Lacrosse Gear Review - Latest Reviews

Warrior Hundy Lacrosse Gloves

admin — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 00:28:37 +0000

The Warrior Hundy lacrosse gloves are striking and elegant looking gloves with very vibrant colors. I like how the pads are designed in the form of the Warrior logo and the large circular W further enhances their appeal. But the reality is that looks are no indication of performance.

The name is also a bit distracting. I mean, what if someone wants to sell them for more than a hundred bucks? How does that work? I have no insight into what Warrior was thinking, but none of that matters either. If you want protection, if you want comfort, if you want affordability, if you want smart design, you want the Hundy's.

Comfort

The Warrior Hundy lacrosse gloves feel very comfortable. The fit was not tight, but firm enough so they didn't feel like they were ever going to slip off. The cuff and general hand areas felt great and the palms, thanks to the calfskin, felt smooth and supple. The finger slots have a nice contour with just enough wiggle room for your fingers.

The length of the finger slots are a little odd. The length of the ring finger and middle finger slots are about the same and the index finger slot is quite a bit shorter. On most people’s hands, the ring and index fingers are about the same length with their middle finger longer. I found my middle finger was pushing right against the top of the slot for most of the testing. It didn't really impact on the gloves performance, but it still begs the question why Warrior has designed them like this.

The thumb slots felt great. They feature 6 individual pads along the back which are perfectly placed to allow your thumb to move with ease.

The ventilation of the gloves is a tale of two cities. The ventilation on the palm is great. It has three triangular mesh vents at the base of the fingers and a larger one at the base of the thumb. The finger slots have some small holes and the mesh on the side provides good airflow. But when you turn them over, there's hardly anything. There are two vents on the back of the hand, but that's it.

It didn’t take long for my hands to heat up while playing wall ball. The really need to either have larger or additional mesh vents to get the air flowing.

Protection

Warrior Hundy Lacrosse Gloves - Your wrist is well protected by the glove and the internal wrist guard.

Gee, I could write a book about how good the protection is with the Warrior Hundy lacrosse gloves. Let's start with the wrist protection.

The back of your wrist is well protected by three main guards. Additionally, beneath these is an additional guard which wraps around your wrist. It's firmly attached to the glove with large strips of elastic so it's there to stay. The main guards are incredibly firm and protect well. When your wrist flexes, the three main guards lift up, bringing the additional guard into play. No matter which direction you flex your wrist, this guard stays in place. It's so painful getting hit on the wrist and the short gloves these days don't help with this. But these guards, especially the internal one, go a long way in protecting you.

The cuff is large, firm and perfectly placed to allow your wrist to fully flex.

The padding on the back of your hand is what I feel makes these gloves. It is as hard as a rock! Each block has a hard plastic tab fitted just beneath the leather which disperses the impact of checks across the whole pad. The basic science is that if you spread the impact of a force over a larger surface area, you reduce the impact of the force over the point of contact.

Warrior Hundy Lacrosse Gloves - Each finger slot has tabs inserted just under the leather adding further protection.

Warrior didn't stop there. The hard plastic tabs are inserted in the two pads over the knuckles and extend all the way to the end of the finger slots. This is some of the best protection you can get.

There's no specific pad for the side of the little finger, but you don't really need one. The main pad on top is large enough to cover the area. Additionally the design of the slot keeps your finger beneath the pad.

There's three small gel-like spongy tabs on the side of your index finger. I'm not sure how much protection they offer, but it's something at least. You can't have large pads in this area because they'll get in the way when you pass or shoot. It's a difficult area to protect.

The thumb pads also have plastic tabs on the four main pads, where you need it most. The fifth pad and the one over the webbing, while not featuring the plastic tab, are smartly designed to provide protection while not interfering with your stick control.

Grip

Before I grabbed my stick, I thought the palms were too tick. But I was wrong. You get a good feel of your shaft. The grip is consistent along the area where your shaft sits. Warrior has ticked this box.

General Wear and Tear

Warrior Hundy Lacrosse Gloves - You can see the internal padding folded out, ready for drying.

Warrior has added a couple of small features to the Hundy lacrosse gloves that impress me. Firstly there's a little fabric loop so you can hang your gloves to dry. Most of us use the shoe laces over the wrist, but this closes the cuffs and prevents proper air flow. Hanging them by the loop keeps the palm open and allows it to properly dry.

