hf101 Posted November 22, 2013 Share Posted November 22, 2013 Just in time for Christmas..... Will the unbreakable hockey stick have a future in the NHL? http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/trying-to-break-the-unbreakable-stick/ Palumbo read a National Post article on Integran Technologies, which electroforms nanocrystalline metals to manufacture products used in aerospace and medical devices. Integran coated a ping pong ball in a thin layer of its silvery nano material, making it able to withstand the weight of a grown man while maintaining its light weight. “If they can put this coating on a ping pong ball, why not a hockey stick?” thought Palumbo, whose ball-hockey-playing friends were going through a few $250 composites per week in hack-happy rec leagues. The blade and bottom third of the shaft was coated in the nano material, strengthening what is known as the “hack zone” and thus preventing microfractures – tiny stress cracks that eventually lead to full-on breaks later — to form farther up the shaft. After lab-testing for flex, durability and impact (“You can stand on it with a skate blade, and it won’t break,” Palumbo says), machines mimicked slap shots with the prototypes before they got into the mitts of actual pro and junior players. “We had people logging 1,000 slap shots per hour on this thing, and we did not experience any damage or deadening of the shaft, which is what happens with a lot of the composites,” Palumbo says. Colt tagged several players to put one stick through 10,000 hours of use – still, the flex and pop did not deteriorate whatsoever. The Colt has now gone through 22 different iterations, is about to begin production in a couple weeks, and plans to start shipping to those NHLers (and Johnny Beer League) by mid-December for a retail sticker of $269.99, a price Palumbo says is competitive with the elite composites on the market. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fan4ever Posted November 22, 2013 Share Posted November 22, 2013 @hf101 Pretty cool, but how would they know when to make a slashing call?????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyerrod Posted November 22, 2013 Share Posted November 22, 2013 I am ready to buy stock in that company. I hope he can get it to pass the tight specs required by the NHL.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaGreatGazoo Posted November 22, 2013 Share Posted November 22, 2013 As a parent with 2 kids playing, this is awesome. My only question is how does it NOT affect the flex of a hockey stick? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyerrod Posted November 22, 2013 Share Posted November 22, 2013 (edited) As a parent with 2 kids playing, this is awesome. My only question is how does it NOT affect the flex of a hockey stick? Did you watch the video? The stick is only covered from the "slash section" down. I am curious as to how the new properties of the stick perform over all...more or less torque/possibly more injuries/etc.... and as a side note, if that were on axe or chopping maul handles it would definitely be a plus.... Edited November 22, 2013 by flyerrod Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radoran Posted November 23, 2013 Share Posted November 23, 2013 I thought you meant this: http://www.buzzfeed.com/mrloganrhoades/hockey-player-who-hates-his-stick-and-wants-to-break-it-but Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hf101 Posted November 23, 2013 Author Share Posted November 23, 2013 @radoran I'd say that Rask doesn't particularly like the shootout. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlaskaFlyerFan Posted November 23, 2013 Share Posted November 23, 2013 Those sticks will cost $1K or higher. Otherwise, they won't make any money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rink Rat Posted November 27, 2013 Share Posted November 27, 2013 I like the idea of the unbreakable hockey stick. With the speed these guys are shooting now and the amount of sticks being broken this is a great idea for the NHL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CannonHockey Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 Problem is that it will be banned. Stick needs to break under certain load. Same happened to aluminium sticks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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