STX Contender

[MYW31]

I just bought the new STX COntender goalie shaft and love it. WHat's your take on the new shaft by STX?

[EndlesFimbulvet]

Ive never used it before. Care to write a mini review on it? Or a full review?

[MYW31]

It seems to me to be the lightest handle on the market for goalies. Instead of the Normal squareish shape of a shaft it is like an oval at the top so when the ball hits the head the shaft doesnot move around in your hand. it gets to be more and more like a normal shaft as you progress downwards. Also it is very strong (i shot it with an airsoft gun today to test the durability) and it didnt make a mark. The only downside is you have to get used to the shape on the top when you spin it around in your hand. I would give it a 9.5 out of 10 rating

[Talent223]

I don't play goalie, but it sounds pretty cool looking. Can you post some pics?

[MYW31]

I dont have any pics but here's the generic pic from the company
http://us.st11.yimg.com/store1.yimg.com/I/lacrossemonkey_1885_92596593

[SenatorLaX30]

is that composite?

[MYW31]

yea its composite

[nofear45465]

thats pretty cool.

[btownbulldog]

wow an airsoft gun those things dont hurt take and and smack it against a tree

[MYW31]

wow an airsoft gun those things dont hurt take and and smack it against a tree

it shoots 1300 fps

[Garor]

It seems to me to be the lightest handle on the market for goalies. Instead of the Normal squareish shape of a shaft it is like an oval at the top so when the ball hits the head the shaft doesnot move around in your hand. it gets to be more and more like a normal shaft as you progress downwards. Also it is very strong (i shot it with an airsoft gun today to test the durability) and it didnt make a mark. The only downside is you have to get used to the shape on the top when you spin it around in your hand. I would give it a 9.5 out of 10 rating

The lightest? Lighter than a DB803 or a Klyte? If so, that's impressive.

[gigo567]

it shoots 1300 fps
But still, use a 22 caliber rifle.

[slinkyspine]

But still, use a 22 caliber rifle.
Agreed. Or a bazooka.

[lD lU lK lE 311]

Agreed. Or a bazooka.
Bazooka will do just fine.

[Talent223]

I was on e-lacrosse and I found this video. About 3/4 of the way through the spokesperson talks about the contender.

[OldGoalie]

Jon Weston, the Goalieman, seems to like it a lot. Here's an excerpt from his website:

"NEW GOALIE EQUIPMENT - STX has come out with a goaltender's shaft called the "Contender". It is a composite shaft that is more flat that round for that part of the shaft that is closest to the head. It does two things; 1) almost eliminates the head spinning when the ball hits the plastic and 2) helps in setting the grip with the top hand wrist to the back of the shaft. These are both truly helpful. I have played in a number of games using this great shaft (light too) and think it has leapt to the forefront as the best goalie shaft in the business."

http://members.aol.com/westonlax/Player.htm

[shotstopper1613]

stx stopped selling the contender in the middle of last season. Does anyone know if they will have them again next year or another handle like it with the bent shape at the top?

[spenny]

doubtful. great idea, but they all broke.

[goaliesdadfan]

My daughter has been trying out the women's version ("Big Time Goalie" shaft) during the off season and says she likes it and got comfortable with it fairly quickly (she's not a real student of the game so I'm not able to get much more detail from her). A few things I've noticed:

-- Weight wise, its just a tad heavier than her Kryptolyte and about an ounce heavier than her deBeer C555 (all attack length)
-- The weight is not distributed equally. Its heavier at the top because the shaft is bigger and thicker for the top hand
-- It doesn't work real well in an STX Guardian head because the throat of the head is angled versus flat as in most other shafts. Her Guardian feels wobbly/extra flexible on it.
-- It doesn't even appear to be spec'd for the Eclipse either (close but not a perfect fit), but generally feels solid and works well with the Eclipse without modification.

[NickMB17]

Anybody know a website where it's for sale, cause I've checked about every one and they're all sold out/don't have it at all.

[OldGoalie]

stx stopped selling the contender in the middle of last season. Does anyone know if they will have them again next year or another handle like it with the bent shape at the top?

They didn't stop selling them - they ran out of stock. It's in the 2007 catalog.

I didn't particularly like it. It felt kinda neat in the top hand, but I couldn't get used to the feel, nor did I like the transition to throwing hand position- too awkward for me.

[goalie1215]

i saw some at camp. pretty cool but i could never get used to that.

[RichWutLax]

i had one ... right now its in the shop waiting for a waranty check ...it cracked from the but end of the shaft about 9 inches down and 1/2 inch across ... not cool so when i get the new one from the warranty im goignt o sell it

[Expressgoalie01]

I hated it. It felt sssssoooooooooooo uncomfortable.

[CClaxgoalie]

I love this i have the contender stick and the guardian head and its the best. Your right it is way lighter than normal goalie sticks, but at the beggining clearing with it is harder, you have to get used to the shape.

[NTGoal33]

I bought the contender this year. It took some time to get used to it but now i love it. I have an eclipse head and it doesnt sit perfect but it is pretty close. After using this shaft i dont want to go back to a normal one

[Floridalax00]

The back up goalie on my team has it and i tryed it out one day. It was horrible in my opinion. very awkward to cradle with and i don't like the grip on it. It doesn't feel very sturdy at all.

The only pro I saw was that it definitely eliminated stick spin. Could also help if you have a bad habit of twirling your stick.

[g04L13 iNSANiTY]

does it work well on a nemi? I'm considering getting the girls version

[lax21goalie2008]

Jon Weston, the Goalieman, seems to like it a lot. Here's an excerpt from his website:

"NEW GOALIE EQUIPMENT - STX has come out with a goaltender's shaft called the "Contender". It is a composite shaft that is more flat that round for that part of the shaft that is closest to the head. It does two things; 1) almost eliminates the head spinning when the ball hits the plastic and 2) helps in setting the grip with the top hand wrist to the back of the shaft. These are both truly helpful. I have played in a number of games using this great shaft (light too) and think it has leapt to the forefront as the best goalie shaft in the business."

http://members.aol.com/westonlax/Player.htm


I used to go to him for goalie lessons, and that is the only shaft he really pushed on me, and I got it. I have moved away from it though, leaving it for a nice DB803.

I did like the shaft for a while though, I just didn't like the composite feel of it for some reason, I like the feel of alloy better.

[NTGoal33]

the nemi fits pretty good. The girls goalie shaft feels even more awkward then the mens shaft. After i broke my first one the only one they had left was the girls and i cant play with a pink stick lol luckily i have two more contenders at home

[dvdreeve]

I have had two and really liked them. Definitely have a great feel and prevent spinning of the head. However, I broke both of them low down about 6 inches up from the butt. Both on shots that seemed to crush the composite no real way to fix them so I have taped them up and just use them for box.

[pythonlaxer]

it shoots 1300 fps

1300 fps, really, last time I checked airsoft guns didn't shoot that fast. Have you ever compared it to the rbk 7k? I kind of was curious.