The other feature is that the internal lining within the glove can be turned out to dry. This is a fantastic idea, especially for the Hundy as your hands do get hot. The lining is fastened within the glove by small velcro sections. The lining easily folds out to prepare them for drying. And when you're ready to use them again it easily folds back into place.

The exterior is made from nylon and polyurethane leather which are both long lasting materials. The whole glove is assembled well with no loose threads. The stitching for the palm mesh inserts are sewn in well away from the edge of the fabric reducing the chance of a tear.

Summary

These gloves aren't intended for top level players, but I can't see why. The Warrior Hundy lacrosse gloves feature superior protection, smart ventilation, great palms and a host of other features to ensure they continually perform even for the toughest competitor. While there are a couple of things that Warrior could improve on, you'd be hard-pressed to find fault with these gloves.

STX Proton Power Lacrosse Head

Tue, 23 Oct 2012 09:47:00 +0000

From the best-selling Proton family, we have the STX Proton Power. The head features STX Forward Cant technology, a new aerodynamic design and a scoop which allows for extra flex when shooting. It has the perfect shape for maximum ball control with pin point accuracy when shooting and catching the ball. The head is NFHS compliant only.

Weighing in at 132g (4.7oz) puts it in the light category. It's not as light as a STX Super Power (127g / 4.5oz), or a Warrior Noz X (122g /4.3oz), but it falls well below the Brine Clutch 2 (146g / 5.2oz). We really liked the weight primarily because it was so easy to tell when we had the ball.

Scoop

Taking a close look at the scoop, there’s no excessive bulk or lips at the back. These can lift the tip off the ground when going for ground balls. The back side is also smooth enough to give you a wide enough angle to approach the ball at. The scoop is reportedly different to the previous Proton model, so if you're upgrading from a Proton, there may be a small period of adjustment.

The tip of the Proton Power finds a good balance between being ground ball friendly and accurate. We found it's forgiving enough if you going for a pickup slightly off centre. Any flatter and we feel you'd have to do a lot more work with your stringing to get a good channel. We found this head to be extremely accurate when passing and shooting.

The scoop is quite bendable, but this is where the extra flex for shooting comes in. Combined with the Forward Cant, you'll feel a bit of a whip with your cranks. It felt a bit odd at first when we felt the flex, but soon got used it to. If anything, it felt weird going back to our trusty PL66.

Sidewalls

STX Proton Power Lacrosse Head - You can really see the forward cant in this shot

An interesting thing with this head is the stringing holes. Most of the modern lacrosse heads have a plethora of stringing holes, but not this head. The stringing holes are reinforced like on the STX Super Power, so we're unsure why they didn't have more. Still, there's enough to string a great pocket.

The stringing holes are quite tight. When stringing the head, I don't remember ever thinking "Gee, this is easy". But once the pocket is set and the sidewall laces tied off, they don't move. We strung a mid-pocket, which worked really well for us. The ball felt really nice, and it was very smooth when changing from cradling to winding up for a shot. A higher pocket, or "shooter pocket" is recommended, but we didn't try it. A low pocket is not recommended for this head. We go into more detail about this in the throat section.

The pinch is quite nice and offers a good hold for a mid-pocket. As always with heads that have a tight pinch, you need to make sure it doesn't pinch too much and make it illegal. You can put a piece of wood slightly wider than a lacrosse ball between the sidewalls where they pinch to keep it legal.

We do love the odd stick trick and it is unfortunate that you can't roll the ball along the outside of the sidewalls. You know the trick where you throw the ball up and catch it on the side wall and throw it up to the other side? If you're a bit of a show off, like us, you will be disappointed.

Throat

STX Proton Power Lacrosse Head - A closer view of the throat and where the sidewalls attach

One glance at the throat and you'll see it doesn't have that long pronounced channel that you get from NCAA heads. But the gradually diverging opening works very well in creating a great channel.

We found our initial stringing of the head was illegal. The ball wouldn't roll out of the throat of the head when held upright and tilted forward. We had to make stringing adjustments to the bottom sidewall strings to ensure they didn't interfere and also change the bottom strings to ensure the ball didn't get caught behind the ball stop. These were minor adjustments, but with the potential for extra pinching from general wear and tear this may end up being something you'll need to address regularly. Stringing a low pocket is not recommended.

