Easton Synergy HTX Hockey Stick Review

With their most recent line of sticks, Easton hockey resurrects the wildly popular and groundbreaking Synergy name. Led by the flagship model, the Synergy HTX hockey stick, Easton has worked to provide products that meet the demands for every level of hockey player. With this brand new release, we were excited to get our hands on a demo model from the great folks over at Easton.

htx-closeupDesign and Appearance

Easton has always had a strong sense when it comes to the outward design and appearance of their products, and the HTX stick is no exception. The stick is mostly black and silver with some white accenting and red stripes swirling from the top down to the bottom of the shaft and into the blade, giving the stick a nice flowing look. The Easton name appears in big block letters in the middle of the shaft, while the Synergy HTX name appears slightly smaller a little further up. The brand logo also appears on the blade.

Features

With the new Synergy line, Easton has introduced their innovative HyperTune Technology, which matches a blade’s stiffness profile to it’s shaft’s stiffness profile. This new feature was designed to work in conjunction with Easton’s HyperToe technology, which was first introduced with their Velocity line and allows the blade to act like a diving board during the shooting process—the further out on the toe the puck is, the more velocity and pop is gained. Internally, the blade uses an aerospace-quality Airex Foam that is incredibly lightweight and offers excellent puck feel.

At 425 grams, the Synergy HTX is heavier than Bauer’s Vapor APX2 (404 grams) and Nexus 8000 models (410 grams), but slightly below Reebok’s RibCore hockey stick (430 grams). The HTX is also well-balanced with an even weight distribution throughout the shaft of the stick, and maintained that balance even after I cut it down about an inch.

Performance

By reviving the Synergy name and tacking it onto a brand new line of hockey sticks, Easton is setting the bar high, considering the innovative and groundbreaking nature of some of the early Synergy hockey sticks. Unfortunately, Easton seems comfortable resting on their laurels and name recognition with their latest release.

Almost everything about the performance of the Easton Synergy HTX is average compared to other high-end hockey sticks. It doesn’t really bring anything new to the table to enhance the performance of the stick or the players using it.

When I first got the stick out on the rink, I started doing some stick handling with the puck, and I certainly wasn’t blown away when by the feel for the puck provided by the HTX. Oftentimes, as I was stick handling back and forth, the blade just felt dead when the puck hit it, and I noticed myself handling the puck with less confidence because I didn’t have that feel for the puck. This was especially apparent when I used it playing roller hockey.

Shooting was better, but, again, I wasn’t blown away. I definitely like using a regular shaft over the elliptical shaft used in many of Easton’s other stick. I always find the elliptical shaft negatively affects shooting accuracy, especially on slapshots, but I didn’t notice any of that with the Synergy HTX. Accuracy was good and the release on my shots was smooth. However, the stick didn’t provide much in terms of enhanced power on my shots. This was especially true on my slapshots, where I felt like it actually took more effort to get a decent shot off, whereas I would think the HyperTune technology would help load up more power. This was a vastly different experience than when I first used my CCM RBZ Stage 2 hockey stick, which provided an immediate boost in power on both wrist shots and slapshots.

Durability has been a concern with Easton hockey sticks for many years, but I didn’t have any issues with the Synergy HTX. The stock blocked a couple shots, took some slashes and was even pounded over the crossbar of the net and didn’t show so much as a crack. The shaft is actually in really good shape with very minimal wear or tear despite several hours of use.I’ve actually had pretty good luck over the years with Easton sticks not breaking on me, and so far the HTX is holding up well to the rigors of rec league hockey.

Overall Impressions

There are a lot of Easton hockey faithfuls who will get their hands on this stick and love the way it performs—and that’s fine. You don’t remain a household name in hockey equipment manufacturing, especially hockey sticks, the way Easton has without producing quality products for players. But, as someone who uses a variety of hockey sticks to demo and review over the course of a year, I felt like the Easton Synergy HTX failed to bring anything new to the table to offer players. Compared to other models I’ve used from other brands, the HTX is an average offering that will get the job done but won’t do many favors in terms of helping players enhance their game.

Interesting in purchasing the Easton Synergy HTX hockey stick? Head over to Inline Warehouse for more information.

 

One comment

  1. My son has had two of the senior Synergy sticks split and swell at the heel of the blade. Both out of warranty but only about four months old. There must be a design flaw. I was at one of the local stores in town and asked the staff about this. He had heard of this too. Won’t by another Easton. Going with the CCM

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *