to purchasing a hockey stick and one of these choices is the carbon fiber hockey stick.

A carbon fiber hockey stick is a choice for some hockey players while others prefer the traditional wooden hockey stick. Carbon fiber is made from carbon atoms that are fused and woven together to great items that can be very strong. While some hockey players report favoring the carbon fiber hockey stick, others do not.

While carbon fibers are very strong, they are also apt to shatter or break. Although some believe that the use of a carbon fiber hockey stick will help the player get more force on the puck that force can cause the stick to break or shatter into pieces. Although these two piece hockey sticks are somewhat lighter, being prone to breaking does not make them total favorites among major league hockey teams and players.

A downside to the carbon fiber hockey stick is its cost. Because the stick comes in two pieces and must be attached with a heated glue gun before its first use, the two piece design makes it more costly to manufacture. The two piece models come with a shaft and the choice of the blade. Since two pieces are involved, the cost will be much higher than for a traditional wooden or older aluminum hockey stick. One can expect to pay upwards of 200 dollars or more for a stick that is personalized for your own use. Other models can be had for less than or around 100 dollars.

Many experienced hockey players report that holding a carbon fiber hockey stick is just not the same as handling one that is wooden and more traditional. Some players love the weighted feel of the wood in their hands, which the carbon fiber models cannot provide. Carbon fiber makes hockey sticks very lightweight and some players report that they cannot accurately gauge the amount of force to be to the hockey puck. Carbon fiber sticks appear to take much longer to get used to and those who are just beginning to use them after using aluminum or wooden hockey sticks appear to have the most trouble getting used to the feel. When a hockey player is uncomfortable with the feel of the stick it will greatly affect his shooting performance and the maneuverability on the ice.

Although proponents of the carbon fiber hockey stick report that more force can be applied to the puck to make it travel longer distances across the ice, many experienced players report that this does not appear to have much of a difference in their shooting ability. It is quite the opposite effect. If a player does not have faith in his current stick and is comfortable with it, he will not shoot well on the ice.

Many companies that manufacture the carbon fiber hockey stick do so in factories located in China. Many individuals have problems with goods that are manufactured there, as they do not tend to last very long. In fact, some players have reported that although a typical hockey stick will last almost one year, that their China made carbon fiber hockey sticks had much less of an active playing life than the typical stick. Whether this is from a lack of quality control within the factory in China or the use of poorer quality chemicals, it is unclear. One thing is very clear and that is many other products coming from China have had their share of problems in the past several years.

The choice of a hockey stick, to a hockey player, is as important as the choice of a football to a quarterback. The feel, look and performance of the hockey stick is vital to the success of the player and ultimately to the entire team. If you are interested in purchasing a carbon fiber hockey stick you need to be sure that this is something that will last you, especially for the higher cost that comes with your purchase.