If you do string traditional kits, you'll be disappointed to know that there are only two holes at the bottom. You'll have to double up with the leathers or be creative in coming up with other options. We strung mesh and found the bottom sidewall holes compensated well.

We're unsure what the specific goal of the island ball stop is. We weren't able to identify any real advantage.

The throat does give birth to a great pocket channel. Our passing and shooting was spot on. This head loves releasing the ball.

Neck

The sidewalls are attached lower on the throat, which increases stability and strength. The head is quite flexible and we'd hate to see how stiff it would be (or not be) without this.

Warp Factor

The STX Proton Power is not the stiffest head going around. The scoop has been designed to have an amount of flex to it, so if a stiff head is what you feel you need, this is not the head for you. Likewise, if you like to poke check or have a bit of agro about you, look elsewhere.

You may get some bend if you go aggressively at a ground ball and won't hold its shape for long in a faceoff. But the head is easily bent back into shape, if it doesn't go on its own.

Shaft Fit

STX lacrosse heads seem to be a tighter fit on lacrosse shafts than the others. It's tight on an STX handle, and may be a bit trickier to get on shafts from other brands. Generally, all heads fit on all shafts, but you may have to use a bit more force with this one.

Field Position

We found this head to be too flexible for defence. It felt a bit too flimsy. But it's not designed with defence in mind so we don't see this being an issue. If you play long stick midfield you could consider this, but with the flex in the scoop we just can't see it being a good decision.

If you find you take the odd face off, this will hold up well. The streamlined sidewalls get you close to the ground, which is a nice bonus. The lack of stiffness means you won’t be able to take the most aggressive face off, but more agile face off manoeuvres should be fine.

The STX Proton Power is designed for attackers and midfielders. It's designed to shoot goals and give accurate feeds. Nuff said.

Summary

How can you not love this head? There are other heads lighter, stronger, stiffer and all that. But the STX Proton Power epitomises that which is lacrosse. It is a goal scoring head.

It's not manufactured with ACP (All Climate Protection) so be mindful if you're playing in the heat or the cold. The lightweight factor and the extra flex may affect its durability. But aside from that, this is a sensational lacrosse head.

STX Super Power Lacrosse Head

Sat, 22 Sep 2012 23:55:38 +0000

Sitting near the top of the stack is the STX Super Power lacrosse head. This lacrosse head weighs 4.5ox / 120g which is on the very light side of the scale. It is surprisingly stiff given its weight, yet flexes nicely when you shoot. The head is also NFHS & NCAA compliant.

Scoop

STX promote this head as "allowing for extra flex when shooting, providing max power & snap" which reminds me of something else. The scoop is flat and thin and makes it easy to get under the ball to pick it up. It also increases the angle at which you can pick the ball up. The tip of the head does have a slightly accentuated curve which makes it a little less forgiving if you are slightly off centre when picking up a ground ball. It does however assist in stringing a channel in your pocket.

The head is constructed with a reinforced scoop and STX have managed to do this without adding any bulk or making the scoop fatter.

Sidewalls

With 15 string holes in each sidewall, you can string any pocket you wish. For those of you who like to experiment you will love this. But if you like to stick to a formula or you’re not that adventurous, the extra consideration to which hole to use may be a problem.

The holes are reinforced, aren't tight and the edges are nicely rounded so your sidewall strings won't wear out as fast. The reinforcement works to negate any weakening that you may get from the extra holes.

The stringing holes are off the main support line of the sidewall, so any split looks like it won't affect the integrity of the head. And in the unlikely event that one did break, there are 14 others to choose from. We're unsure how you'd split one anyway, maybe continued blows in the same place, which seems highly improbable.

The STX Forward Cant gives a nice forward lean half way up the sidewalls which assists in keeping the ball in and increases speed shot. With the added flex, you'll feel some whip when shooting. You may also feel a slight flex when catching a hard pass.

Throat

At first look, the throat appears quite narrow. With the sidewalls extending up from the neck in parallel and not initially diverging, it can give the impression that the head is more pinched. But it complies with the 3.5in minimum width requirement of the NCAA.

Neck

If you like a stiff head then you've come to the right place. The sidewalls elegantly taper into the solid neck. It features 4 holes at the bottom, unlike the STX Proton Power which has 2.

The new style, shock absorbing ball stop aides ever so slightly with ground balls. Unlike other lacrosse heads, the ball stop does extend slightly from the neck. This leaves a small space for the ball to sit behind in you string your pocket low.

