First impressions: Warrior Alpha QX Stick

We had an opportunity to try the all new Warrior Alpha QX Stick recently. Similar to the QRL review last year, this is a quick overview of our thoughts on the new top of the line stick. The Alpha QX range replaces the outgoing Dynasty range of sticks. These first impressions are based on about 45 minutes of tinkering with it. The stick was tested in dry land conditions only and for shooting.

 

Upon picking up the stick it feels incredibly light. The stick weighs in at 410 grams, which isn’t the lightest stick on the market but on hands it definitely feels a lot lighter than it actually is. The stick is finely balanced and feels good on the hands. The one thing that we found a bit uncomfortable to begin with was the grip coating. It felt ‘stickier’ than other sticks that we’ve tested in the past, but this again is a matter of preference. Warrior says that this grip is to improve accuracy and control.

 

One of the other things we noticed when we first held the stick is that the contour of the shaft is also new and at first felt a little different to ‘conventional’ hockey sticks. The best way to describe the shaft and the contour is a mash between the old elliptical design on the Easton S19 and CCM’s Octo-Gun sticks. However, it isn’t as radical as those two.

Warrior says that this is to help with stick handling and shooting (we’ll get to that later). The Alpha QX is a low kick point stick and differs from the QRL in that the kick point is slightly higher. The aim has been to make shot release even quicker on the Alpha QX.

The stick that we tested was an 85 flex with W05 (Granlund) blade pattern, which has a 5 lie and a 9/16 heel curve. Normally we would prefer a 75 flex but the 85 flex stick gave us a good enough impression on what the stick is capable of.

 

We only tested the stick on dry land for shooting, but it did impress us quite a bit. One of the first things we look at in any stick is the feel for the puck how well the blade feeds back to the shaft/hands. On the Alpha QX the feel is what you would expect from a top of the range puck. You can stick handle comfortably knowing that the puck is on the blade and not having to spend too much time looking down to the puck.

 

Shooting is where the stick reveals its worth. You can comfortably release slap-shots and wristers and get the feeling that there is more ‘oomph’ behind the shot. We’ve experienced this with the likes of TRUE X-C 9 sticks. The stick is easy to load and especially using it for one timers (using a Hockey Shot Passing kit PRO) you can really unleash some heavy shots with the stick. Wrist shots feel like they come off the stick with ease and you can really tell the improvements made for quickening the release. In shooting, there wasn’t much of a wobble on the puck and it comes off clean from the blade.

 

There is a durable feel to the shaft. Thanks to an all new construction method, the stick is now stronger, which translates into your shooting confidence. You can easily lean into one-timers with the stick without the fear of the stick breaking. For example with the Sher-Wood Rekker EK-15, the stick feels just so light your natural instinct is to hold back a touch. Not so with the Warrior, you can lean into shots with your hearts content.

 

The big downside for the Alpha QX? The price. The stick is set to retail at $300/£200/€240, so it is not the cheapest top-of-the-range stick on the market. Then again, you do get a lot of performance for the money.

 

Conclusion:

Where our time with the stick wasn’t that long, it did provide us with a good idea of what the stick is capable of. The Warrior Alpha QX is a real shooter’s stick and we would love to do an indepth review of one on the ice to really put it through its paces, but just from dry-land shooting experience the stick is impressive piece of engineering.

 

The only things that we found bugged us slightly were the grip and the new shape of the stick, which with more time I’m sure would not be a massive problem. However, as said, at the moment, the only downside that we can see is the price tag of the stick. Yes you do get a high performance stick for that money, but it is a lot of money to invest in a product that is most at risk of breaking in the game of hockey.

 

Only two months till the puck drops

I realise that I haven’t actually updated the blog for a while due to training and everything else taking precedent. I thought that instead of me rabbiting on about what workouts I’ve done and what I’ve been doing in the gym, I’d do a look back to last year and see what lessons I have learned.

 

I think one of the biggest changes and improvements I’ve made is carrying on from the work I did with my physio Matt Radcliffe last summer. For those that don’t know me that well, I have a ridiculous dip in my back which caused some hip problems as my spine was pressing down on a few nerves. Anyways, the work we did on rehabbing the hip also involved fixing my posture, which now helps me with the work outs and skating. My lifts at the gym are more effective and I am actually working the appropriate muscle groups with the exercises I do, instead of lifting like a duck due to my back. Skating wise the hip problem has eased itself so much in the last 12 months that I have regained my full stride again and I am happy that (for most of last season already) I was able to play pain free from the hip.

 

The other major improvement has been my stamina, which has been improved by doing more cardio. If you remember, this time last year I was recovering from the twisted ankle I sustained when I ran into a pot hole on the road. So between now and the start of the 2011-2012 season I could not do any cardio or leg work until about a week before the season started. I’ve also done a lot of speed, agility and quickness work (SAQ) this year to diversify the type of exercise in hopes of improving my foot speed. I don’t know if it has worked in terms of pure speed, but my legs actually feel ‘lighter’ when skating.

 

It’s definitely been a better off season than last year and one with less injury trouble than before. Only the niggling little bits from the car accident bother me on occasion (shoulder and neck), but otherwise I feel fine. I’m due to undergo, yet another, neurological exam to make sure that everything is working all right in the old noggin given the relative short time span between the two concussions (March 2011 and January 2012).

 

In case you haven’t seen my Facebook and twitter pleas, I have been nominated for a Sher-Wood ambassador programme and I’m in desperate need of some votes. So I was hoping that you could click on the link below (perfectly legit) ‘like’ the page and vote for me. At the time of writing this, I am currently 8^th. Your support would be greatly appreciated and thank you to those who have already done it.

Whilst you are there, could you give my teammate Adi Smith a vote as well as to a promising young hockey player, Lucas Marsh a vote too. Those guys exemplify this blogs’ ethos of live, eat and breathe hockey.

https://www.facebook.com/NekotiSherwoodAmbassadorProgramme/app_406909062688689