The CCM Vector Stick: All of CCM's dark and mysterious secrets revealed!
Written: Apr 11 '04 (Updated Oct 05 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Good balance, feel, durability, power and accuracy
Cons: Somewhat less durable blade than some of its peers
The Bottom Line: The CCM Vector is among the top few composite sticks on the market.
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| puckmugger's Full Review: CCM Composite Hockey Stick Vector 110 |
Well, I wasn’t going to review the CCM Vector since there were several other reviews from people who have owned one and I’ve only used it a couple times. However, the latest review seemed more likely to pose questions than answers. Brashly throwing CCM marketing hype about as if it makes sense to the general public drove me to action. Someone needs to explain what all of CCM’s crazy marketing terms actually mean. I will bear the weight of that awesome responsibility.
Let’s get to the marketing hype
CCM’s marketing gurus came up with three catch phrases to make pretty simple ideas sound as revolutionary and confusing as possible. These terms they used so irresponsibly are: Impact Layer Technology, Weightless Balance, and Integrated Matrix Rigidity.
Great job CCM, you came up with three totally meaningless phrases that will leave 99% of potential buyers wondering what on Earth you are referring to. Personally, these poorly expressed ideas might make me want to buy a Vector, but I suspect that the general public is not as susceptible to fake scientific jargon as I am. Well, let’s get to it, what do these mysterious, nonsensical phrases refer to, and more importantly are they valid working premises for a hockey stick?
Impact Layer Technology.
First let’s talk about Impact Layer Technology. This sounds like something that might improve your hip checking ability, allowing you to knock over players that are twice your size. “Woo, this New Impact Layer Technology is so cool! I laid Donald Brashear on his can!” Well, sorry to disappoint any of you that were hoping for something to increase the effectiveness of any violent tendencies, Impact Layer Technology simply refers to the construction method of the Vector Stick
Rather than using a braided fiber method as almost all of their competitors do, CCM instead builds the Vector Sticks using solid layers of Kevlar. Imagine the stick as a giant papier-mâché project, but with pieces of perfectly sized, hockey stick shaped Kevlar, that’s pretty much how the stick is built.
So why is this important enough to have earned a fancy marketing tag? The construction of CCM’s Vector helps to make the stick more durable, especially rendering it less prone to breakage resulting from the impact of another player’s stick. If you caught the NHL playoffs last season, you might have noticed that there were a lot of players snapping sticks on passes and shots. This was generally the result of having their stick slashed by another player (or perhaps a slash they delivered themselves), or even being struck by a shot. Traditional woven carbon fiber sticks are pretty susceptible to breakage in this manner. Easton hockey reps did not enjoy watching the playoffs last year.
CCM claims that the layered construction of their full Kevlar Vector sticks is much less prone to this type of damage. So is it just fancy marketing hype with no truth behind it? In fact as of last year, both independent testing and customer feedback indicated that the Vector was indeed the most durable of the one piece sticks. One of the guys that I worked with claimed it was the only stick he would buy for his son who had a big enough shot to break a Synergy every month. The CCM lasted at least three times as long in his kid’s dangerous hands.
Weightless Balance
This is a great one too, although a little easier to figure out than the others. Obviously there is some mass to the Vector, so it follows there has to be some weight. The point that CCM is failing to easily portray by using the terminology of Weightless Balance is the feel of the stick.
The Vector is light, not quite on par with some of the lighter sticks such as the Synergy, the Vapor XX or the Nike Apollo. Still it is much lighter than the traditional sticks. However, the balance portion of this statement is the more important aspect of what CCM is getting at.
Until the Vector came along, the biggest complaint of the one-piece sticks was in their feel. Construction methods in generating a light twig for hockey players resulted in a hollow shaft and solid blade. This put the majority of the weight at the bottom of the stick taking away from all important puck feedback. Bad feel = head down = Donald Brashear knocking you on your can (OWCH! He is twice your size remember).
CCM managed to move the balance of the one-piece higher up the shaft by using a foam core in the blade rather than solid composite construction. Not only did this result in better balance, but it vastly improved the feel of the stick, once again making you impervious to Donald Brashear even if Impact Layer Technology doesn’t enable you to knock him over.
I can attest to the feel of the Vector on the ice. While I use a two-piece stick normally, I do have a very heavy blade in mine. The feel is mediocre at best. With the Vector I found that I was much less prone to fumbling the puck and was skating with my head up more often.