Warp factor

All lacrosse heads will warp over time and some more than others. But the STX Super Proton with its reinforced sidewalls should fare better than most. Compared to the STX Proton Power you should get less warping. It's easily bent back into shape when new, but how that affects the head over time we'll have to see.

STX have recently developed the All Climate Performance (ACP) which helps the head maintain its shape in hot or cold conditions. Unfortunately it is not a feature of this lacrosse head.

Shaft fit

Fitting this lacrosse head on a shaft is a bit of a mission. No need for tape for this head, it is tight! It may take a bit of force to fit this lacrosse head to your shaft but when it's on, it's on. But it's worth it, the last thing you want is a loose head.

Position

With its overall extra strength, good flex when shooting and ground ball friendly scoop, the STX Super Power is highly recommended for midfield players. Because the head is NFHS compliant it includes the extra 1/2 inch width across the top. If you're an out and out attacker, other lacrosse heads may be a better option.

You can use this head for faceoff, but with the sidewall curve it's not specifically designed for it. Depending on the thickness of your sidewall strings and mesh, the ball may get stuck in the throat during face off. One to watch out for.

It's not bad lacrosse head for a more attacking type of long stick midfielder. But if you're a straight defender moving up, you'd be do better choosing a lacrosse head for defence first. When fitted to a defence shaft, the head does flex a bit when passing and this may be off putting. If you've not played defence with a pinched head, you may want to first try one before you purchase one.

Summary

The STX Super Power is one of the best lacrosse heads that STX have produced. It has struck a nice balance between weight, flex, strength and durability giving it broad appeal. While it's not specifically designed as an attacking head, it's nevertheless great for shooting. Its groundball efficiency makes it a must for midfielders.

Gait Ice 30" Attack Lacrosse Shaft

Wed, 22 Aug 2012 23:55:38 +0000

Gait lacrosse has released the Ice lacrosse shaft as their lightweight option for up-and-coming players. The Ice is made from one of the stronger aluminium alloys. With a little added touch of Scandium, this shaft really starts to nudge into higher performance categories. How good is it? Let's take a look.

Material & Weight

The Gait Ice is already well known to everyone as the light shaft. As soon as you pick it up you'll without a doubt agree. Made from C555 aluminium alloy, it is slightly stronger than C405/7055 aluminium alloy. The shaft contains a small amount of Scandium which contributes to the extra strength and less weight. Just check out how much these guys love Scandium. Don't it make you wanna get up and lame dance?

Shape

The shaft is a standard octagonal shape. It probably doesn't need a concave design as it does offer a good amount of grip.

Grip

If you look down the shaft, there is a diamond weave pattern along the whole length. The textured diamond grip does run on the planes of the shaft and not so much on the edges, so a concave design would hinder the grips effect.

The grip is quite subtle and strikes a really good balance. Not too much that it'll chew up your gloves and not too little that slips around in your hands. The great thing is if you feel it's not enough, you can always add tape. If you're concerned about whether the grip might be too much, then we'd suggest you look at non textured comparable shafts, like the Warrior Kryptolyte.

General Wear and Tear

Being a shaft made from an aluminium alloy, the Gait Ice will dent a little easier than the higher grade shafts. The colour and grip may fade and wear overtime and the logo may wear off, but these are only aesthetic concerns. And if they don't, then quite honestly you're not playing hard enough!

The Gait Ice is treated with an anodised finish, which adds to its exterior protection. The external surface of Aluminium scratches easily and rough surfaces can wear smooth over time. The anodised treatment helps strengthen the outer layer making the shaft less susceptible to natural wear and tear of Aluminium.

One thing we found a little surprising is that you simply cannot remove the butt end! Well, you could cut it out but what's the point in that? Our advice to you is that make sure you like the butt end before you buy.

Summary

With all the features of this shaft, we don't recommend it for senior players or box lacrosse. Besides, it's targeted to entry level to high school players so that shouldn't be much of a worry. Yes the shaft does include Scandium, but not to the levels where it could reasonably be advertised as a Scandium shaft. So it's does have elements of a high performance shaft, but it's not at the level of a Composite or Titanium enhanced shaft.

Gait seems to change the pattern every year and the 2012 has a great look. But that's if you're into aesthetics. Where you'll see an opportunity is to pick up last season’s model at a discounted price. Why pay full price?

