Is the Vapor XX One Piece Stick just another lightweight piece of junk from Bauer?
Written: Apr 17 '04 (Updated Oct 05 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Lightest available (until the Stealth arrives), good feel
Cons: Durability is an issue
The Bottom Line: The feel of the Bauer Vapor XX rivals that of any other one-piece stick I've used. Durability is poor however.
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| puckmugger's Full Review: Bauer Vapor XX Full Composite One Piece Stick |
For those who haven’t read my review on Bauer’s Vapor XX skates, they left a lot to be desired. Don’t get me wrong, they are fine to skate in, lightweight and all, but they just aren’t durable. Despite their issues, the Vapor XX skate ignited a skate war. Now Bauer raised the bar by producing a lightweight stick. Knowing they had serious shortcomings in the skates, how then is the Vapor XX stick?
Bauer’s One Piece Stick History
The Vapor XX is not the first one-piece stick that Bauer has put out. In 2002 the Bauer Tri-Flex was introduced to the hockey world. The Hockey world was quickly disappointed. Thus in 2003 Bauer introduced a totally new Tri-Flex. The Tri-Flex Gold was a great shooter’s stick. Close in weight to Easton’s Synergy, it was still a little behind and very heavy at the blade. While it allowed shooters to put some serious dents in the goalie and light the lamp, it wasn’t a great puckhandler’s branch by any means.
The Vapor XX was introduced this year and changed that one defect in the Tri-Flex. The Vapor XX, true to Bauer’s moniker for their lightweight line, usurped Easton’s sole grip on the weight title. At 445 grams it is the same weight as the 2004 Synergy and 5 grams lighter than the Si-Core. In fact, to give you an idea of just how light all of these sticks are, the CCM Vector and Bauer Tri-Flex were both over 500 grams.
The Vapor XX, as alluded in the previous paragraph, fixed the feel issue that the blade heavy Tri-Flex sticks had. This is the result of a much better balance. The blade on the Vapor XX is noticeably lighter even when just picking the two sticks up for comparison.
The Vapor XX in detail
As mentioned the Vapor XX is one of the lightest sticks on the market. Bauer achieved this through what they call Minimalistic Design. Perhaps not as clouded as another major hockey brand’s marketing terminology, this simply means they didn’t waste any materials building the Vapor XX. The stick is a three layered, full carbon fiber shaft and blade encased in a smooth exterior. The taper of the Vapor XX is very long as well, eliminating some of the girth of the shaft near the blade, further reducing the weight.
The exterior shell gives it a nice silky smooth, yet slightly tacky feel. Unlike the Synergy and Si-Core grips which I find a little too sticky, the Bauer has a perfect blend of slip and grip allowing you to move your hands easily when you want to, and keeping your stick from flying away as well.
The blade is Carbon Fiber as well and filled with varied densities of foam. It might seem like a foam core blade will be fragile. However, foam core blades found their proving ground on goalie sticks over the years. They are highly capable of taking substantial punishment.
The various density of foam that Bauer utilizes in the Vapor XX stick aims to increase the feel of the stick without sacrificing durability. The foam density increases towards the heel and lower blade where passes are received and all shots should start. The heel is also the spot where a stick is most likely to fail.
Bauer has come up with another great bit of marketing hype that would make CCM proud (oops, now I’ve gone and named that other major hockey company). They tout Wave Bridge Technology as their claim to greatness. Essentially, this refers to the balance that the differential foam density provides. The density pattern of the foam is something of a wave shape, with the denser portions higher at the heel and toe, lower in the middle of the blade, hence the Wave. According to Bauer, this wave shape bridges the gap between feel and durability, hence Bridge.
Using the Vapor XX
While I’m not one to drop over $150 on a non-goalie stick, I do have friends in high places (grin). A guy I used to work with is something of a stick collector (don’t tell him I said so, he doesn’t think he has that many). Anyway, I guess he was bored with his Si-Core and felt the need to try out the Vapor XX. I of course took full advantage of his purchase by stealing it from him temporarily.
The lighter blade of the Vapor XX gives a reasonably good feel for the puck. I generally use a two-piece stick with a heavy carbon fiber blade and the Vapor was considerably better for feel than my stick. It is also very light. Although the weight matches the 2004 Synergy, the balance is so sublime that it actually feels a little lighter.
The light weight and perfect balance of the Vapor XX make it very quick to respond to your requests. It made going back to my heavy bladed two-piece feel like I was man handling something carved out of granite at first. (I have to stop trying out all these expensive toys).
I’m not the best judge of shot power since I’m unlikely to win any hardest shot awards in my lifetime, but the Vapor XX certainly felt solid when shooting. I was confident in my shot direction and they had good snap on them.
Final Thoughts
One thing about the Vapor XX that I really like is the fact that it isn’t some horrible anti-hockey color like orange or yellow. It seems like all the stick companies are so worried that no one will notice their sticks in the hands of your favorite player that they’ve been competing to make the most garish products possible. It was only a matter of time before we were seeing Brett Hull and Jerome Iginla carrying lime green or pink sticks. The Vapor XX is basic black.
Durability remains a question as the Vapor XX is a pretty new stick. My friend has had his for a little over two months now using it a couple times a week. He usually goes through a Synergy in about three months, so we are getting close to that period with no problems.
I would expect that the Vapor XX has similar durability to the Easton products. The construction is similar. However independent studies rated Louisville’s original TPS sticks the worst in the area of durability in 2002 and used the same sort of construction. Until the Vapor XX stick has been on the market a while, we cannot know for certain.
One thing that remains constant with all carbon fiber sticks is the unpredictability of the eventual failure. Wood sticks are dense enough that you have indications of their deterioration. Carbon Fiber sticks will often fracture after impact from another stick or the puck, but appear to be intact. Only when shooting and ending up with half of the stick in each hand will players realize there was a problem. The Vapor XX will fare no better than other one-piece sticks here, though no likely any worse either.
My impressions of the Vapor XX are that it is a good stick. Balance, puck feel and shot velocity are as good as that of any of its current competitors. Weight is matched only by the 2004 Synergy. It is a bit more pricey than the Si-Core costing $185 in the local shop here.
The Easton Stealth due out later his year will push the boundaries of light weight once again, weighing less than 400 grams. However with the hefty estimated price tag of $250, it will not likely be something that will fly off the shelves.
For a mere $10 over the price of a Si-Core I would far prefer the Bauer Vapor XX and recommend it to players who aren’t quite satisfied with their current one-piece. It is hard to imagine that the Stealth will be able to justify its high price tag and might leave room for the Vapor XX to steal a little of Easton's market share.
Updated Durability 5/19/2004:
Once again it appears that Bauer has cut some corners to beat the competition. I stopped in the shop to do some work on my skates today and someone came in with a broken Vapor XX stick. I asked the guys at the shop how they've been holding up and the reports were not good. Durability is similar to that of the original Louisville TPS one piece sticks . . . poor. The shop has had a pretty large number of the Vapor XX sticks come back within the 30 day warranty period. It sounds like this might be another stick to steer clear of.
© Scott Noble – Unauthorized use prohibited
A few of my other reviews that you might find helpful:
Hockey Stick Buying Guide
Mission M-1 Stick
CCM Vector Stick
Bauer Vapor XX Skates
Thanks to openroad for adding this item for me to review.
Recommended:
No
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