True 6.0 sbp

[TheGoalNet]

True 6.0sbp Initial Impressions

There’s a pretty cool back story to my interest in True. Since I was a kid, hockey and golf have been my sports. I don’t know much about the current state of baseball gloves, but I’d argue hockey and golf got the biggest benefits from the materials revolution. Composite sticks, engineered steel iron shafts, composite skate boots, and graphite driver shafts to name a few. At the heart of both of these transformations is True Temper. Although the True name is “new” to hockey, True Temper has been designing sticks for other people for a long time.

We were fortunate enough to receive a True 6.0sbp for testing purposes. This article will outline my initial impressions and I’ll follow up with a long term review at a later date.

Out of the box, I was impressed with the weight and balance. I will try as much as possible to focus this article on comparing this stick to other traditionally shaped composite sticks. I believe that to be the best apples to apples comparison.

With other sticks that have a traditional shape, I find they feel bottom heavy, unbalanced, or just plain awkward. This dates back to the TPS responses and includes the Premier Plus. In contrast, The True feels like the lightest foam core stick you’ve ever held and I mean that in a positive way. I think that will turn a lot of people on and convert some holdouts to the composite sticks.

I also love the graphics on this stick and noticed that that the second I pulled it out of the box. The matte color scheme with carbon fiber accents is sick. I personally hate the paddle graphics that lots of companies incorporate into their sticks.

Now onto the important stuff, how does it perform?

Using something from the Supreme for about 3 years, I was curious how I would find life back with a traditional paddle. I’m happy to report there were no major issues or complaints in that department. The stick feels very light during use, which is most important to me. I find a composite stick makes my blocker way faster and feel more natural during the save. The True 6.0 accomplishes this standard I set for any composite. I value the lightweight during a save over the improved shooting capabilities.

The rebounds are also very predictable with the traditional paddle geometry. No weird deflections or pizza rebounds. I also have not felt any awkward vibrations or reverberation pains during use. This is something I will monitor long term because I haven’t taken any monster clappers to weird parts of the stick… yet. If you’ve seen any of my recent posts, you know that I seem to get tattooed in the face lately.

Things I initially don’t like?

There’s two. One of the them falls into the personal preference category and the other I question the design. The design aspect I question is the grip coating on the shaft. Current commonplace on composite goalie sticks is to have a grip where your hand is and no coating on the rest of the shaft. True did the opposite. They have no coating where your hand goes and grip coating on the rest of the shaft. I would have preferred the current standard from other OEMs, no coating, or a consistent coating everywhere. The option they elected just seems odd to me. I get the rational might have been a tape grip where they have no coating, but why not put the coating there and let the goalie cover it up if they choose to? I also find that the shaft coating catches at times when I go for poke check or to quickly slide my hand up to play the puck.

The other concern with this stick for me is the stiffness profile. That is an issue of preference and nothing I fault True for. I am sure that some people like that about the stick or the sturdy feel it creates, but it’s not something I like to date. The paddle height and curve are perfect, but I find the flex is too stiff for my tastes. The one upside is that I can make bullet on ice passes with it, but putting high clearing attempts off the glass is not as easy as I’ve become used to.

To summarize my initial impressions, I think this should be in consideration for the best traditionally shaped composite stick on the market. It will be a great option for a lot of people, especially people who don’t like the Supremes’ paddle geometry. Like with most every product, it’s not without a few items I don’t personally like or that might not have been a perfect design.

 

 

[Snowman30]

Very good read so far, when your talking about "awkward vibrations or reverberation pains" what brand are your comparing that too? Where I am finally jumping on the composite stick wagon after been a foam core user for years I am interested to here some more about that.

[TheGoalNet]

56 minutes ago, Snowman30 said:

Very good read so far, when your talking about "awkward vibrations or reverberation pains" what brand are your comparing that too? Where I am finally jumping on the composite stick wagon after been a foam core user for years I am interested to here some more about that.

I have not had that with Bauer of True. It's of the excuses I hear for people not using a composite. That's why I felt compelled to mention it. I would imagine the feeling is like skulling a golf ball 

[sebastiancp1]

Really looking forward to hearing about the durability.  I've always gone with foam core for durability reasons.  How's the feel of the puck when stick handling/shooting?  I've always preferred wood/foam core to composite in that regard as well.

[Carleton]

I've had two of the a 6.0 sticks for a while and I have never gotten any bad vibrations through either of them. They are not the most durable stick they do get a lot of chips and cracks and one of mine just broke at the shaft 2 weeks ago, but overall I thinks that it is a good stick

[TheGoalNet]

21 minutes ago, Carleton said:

I've had two of the a 6.0 sticks for a while and I have never gotten any bad vibrations through either of them. They are not the most durable stick they do get a lot of chips and cracks and one of mine just broke at the shaft 2 weeks ago, but overall I thinks that it is a good stick

How long did you own the stick overall and how often do you skate?

 

1 hour ago, sebastiancp1 said:

Really looking forward to hearing about the durability.  I've always gone with foam core for durability reasons.  How's the feel of the puck when stick handling/shooting?  I've always preferred wood/foam core to composite in that regard as well.

That's what I was trying to get at above, but maybe I didn't explain it too well. It feels more like a foam core. It's stiffer and more solid throughout the whole stick compared with my 1S and NXGs. I personally don't like that aspect for shooting, I can't launch the puck in the air as quickly. It's great for bullet on ice passes though.

but if you are looking for that... you will love this 

 

[Kapz]

Has anyone had a chance to try this stick? Debating between this and the warrior CR1, any input would be appreciated.

[coopaloop1234]

Not sure if there's a difference between the HT and SBP (can't find anything based off of a quick google) but @TheGoalNet made this review and is currently using the CR1. He'd be the best guy to ask.

[Tim_TRUEHockey]

On 4/13/2018 at 3:45 PM, coopaloop1234 said:

Not sure if there's a difference between the HT and SBP (can't find anything based off of a quick google) but @TheGoalNet made this review and is currently using the CR1. He'd be the best guy to ask.

Sorry I've been away and not monitoring this thread as much as I should.  The new HT is a new gen stick and a DRAMATIC improvement over the previous gen.  I highly recommend it.