Maverik Wonderboy 30" Attack Lacrosse Shaft

Wed, 08 Aug 2012 07:52:06 +0000

Sorry Maverik for the gags about the name. I think we partly built this website just to poke fun at this name. Haven't you seen the movie? Don't you know he breaks the bat?

Material & Weight

The shaft is made of 9000 series aluminium/titanium alloy which reportedly makes or a lightweight shaft. Unfortunately we weren't able to find out any information about this alloy series. The weight of the 30" shaft is around 6oz.

Shape

The shaft has a concave octagonal shape to it. These are great if you love the feel of the shafts edge.

Grip

The raised "Wonderboy" logo does provide an amount of grip. It's more the different textures of the areas with and without the logo that provide the grip. But do note that the logo may peel off slightly if you do tape this shaft. Outside of the logo'd area, the grip is as you would expect from other metal shafts.

General Wear and Tear

Before we go into this in great detail, we have to mention that this shaft has been designed as a lightweight titanium/aluminium alloy shaft. That being said, it's not the strongest shaft going around but that's not Maverik's intent.

You will start to see aesthetic signs of wear and tear within a short while. You'll also probably get a couple of scratches and the paint will chip, but these are only superficial. Over time you may get some dings and dents but this depends on how aggressive you are as a player.

Reports range from it not lasting a season to people still using the first one they bought. We only mention this to highlight that there's no pattern of this shaft being weak or prone to breaking.

Summary

This shaft is light, which is what Maverik are aiming for, but it's not the strongest shaft going around. If you're not the most aggressive player and are after an affordable shaft, the Wonderboy would be perfect.

For those who do expect a lot out their shaft and will give it a good workout, we'd suggest looking at the higher rated shafts in terms of strength. For those of you looking to take peoples arms off or cross check, this is not the shaft for you.

Warrior Riot Lacrosse Gloves

Mon, 09 Jul 2012 11:25:00 +0000

Flying quietly under the radar are the Warrior Riot lacrosse gloves. These gloves are mainly known for their detachable cuffs, which they provide two of for colour customisation, but their features don't stop there. Single layered palm design, solid hand and finger protection, additional pinkie protection, mesh inserts in the palm and water proof exterior all come together to make a great case for these gloves.

Comfort

When we first picked up these gloves they felt surprisingly light. We wondered whether this was because we got the 12" size because they felt so tight. But no, they're 13" and are supposed to be tight when you first wear them. They loosen up quick, once the elastic on the sides of the fingers starts to move. The leather initially felt soft and started to move nicely soon after. You'll not have to wait long to break these gloves in.

There's a couple of mesh vents on the palms and a larger mesh piece near the base of the thumb. These combine well together to keep your hands well ventilated. The leather palm feels very pliable and effortlessly moves with your hand.

The great thing about gloves which are tight around the fingers is that they obey the movement of your fingers. We could effortlessly curl our fingers and wiggle them, with the gloves complicity following along.

Protection

The Warrior Riot lacrosse gloves are a little short in terms of how far they run past your wrist. We don't like this in particular, but this seems to be the general trend of gloves these days. Shorter, smaller, tighter and compact. The wrist guard has the standard 3 pad protection on the back with split to allow for the backward flex of your wrist. The two outer pads nearly touch, which equates to nearly a double layer of padding on the back of the wrist.

The outer shell of the glove feels very tough. You only need to squish the big blocks on the back of the hand or fingers to feel the firmness. You're certainly not left wondering if the padding is any good.

Looking specifically at the fingers, the Riot does have the extra pad on the side for your little finger. The padding on the back of the fingers is smartly placed so that your knuckles are directly below a pad. That's great to see. Your index finger is a little exposed on the side, but no more than most other gloves. It would be good to see a brand come up with an innovative idea for this part of the glove.

And last of all on the finger protection, the tight fit of these gloves leave very little chance of your fingers flapping around and popping out from underneath a pad. So while the tight fit may be a bit awkward or uncomfortable at first (we didn't mind it), it's worth it in the long run to put up with it.

The switchable cuffs are adequate in size to protect the back of your wrist. Our concern with the removable cuff is just that; it's removable. Fixed cuffs do tend to fit the glove a little better. When stitched in they're less prone moving and exposing the back of your wrist. But these cuffs are pretty firm so there's probably not much chance of that.

