PowerBlade Review – Weighted Hockey Stick

Posted by on Feb 16, 2011 in Shooting, Stickhandling, Training Aids | 6 comments

power blade reviewStickhandling and shooting are important skills for a hockey player to develop if they want to score goals. As the old adage goes “practice makes perfect” but is there a right and wrong way to practice? I believe that proper technique is the most important aspect that a player should work on, but once you have your technique down you should start working on strength and fitness. Incorporating weights into your training and practice regime is a good way to build your strength and quickness. A weighted hockey stick will allow hockey players to incorporate weights into their stickhandling and shooting training and help strengthen the muscles involved in sport-specific movements.

Purpose – The PowerBlade was designed to add weight to a hockey players stick without hindering technique. The stick is evenly weighted so that a hockey player can just pick it up and use it. The purpose of the weight is to over-train the muscles. By using a stick that is much heavier than normal to practice, a player will be able to move a regular weighted stick a lot faster, and with more power.

Price – The PowerBlade sells for $124.95 for the “Pro” model. This is the one that adults should get, there is also an intermediate that sells for $109.95

What you get – The stick comes in only one curve pattern, you can get it in intermediate or senior sizes (senior weighs the most at 2.4 lbs) The curve is a mid toe curve, and the shaft has a bit of grip. There is no flex rating on the stick.

Taking the PowerBlade to the streets

power bladeStickhandling – Stickhandling with the PowerBlade felt normal as far as performing the actions goes. The stick is evenly balanced and weighted so when I was stickhandling it was just like stickhandling, but with a really heavy stick. I did notice I could not stickhandle quite as fast with the PowerBlade and I also mishandled the puck and stickhandling ball a few times because I was not quick enough to catch them. I practiced soft touch / quick hands, and also a number of stickhandling drills. I could really feel the muscles working after a few minutes of the quick hands drill. I felt the burn in my forearms and then switched to using different muscles.I like the workout that I got and when I switched back to my normal stick (weighing in at 490 grams) I felt lighting fast!

Shooting – Shooting felt really natural with this stick, I could still take a wrist shot, snapshot and backhander with ease. It did seem like I was a bit slower in my release though. I did not try to take a slapshot as I think the weight will just mess with my technique. With a weighted stick the gravity will really pull the stick down, and I don’t really see what muscles that will help you build. For my wrist shots and snapshots I could feel the extra weight and my muscles had to work overtime! I enjoyed shooting with the PowerBlade and I will continue to use it when I practice.

Passing - I was practicing my passing into the X-Passer (review) and noticed that I got a really good workout. The X-passer is great for quickly rebounding the puck, and the weighted stick really helps work the muscles involved in passing. Since giving a hard pass uses similar muscles as shooting a puck I think that using the X-Passer with the PowerBlade would help improve the power of your shot (I will have to do some testing over the summer!)

Overall Thoughts

Penalty Box

I can not find anything major that I did not like about the stick. The only thing some people might not like is the $125 price tag, but that is normal to pay for a composite stick that will probably break in a few months.

One thing to note is that if you ONLY train with a weighted stick it will likely throw your stickhandling off for a bit when you get on the ice. I recommend starting with the PowerBlade and then finishing with a regular stick so you can keep the muscle memory of a regular weighted stick.

Scoresheet

  • Great design and concept
  • Feels like a quality stick
  • Nice grip and feel to the stick
  • Evenly weighted (does not feel awkward to use)
  • Awesome tool to use if you want to do sport specific muscle training
  • One of the best ways to over-train the exact muscles you use for shooting and stickhandling

PowerBlade Video Review

Where to Buy the PowerBlade

You can get the PowerBlade and lots of other cool training aids at HockeyShot.com

  • Felix

    Is it different to use the power blade than to use your normal stick with a stick weight? I was wondering because that is what I use to train with. Thank you

  • John

    Yes. It’s a lot different! I’ve found that adding weights to my stick kills the feel, like a vibration dampener on a tennis racquet. The Powerblade just feels right, puts less stress on my game stick and I can actually shoot with it, without feeling awkward.

  • John

    Yes. It’s a lot different! I’ve found that adding weights to my stick kills the feel, like a vibration dampener on a tennis racquet. The Powerblade just feels right, puts less stress on my game stick and I can actually shoot with it, without feeling awkward.

  • Jeremy

    Yeah the even weight is very nice!

  • Jeremy

    I would say the end outcome would be similar, but it feels nicer to have the weighted stick because it is evenly weighted. You can get away with using a regular stick and weighing it down yourself though

  • Jake

    How do you get all of these training aids? Do you buy them?