15 replies to this topic

[Dupes]

These sticks will replace the EQ line shortly.

[Rink Rat]

I was speaking to someone in Easton a while back. And he infered that they would be dumping the EQ50 by the new year. Didn't give me any info on names or changes.
But he did say that there was a few sticks out there at the pro level in some testing stages.
Guess here it is.
Is this the new Easton catalog? Or preview catalog?
I haven't seen it yet.

[malcb33]

Interesting! Does it say "Synergy" anywhere on the stick? Weird to see both Warrior and Easton do away with both their heritage sticks at the same time (Synergy and Dolomite).

[MoNo_87]

those sticks are awesome ... i've been to the 2012 Easton roadshow last week and i've saw the new Mako and all I can say it's WOW you guys will really appreciate that brand new line for sure !!!

[- M]

I can't believe Easton actually went through with marketing these tiny weights in the EQ50. I would've expected these gimmicks from a brand who thinks it's a good idea to reduce weight and drag by adding holes in hockey sticks and introducing new uniform fabrics.

[tellahoohooo]

Just had Easton honor a warranty on my brand new Synergy ST Grip with the Mako M5...should get it in a couple of days. Hall replaces Sakic curve so hopefully that isn't too off the mark.

god it's ugly though.

[Yetso]

I actually like the look, I paint the bottom of my sticks white anyways, depending on how it feels I might cross over to Easton now.

[twistoffate19]

Figured it was better to bump than start a new thread. I picked up a Mako on the April 7th release date. I've used it twice since and figured I'd give my initial impressions and thoughts.

Easton Mako
100 Flex - Parise - Grip

Aesthetics
Being completely honest, I thought it looked better in pictures, but it is still a very good looking stick. I loved the look of the RS, and still think the RS is graphics-wise better, but the Mako is a unique look that absolutely stands out.

8.5/10

Weight and Balance
Another thought I had when I plucked it off the shelf was that it felt a little heavier than I expected it to be. That completely changed when I got it on the ice. The balance of this stick was incredible, and it felt very light in my hands once I got out on the ice.

9/10

Blade
I love that they included the Z-Tac coating on the blades for a retail stick. I find I don't go through as much tape on blades with Z-Tac. Puck feel wise, this stick comes as advertised. Phenomenal puck feel. Stick handling was very easy. I noticed I wasn't taking that extra glance I normally do as I carry the puck. Very responsive blade. Recieving passes was great as I didn't find the puck bouncing as much as it did on the RS. On the times where I'd lose control stick handling, I found that recovery was aided by the feel of the blade as I could "find" the puck easier than with some of the other sticks I've used.

10/10

Shaft and Flex
The grip on this one (at least to me) is nearly perfect. There is enough to make it a grip stick, but it doesn't seem as sticky/tacky as previous Easton grip sticks have for me. The grip coating also ends at the lower 1/4 of the stick. The shaft itself fills my hands quite nicely (yeah yeah I know). Almost feels like a very slightly thicker SE16 shaft.

The stick flexes extremely well. It seemed to play very true to the 100 flex rating. More on the flex when I talk about shooting

9/10

Shooting
Fantastic. Really fantastic shooting stick. Snap shots and wrist shots were way beyond what I expected this stick to produce for me. I thought I'd found the premium shooting stick with the RS, but the Mako so far is out-performing it. Slapshots felt about the same as the RS I was using, but I'm still wowed by the pop of wrist shots and snap shots. The stick shoots very true in terms of aim. I was not only shooting these pucks with some damn good velocity, but they were going exactly where I wanted them. I am extremely impressed with this stick's shooting.

10/10

Durability
It's only been two skates so I can't comment on overall durability, but so far it's holding up well. There are some black marks in the white areas but that was to be expected. I'll keep updating my progress with the stick as I use it more.

**No rating yet**

Overall, if you have the money or means to pick one of these up, I highly recommend it. I think Easton did a damn fine job with this stick, and believe me, if I wasn't re-vamping the golf bag for the summer, I'd be picking up another one of these in a heartbeat.