Grip

The single layered palms give you a great feel of the shaft. No doubt about it. They feel really soft and at time it feels like you have nothing on. There aren’t any specific attachments to your fingers or palms for extra grip, but you don't need any.

We didn't feel there was any need to tape our bare aluminium shaft but it you like a real grippy feel, you could apply some.

General Wear and Tear

The exterior of the Warrior Riot gloves is water proof and very durable. No problems there.

Single layered leather means it's fractionally thinner which can mean it could wear through quicker. But it really doesn't look like it on the Riot's. We were fortunate enough to get a look at a pair that's about 1 year old.

We were unable to find any defects in the palms at all. The integrity of the leather was still intact and hardly any signs of wear and tear. The only sign of wear we could see was some pilling around the webbing of the thumb, and even that was minor. These gloves were used by a face off guy in often wet conditions, so big thumbs up to Warrior for their work here.

Leather palms don't like the wet, so to ensure your lacrosse gloves do last, you'll need to put them somewhere where they’ll get adequate air flow to dry out. If the palms do dry out and get stiff, massaging them softly and gently will loosen them up. Grabbing your stick straight away with crusty palms is a sure way to chop them up.

Summary

What we love about our job is that every once in a while we are pleasantly surprised by the quality of some lacrosse gear. The Warrior Riot lacrosse gloves are one of these. In the past these gloves have not received widespread appraisal, but we think they're a great performer right up to the top level. If you're looking for a new set of gloves, be sure to check out the Warrior Riot's.

STX Eclipse Keeper Lacrosse Head

admin — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 10:07:00 +0000

Deciding on STX Eclipse to be the first goalie lacrosse head we'd review was a no brainer. We'd heard so much about his head we had to put it through its paces. We wanted to know if what people were saying stacked up against a critical review. Here we go.

The Eclipse weighs in around 11.2oz / 318 grams. It's not the lightest goalie head going around, but puts it amongst the lighter heads. Any concerns with the head being too heavy are easily allayed with an ultra light pole, like the Gait Ice.

The head is flexible, but by no means flimsy. The flex makes the head more durable, allowing it to better cope with the beating goalie heads tend to take. STX have not included ACP, so playing in hot temperatures may mean the head flexes slightly more. We've not heard of the cold affecting this head, but best check the user’s reviews for any occurrences.

Scoop

The scoop of the STX Eclipse is fantastic. The top of the scoop is a straight line which makes for super easy ground balls. The back of the scoop is very smooth with no lip which can raise the tip off the ground.

The angle of the scoop creates a sizable ridge at the back. This ridge is great for raking the ball back into the crease once you've trapped it. STX have done a great job.

The Eclipse reportedly has the largest face, but we placed it over the Voidlyte and couldn’t' see much of a difference. Aside from the slightly different dimensions, we couldn't confidently say one was bigger than the other.

Sidewalls

It was news to us, but the STX Eclipse was the first goalie head with open sidewalls. We also believe they were one of the pioneers of introducing offset technology into goalie heads as well. We’re looking at a real goalie head pioneer here that has withstood the test of time.

The sidewalls are quite strong and have a small amount of flex in them. We feel this flex is absolutely necessary because you need a bit of give in a goalie head. Goalie heads are forever being smashed into a ground ball contests on the crease. You don't want it snapping because you happened to check an opposition’s stick at the same time.

Following the style of STX lacrosse heads designed with forward cant, the sidewalls do angle back slightly as they extend from the neck. Only this head doesn't have the forward tilt as the sidewalls approach the scoop.

There's no flare to the sidewalls so some meshes will not fully stretch to the holes. Well, you could stretch it to the walls, but you might as well go ad play tennis with it for all the good it'll do you.

And one last little thing, you can roll the ball along the outside of the bottom half of the sidewall. This doesn't make a lick of difference, other than help us show off with our tricks.

Throat

The sidewalls around the throat are quite large. There's a lot of support triangle support bars in the area which give the whole area a solid feel to it. We found that while the lacrosse head is quite wide and challenged our mesh stringing abilities, the tapering in of the sidewalls created a great pocket and throwing channel.

Another observation is that the sidewalls do become near parallel as they approach the scoop, so it would be difficult to form a good channel there. But we found the ball naturally released from around the throwing strings so it wasn't much of a concern.

Neck

At a glance, you can see the neck contains a sizeable amount of support. If you take a close look, you'll notice that the lateral support bars do fan out further that the STX Guardian or their Goalmaster. The head fitted snugly onto the shaft and was very stable. This is a must for those close-in, twitch saves.

