Why are so many of you carrying 2-3 different head/shaft combos as gamers/backups?

[gripitandripit]

New to the site and, as much as I've always loved fooling around with different head/shaft/pocket combos, it seems like a lot of you are keeping very different backups on the sidelines. When you do actually break a stick in a game you'll want to make a seamless transition to your backup without having to think about adjustments. This means same head, same shaft, same pocket. I can't stress this enough. I learned the hard way as a fr in highschool how important this is and since that game I've had at least three of the same exact stick in rotation at all times. Moved it to four in college, as I have a nasty habit of snapping heads and it didn't cost me anything. Word to the wise, keep the experiments in the backyard and on the practice field.

[czechinthepipes]

That is great advice, but just because you only see people posting up many different sticks doesn't mean they don't have 2 or 3 of the same stick that they aren't showing on TLF.
Whats more important to most is the stringing. As long as all your sticks are strung the same, there really isn't too much difference. And if you practice with all of your sticks or your back up sticks then it wont be that much of a shock when you have to use one in a game.
Still good advice though.

[cali feeder]

I can string all my heads the exact same way, to throw, catch, and hold the exact same way, so my backup equipment for the most part isn't a huge concern to me.

[gripitandripit]

Ehh, I really can't agree with the different head/same pocket idea. No matter how accurately you try to reproduce a pocket in two different heads it will never be EXACTLY the same. And even if you can get it close, the same pocket in two different heads will still feel different on account of discrepancies in weight and weight distribution throughout the head it self. I'm not saying your game will go to hell if you don't have three or four copies of one stick ready to go, but your crosse is your tool, and a great craftsman should never have to think about his tools.

I can string all my heads the exact same way, to throw, catch, and hold the exact same way, so my backup equipment for the most part isn't a huge concern to me.

Unless you build identical sticks the same exact way and rotate them so they break in identically then no, you can't.

[laxdude802]

Ehh, I really can't agree with the different head/same pocket idea. No matter how accurately you try to reproduce a pocket in two different heads it will never be EXACTLY the same. And even if you can get it close, the same pocket in two different heads will still feel different on account of discrepancies in weight and weight distribution throughout the head it self. I'm not saying your game will go to hell if you don't have three or four copies of one stick ready to go, but your crosse is your tool, and a great craftsman should never have to think about his tools.



Unless you build identical sticks the same exact way and rotate them so they break in identically then no, you can't.

although these points are valid with the whole weight distribution thing, the difference is negligible. with the weight distribution, I don't think that we would be able to tell the difference. maybe the pass will go one inch lower than intended. Hot a huge deal in the scheme of things. As long as they are very similar, after one or two passes/catches, you should be able to know how it throws (if it throws differently) and maybe you can't even tell.
my 2 cents

[LvIlLeLaX5]

i can play with any of my sticks when i pick them up give me a couple throws with them to see how much whip is in them and im good but i usally try to have 2 of them same sticks strung the same way but right now im playing with a evo pro and have a evo 2.0 as a backup and there both strung identical

[roycegracie47]

But not everyone also has the luxury of keeping the same exact head/shaft combo most of them being cobbled to together as they're collected over the years (assuming they survive). You say it yourself, you're in college so breaking the same head over and over isn't an issue for you as you get a replacement. That's not feasible for everyone (sure some people have the cash flow to buy several heads and shafts at a time but that's an exception, no the rule) , and since every head has different attributes, some players may like to have variations for different parts of their games. True that means you can't get every stringing exact like an assembly line due to the variations but practice, both in stringing and fundamentals mean you shouldn't have to think about it as you trudge off the field to replace a stick, save for a few throws to adjust, I've been playing for sometime and been around some top notch players and I've rarely seen someone come off replace his stick and sub right back in without making sure he's ready to go with his back-up whether it's the same exact stick or not.

For that reason I recommend making sure that anyone work their back-up into practice, whether it's the same exact stick or not, as pockets always need adjustment to some degree as strings shift and loosen depending on use.

[RgLax]

as a defenseman, it really isnt cost effective to purcahse to of the exact same head, seeing as how you might have a really high end stick as ur number 1 stick then a lower end stick as your back up.
I always string my stick with a bag, 2 straight across and white 10d or cata.
I always get the exact same feeling from my sticks regardess of which one it is

[Brandon303]

I have tons of sticks and I just find that once you can string well, it's pretty addicting to just get more and more. Sure you may not use one as much as the others but I find that the "customization" factor of lacrosse sticks makes people want to just have more (you know to show off a string job here, show off a rare/old head there, etc...)

[Thomson#1]

I had the sickest, and I mean sickest backup setup a while ago. My gamer was a Torque with hard mesh on a DB803, and I had two backups that were perfectly identical, same head, shaft, string job. All threw the same. It was perfect and I'm working to getting back to that status again.

[gripitandripit]

I have tons of sticks and I just find that once you can string well, it's pretty addicting to just get more and more. Sure you may not use one as much as the others but I find that the "customization" factor of lacrosse sticks makes people want to just have more (you know to show off a string job here, show off a rare/old head there, etc...)

You don't have to tell me man, I'm as big a junkie as they come.

[gripitandripit]

For that reason I recommend making sure that anyone work they're back-up into practice, whether it's the same exact stick or not, as pockets always need adjustment to some degree as strings shift and loosen depending on use.

This is what I was getting at for the most part. I agree that the differences will be negligible for the most part if the pocket is diligently copied. For me, it would be more of a mental adjustment having a different stick in my hand, even if it threw in a similar manner. The jist of it is know your crosses well enough that you can switch on the fly.

[Tehb2]

I'd like to have a few back ups, but I don't have a regular job and don't work enough over the summer to make the kind of money I'd need or want to afford more than one extra stick (which my dad bought me, but my parents aren't gonna buy these things too often either, at least when its not christmas or my brithday). The average head, worthwhile ones anyway, cost around $100, and same with shafts. I have a Sc+Ti, and thats $150, so buying another stick would cost $250.

If I got an extra it be not only a back up, but a rain stick. Rain always throws a pocket out of shape, so instead of having my real stick messed up, I would like to just switch to my back up for rainy practices and games, maybe set up the pocket with less depth to pre-empt the stretching. Other than that, I don't break my heads (not since I had 2 brine Matrix's that were made of weak plastic, each breaking within a month of each other), and I've only broken 1 shaft in my career, and that was a 3 year old harrow that practically got killed "execution style".

[ML_LAX09]

I agree with Rg, as a Dman I would have to spend over $290.00 to replicate my current setup. Which makes identical sticks hard to obtain. Honestly, as long as you don't have a wooden stick and a light weight plastic/metal as your backup you should be fine.

[Lax4life528]

some people who have traditional have a mesh back up for foul weather or if the traditional is just not throwing right.

But I have two main sticks that are strung the same. But some sticks though just do no like to be forced to have a certain stringing. I have a revo pro and an answer that both have a high pocket. but i also have a gait chaos that i tried to string the same, but the pocket kept falling and it kept throwing inconsistently. So i had to adjust to a medium pocket.

[Chas]

All of my backups have the same pocket, and throw the same. I use different models, but similar heads.

I will use the same shaft on all sticks, IE my heavy composite for indoor and same as a backup, so the feel is the same.