[twistoffate19]

I've used my Mako twice since the last update. This thing is still maintaining all the ratings I gave it. Durability has been fine for me. I don't play in a super chippy league, so major hacks and whacks come rarely. Still, even through normal games the stick is not showing signs of wear. Sparse black marks on the white paint, but that was to be expected.

It seems like Easton really hit one out of the park with this stick. Yes, I'll agree it is essentially an SE16, but it is an improved upon SE16. They took one of their best sticks and made it even better. I have not a single ounce of buyer's remorse on this stick.

[perh4ps]

How they used to make the SE16, probably still is the same for the Mako. Though ppl could find this interesting!

[twistoffate19]

Interesting video for sure.

Update:

Mako is still going strong performance wise. After the initial "nothing can be wrong with my new stick!" phase, I've started to notice that while my wristers, snapshots, and even backhand seems to show a lot more velocity and accuracy, my slapshot has dropped off a bit from what it was with my RS sticks. I'm not to worried about this as I still have a pretty darn good slapshot for a perrenial beer-leaguer, but I do like unleashing a bomb every now and then. From what I understood of the Easton marketing though was that this stick was built for speed, so quick wrist shots and snap shots would be the goal.

One other area I'm quite happy with is puck handling. The feel has remained excellent and the blade is still as stiff as it was off the rack. I love how light the stick feels once you have it on the ice. It is one of, if not the best balanced stick I have ever used.

I still highly recommend this stick. It does get marked up, but it's a white stick. You have to expect that.

I have played 3 times since my last update there. If anyone has any questions about the Mako at all, shoot me a PM.

**I probably will not be updating the Mako for the next 2-3 weeks as I have a retail Reebok Ai9 waiting for me at home. Scored it brand new in my curve and flex for a very good deal, so I'll be using that for the next bunch of skates. I've only used one Reebok stick before and it was a Jarret Stoll prostock, so I'm hoping the Ai9 is a good one**

[theflash0000]

Sorry if this is considered blasphemous, but I really wish Easton would release a non-white Mako, preferably all black. I'm a huge SE16 fan, since that's been gone I've been using EQ50 shafts and OPSs, tried the RS, too. I would love to essentially have a new SE16, but I don't like the all white.

[1117]

Sorry if this is considered blasphemous, but I really wish Easton would release a non-white Mako, preferably all black. I'm a huge SE16 fan, since that's been gone I've been using EQ50 shafts and OPSs, tried the RS, too. I would love to essentially have a new SE16, but I don't like the all white.

Obviously one would have to order six sticks, but saw that you can choose graphics (RS, Mako, S19 Pure) on custom Makos at PSHG now.

[zurk89]

Sorry if this is considered blasphemous, but I really wish Easton would release a non-white Mako, preferably all black. I'm a huge SE16 fan, since that's been gone I've been using EQ50 shafts and OPSs, tried the RS, too. I would love to essentially have a new SE16, but I don't like the all white.

i thnk the blue se16 is one of the nicest easton graphics ever, eq50 was pretty sharp too...rs is ok i think its lost its hype.

[twistoffate19]

This update isn't so much for my use, as the Mako continues to be one of the best sticks I've purchased in a long time, this is more an observation for my dad.

I purchased a Mako for him from a person on another board (looked brand new, got it for $125). He uses same specs as me, 100 flex, grip, Parise. He's used it three times since I bought for him and I notice an absolute difference in his puck-handling, passing and shot. Now my dad is not a great player by any stretch. He is solid. A good beer league defenceman who gets in the lanes and plays his position. Since I gave him the Mako I've noticed that his puck handling seems more fluid and confident. His clears are harder, and most important, he's shooting more with more velocity.

Even he was raving about how much difference he feels in the Mako, and he's never been a big gear guy. He was using an Ian White prostock RS before the Mako, so it isn't like he upgraded from a wood stick or anything.

For my dad to be raving about a stick, and for a stick to actually show a visual improvement in parts of his game, that to me sticks out as a great selling point of this stick.

**Also, like I said, I couldn't be happier with my own Mako. Still shooting hard. Hasn't lost the pop at all**

[liveevil]

That was a great review, very helpful and informative! Now if only I could get a prostock one in a lower flex...