Stick: Bauer Vapor 1x (2016)
Curve: P88 Kane
Flex: 77 flex
Kick Point: Low Kick-Point
Grip or Non Grip: Non Grip Clear Coat
First Impressions: Bauer had a promotion to try out a 1X for 2 weeks so I thought I would give it a shot. The first thing I noticed is that the stick is super light! As soon as it’s in your hands, it feels comfortable and natural. Mine weighed in at 394 grams (after cutting off 3.5 inches) which is pretty sweet. My stick has a clear coating but it was still slightly sticky. I was super excited to try out Bauer’s newest technologies. You can definitely tell a lot of design went into it.
Review: I really didn’t think I was going to like this stick or that it would be worth the high price tag. It feels expensive, which is usually a bad thing. I went into it with an open mind because my last Bauer Vapor was the original APX, which I absolutely hated. The APX had semi-decent puck feel, and shot great but only for about a month then it was as stiff as a board. I was hoping the 1X wouldn’t be the same. But boy was I shocked with this one. The first thing I noticed about the 1X was the puck feel. It’s absolutely amazing! You feel everything, and you know exactly where the puck is on your blade at all times. I’ve used some sticks with “really good” puck feel but this was in a whole other level. I tried to send a teammate a pass with the middle of the stick and I ended up whiffing on it with the toe but I knew exactly what I did wrong because I felt the puck the whole way. I think it also corrected my passing and shooting a bit. Because I could feel the puck, I always knew what I had to do with it. If I lost a puck or missed a pass I knew why I had made the mistake and it was easier to correct.
I have also never had a stick load so easily in my life. From the blue line, I dumped a puck in and with a little bit of body weight and the stick did all the work. The strange this is, that the stick isn’t overly whippy. Normally I cut sticks 3 to 4 inches which makes a 75/77 flex into a 85-90 flex. While this still felt like 90 flex I was still able to load it easily and comfortably. I found myself actually taking better, harder shots with this stick compared to every other stick I’ve used.
The 1X is a low kick point verses previous top end Vapors which had used a variable kick point. It didn’t feel like a true low kick because the kick point felt more towards the middle middle of the stick. I would say its mid-low leaning towards low. It feels similar to Nexus but lower kick and easier to load. Now thats not necessarily a bad thing. Low kick points are known for their easy loading but this was just phenomenal. Everything was comfortable; passing, catching passes, dump-ins, and shooting all types of shots; slap shots, wrist shots and snapshots. I even felt like the shaft added a little bit extra zip on my shots.
Conclusion: I really have nothing but good things to say about this stick. I have to give this stick a perfect 10/10. The way I determine the rankings is that every stick is given a 10 and I subtract a relevant number of points or deductions for things I don’t like. However the 1X was absolutely flawless. It was light, but not overly light, very well balanced and very fun to use. I actively looked to find a flaw but I couldn’t. The only thing I cant address is durability. I only had the stick for 2 weeks. However, in this time I played 3 games, 2 practices and a clinic. I blocked shots, deflected, took repeated slap shots, and was slashed, and it held up very well. Every time I used the stick it was consistently amazing. If you haven’t considered a Bauer Vapor 1X I urge you to check it out.
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