Summary

The STX Eclipse lacrosse head is a fantastic keeper head. Considering just the bare necessities of strength, flexibility and weight, it's an excellent head. But when you also factor in it's head size, the amount of flex, ease of ground balls, raking and the neck support, it's clear to see why this head is the most popular in the game.

Brine King Superlight Lacrosse Gloves

Thu, 21 Jun 2012 09:18:00 +0000

Brine has relaunched the Superlight series, but this time as a glove. Boasting an innovative lightweight approach to glove design, the Brine King Superlight lacrosse glove really lightens the load. But does this light weight approach still deliver on the protection and durability, or is it robbing Peter to pay Paul? Let's take a closer look and find out.

The Brine King Superlight lacrosse gloves weight about 6oz, which does make them light. Brine has reduced the weight by substituting core materials for lighter ones and using a dual density foam.

The gloves do feature a floating cuff which provides a broad area of protection for the back of your wrist. But it's a little unremarkable to justify it being on its list of features. The low profile design means they don't extend much further past the cuff, but this seems to be the norm for most modern gloves. There's not much chance of them impeding your wrist movement.

Comfort

As with all new gloves, these feel great when you first put them on. They take very little time to break in and are pretty much good to go. You may find that the thumb is a bit stiff at first but a bit of manual manipulation will soon loosen it up.

The King Superlight's features two main ventilation areas. The mesh inserts in the palm allow for a reasonable amount of air flow to keep your hands dry. The fingers also feature mesh sections to promote further air flow.

Inside the glove, Brine has included a moisture management liner designed to absorb excess sweat. This technology is great and is a common inclusion in gloves. It may get a bit stinky, as these fabrics do, but what gloves don't? Nose peg anyone?

So nothing revolutionary here, but nevertheless these are features you'd expect from a glove these days.

Protection

The Brine King Superlight gloves have a number of quality protection features. Your little finger is nicely looked after from the extra pad on the side and the cuff is nice and firm.

The main point to talk about is the padding on the back of the hand and fingers. The Superlight’s offer good protection for these areas. You'll feel checks and if you're in a league that slashes hard, you're going to know about it. This may be a trade-off to lessen the weight, but that's only a guess.

They don't run much further past your wrist, but that's not much different from most other gloves.

Grip

Continuing with the great features theme, the grip on these gloves is really good. The palm was soft and pliable and ready to go from the outset. The grip was exceptionally good with a taped shaft. In fact they were a little too good at times. A shaft with subtle grip features is all you need for these gloves.

The palm fabric also worked well in wet conditions. To be honest, we couldn't fault it.

General Wear and Tear

The palms and finger insets do feel thin. We didn't see any visible wear and tear, but the top line gloves don't have the same fabric and the price point is lower. That says to us it's probably going to wear a little quicker. How long is really up to you.

The Brine King Superlight gloves do offer a lot of grip, so you don't need to go over the top with the grip tape on your shaft. If you do, you'll greatly reduce the life of these gloves.

We saw some part of the King logo on the thumb wear off, but whatever.

Summary

Now we know we've give these gloves a pretty good wrap because they are just that; good gloves. But they’re not great. They didn't really set the place alight with top line protection nor life expectancy. We just can't honestly say they'll offer enough protection for the contact you're likely to get in higher leagues.

Trying to pick the ideal player for these gloves is difficult. Who did Brine have in mind when they made these? The smallest size is 12" which means they're not targeted at kids. High school players and maybe defenders who don't tend to get too much contact.

But nevertheless, the Brine King Superlight lacrosse gloves are comfy, light, hold the stick well and effortlessly break in. You're going to love wearing them, if nothing else!

Warrior Kryptolyte 30" Attack Lacrosse Shaft

Tue, 29 May 2012 12:51:00 +0000

The Kryptolyte is Warrior signature lightweight lacrosse shaft. Dubbed as the most popular handle in lacrosse for over a decade, the shaft is made from a high-grade aluminium alloy and emblazoned with latest flashy Warrior logo. Also featuring Warriors unique Kung Fu grip, this shaft is strong and inescapable from your claw of death! Bwahaha!