There is a negative to this issue though. While the CCM Vector’s shaft is much less prone to impact, the blade is not quite as sturdy as the one found in many of its peers. The heel of the Vector is especially prone to breakage from angry outburst that result in the inexorable banging of the stick on the ice.
Integrated Matrix Rigidity
Movie buffs were likely most moved to purchase a CCM Vector by this bit of hype. Integrated Matrix Rigidity, that has to be the force that allows Neo to leap buildings, dodge bullets, beat up agents and such. Imagine what you could do with that kind of power on the rink. Defensemen would be mere pylons, Goalies would think you were out of room on breaks when you had six dekes left . . .
Well, once again CCM is hiding the simple behind the complex. The construction of the Vector, with its layers of Kevlar simply is less prone to twisting than other sticks on the market. Integrated Matrix Rigidity refers to the torsional strength of the stick.
Consider this, as you are releasing a monster slapper, some of the force you generate goes into flexing the shaft. This energy is returned when the puck releases, much like an arrow off a bowstring. However, some of the force generated is being dampened my any twisting motion in the shaft. The blade of the stick will essentially twist backwards away from the puck.
Now two things are going to happen as the blade twists. First some of the power of your shot will be lost in that action. Second, you will lose some degree of accuracy. The harder the shot, the greater the loss of accuracy will be. This remains true in the CCM, however, Integrated Matrix Rigidity or what might have been better titled Superior Torsional Strength will help minimize this effect.
Again, there is some validity to CCM’s claim here. While it is hard to put a value on accuracy and shot speed . . . without a radar gun anyway, numerous players have claimed to have an improved shot with the Vector. My shot is nothing to brag about, but it certainly seemed to go closer to where I wanted it to when using the Vector.
Integrated Matrix Rigidity should in no way affect you in a chance encounter with Donald Brashear.
Other thoughts on the Vector and CCM
The Vector has a nice rounded grip. Most of its competitors are square grip shafts. This is a personal preference, and not a big deal to most players, but it is slightly different.
CCM stands for Canadian Cycle and Motor, as they originally built bicycles. I figured with all the marketing propaganda I was breaking down, I better answer that all important question as well.
You cannot put a replacement blade in a Vector stick without flipping it, even then it is somewhat iffy. Some competitor sticks can be cut at the bottom to accept a replacement blade. However, the Vector has an irregular, triangular interior that makes blade replacement in the bottom an impossibility.
If the top of the stick has been cut to make it more than a few inches shorter, there is a strong possibility that a blade will not fit in that end either. Even if a blade fits in the top of the Vector, the flex dynamics of the stick will be changed . . . hmm, now I’m making up confusing terminology. The flex dynamic is the place that the stick bends most easily. In one-piece sticks it is generally as close to the blade as possible to give better puck release. By flipping a stick this moves to the top affecting the power of shots.
The Vector is covered by a 30-day warranty. This is essentially a no fault, 100% covered warranty in which they will replace the stick . . . once. Replacement sticks are not covered by any sort of warranty. While this is fairly standard for one-piece sticks, there is one advantage that CCM offers. They will allow the dealer to replace your broken Vector on the spot. Most companies require that the broken stick is mailed to them creating a two week, or longer, turn around time.
The graphics on the Vector are all on one big sticker covering the plain, blue metallic shaft. Kids tend to think it is fun to take the sticker off and have a plain blue stick, but a word of caution. While the sticker is pure cosmetic, it does have the all important serial number on it. If you decide for some reason to take off the sticker, make sure to leave the portion with the serial number. CCM does not honor the warranty on this stick if the serial number is removed.
Oh yeah, there was one more marketing tag that CCM slapped on the Vector. For those of you who were wondering, OPS stands for One Piece Stick. Now that’s clever!
Final Thoughts
The Vector was hailed as one of the best sticks on the market last year. It was certainly the most durable of the one-piece sticks and possibly the best shooter of the bunch. Newer entries like the Mission M-1 and Easton Synergy Si-Core have rivaled it for feel. Some sticks are lighter as well. All in all, there might not be a stick that has all the redeeming qualities that the Vector does. This one gets an Ebullient Asseveration . . . that’s marketing talk for High Recommendation
© Scott Noble – Unauthorized use prohibited
Also See: Hockey Stick Buying Guide
Recommended:
Yes
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