Material & Weight

The Warrior Kryptolyte lacrosse shaft is made from the C-405 aluminium alloy. The shaft is very light weighing in at around 5.7oz. The shaft is slightly heavier than its big brother, the Krypto Pro. The Krypto Pro is infused with Hydrogen during manufacturing giving it a little less weight.

Shape

The shaft has an octagonal concave shape.

Grip

Warrior boast of the Kung Fu grip, but we weren't able to find out exactly what this is (unfortunately Warrior haven't replied to our emails, boo hoo). The shaft in fact has a slick coating which flies in the face of good grip. Maybe it's the concave octagonal cross section which enhances grip. Maybe that's the Kung Fu.

As we said, it has a slick coating. it doesn't feature a rubbery or textured grip that does feature on some of the newer shafts these days. We'd recommend some tape, but only if you feel you need it.

We briefly touched on the concave shape of the Warrior Kryptolyte above, and we have to admit that we love these kinds of shafts. The edges of a concave shaft have more of a point on them which gives you a little extra to hold onto. It gives you extra control over how the shaft spins in your hands. As we said, we love these types of shafts and have a bias towards them. So remember to factor that in when reading our review.

General Wear and Tear

The Warrior Kryptolyte’s lacrosse shaft is made from a lightweight aluminium alloy, making it susceptible to dents. Over time you may also get some chipping on the paint, but in general it'll hold up well. But do note that it doesn’t feature Scandium or Titanium so it won't have the durability of the more advanced lacrosse heads.

This shaft is light which makes it ideal for mid-level right up to high school. It's also good for entry level defence players looking for the extra length, but without the weight.

This may or may not need mentioning, but this shaft is not recommended for box lacrosse.

Each year, or thereabouts, Warrior releases a new version of this shaft with updated graphics. Just note that the shaft is unchanged. The upside is that last season’s shafts are discounted so if you don't need the latest cool graphic, this is a great valued shaft.

Summary

In terms of being lightweight, solid, affordable and eye-catching, the Warrior Kryptolyte is very impressive. Warrior have also backed this baby with a 6 month warranty which says a lot about how much they rate this shaft. If you're not looking to spend a lot of dollars, the attack length is a great option.

Brine Swizzle Scandium 30" Attack Lacrosse Shaft

Tue, 29 May 2012 11:42:00 +0000

Brine has given their Swizzle Scandium shaft a facelift for 2012. Featuring the lightweight scandium alloy construction, the shaft is a durable as ever. The 3D grip and Zone Tak finish still feature, but have been given a make over. Opting to not use the Mikey Powell logo in the grip, Brine have decided instead to go with the "King" logo.

Material & Weight

The lightweight profile of the Brine Swizzle Scandium shaft hasn't changed. We have Brine's lighter version of their Scandium alloy to thank for that.

Shape

The cross section profile of this shaft is the standard octagonal shape. The rubber coating does however make the edges feel more rounded. There's no concaved look or feel to it at all.

Grip

The grip of the shaft is very sticky. Some would even say there's a lot of grippage. The Zone Tak coating gives fantastic grip in all weather. Along the bottom half of the shaft and tapering off towards the top is the interlaced raised grip pattern. These two features combined make for an exceptionally grippy shaft. There's no need for tape on this shaft.

However, after only a couple of stick checks the raised grip and Zone Tak coating started to chip off. At times all it took was a poke check and a chunk would fly off. We're unsure how long the grip would last, but it's just really disappointing to see it disappear right before your eyes.

The top of the shaft misses out on the grip altogether, which initially surprised us. It's quite commonplace to go one-handed when dodging and this kind of grip would be great to help hold onto the stick. But it's not there. The only reason we can think is that most of your checks are made with the top half of your shaft. The coating would be chipped off in no time, so there's no point in adding it.

But if you're dead keen on getting the grip at the top of the shaft, just flip it around and drill a hole at the other end.

General Wear and Tear

As with most Scandium alloy shafts, you'll get a couple of dents and scratches along the way. We don't see this being a problem at all, because these babies are tough. You're going to get a lot of use out of this.

We found that all brine and most stx and gait heads fit on. But you'd have to drill a new hole for some Warrior heads.

Summary

The Brine Swizzle Scandium lacrosse shaft will make you smile and make you cry. The grip features are just sensational, which makes us smile. But then it chips off, which makes us cry. So enjoy the good times while they last and when all appears lost, embrace the tape. However, nothing changes the fact that throughout all that, you'll be the owner of a super-lightweight shaft that you can depend on.