TPS R2 Blade—A good choice when the Synergy II is impossible to find?
Written: Nov 20 '07
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Great durability, decent price, fair curve selection
Cons: Some loss of feel
The Bottom Line: If you're fed up with not being able to find Easton Synergy II blades, this is a good replacement product
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| puckmugger's Full Review: Tps RB8 R2 Senior&Junior Hockey Blade |
King of the Mountain
Easton still rules the composite stick market. I’d argue that the Warrior stuff is almost as good, but that might make things confusing if I started that here, so I’ll leave that debate for another time. The bottom line is that more guys in the NHL use Easton sticks than any other brand. With wood stick users in the NHL down to a half dozen or so (last I heard) that’s a lot of Easton advertising out there. The other brands have a lot of catching up to do.
However, in one way, Easton runs quite a bit behind. They simply can’t (or won’t) keep up with the demand for their product. Even with their top sticks selling well over $200 these days, it can be hard to find what you’re looking for toward the middle of the season, especially after Christmas. You see, Easton sends your local retailer one order a year. Not only is it quite a challenge to forecast stick sales for a full year, retailers are lucky if they get all of what they order. Out orders were typically about 75 to 80 percent of what we wanted in previous years on Easton stock.
This creates real issues for players who want to use the same Sakic curve on the same model of stick all year. I get a flood of emails each year from players looking for their stick and unable to find it anywhere. Once in a while I can help. Often I’m at as big a loss in finding Easton stuff as the rest of the world.
What’s the point?
I know, you’re wondering how does this all fit in a review of the R2 replacement blade? I hear some of you thinking loudly to yourself, “Come on Scott, Easton doesn’t even make the R2!” To all of you I say, “Duh and keep your thoughts down so I can concentrate!”
TPS’s R2 is one of the better choices on the market for players searching to replace an Easton Synergy blade.
The design
The R2 is a short hosel replacement blade for tapered shafts. This means that it will fit in sticks like the Synergy II and the Warrior Dolomite II. Tapered blades are also a good choice for use in cut down one-piece sticks. If you break a one piece, you can cut the shaft just about the old blade and insert a new blade. (Here’s a hint, most one-piece sticks are actually two-piece sticks with the blade fused in place anyway).
Louisville’s R2 is a composite replacement blade. It consists of Graphite and Kevlar. Rumor has it there is a little eye of newt tossed in just for some extra goal scoring mojo as well.
Durability
One thing several of my customers who have switched to the R2 have really liked is that the R2 outlasts their Synergy II blades. One player who has a heavy slapshot that he utilizes often commented that the R2 was lasting about six months where the Synergy II was lasting a month or two. Three to six times the durability is a pretty good improvement in my book.
Performance
With durability improvements can come a loss in another area. With the R2, feel is a little weaker than that of the Synergy II. It’s still better than many if not most of the blades on the market though. In fact one of my regulars was very unhappy with the feel of the Dolomite blade and found the R2 to be a considerable improvement. I bring this up because I haven’t heard any other complaints about the Dolomite blades which have become quite popular.
While stick feel might be slightly lower than that of the Syn II, shot power doesn’t seem to be an issue. I’ve been on the receiving end of shots from a few players who made the switch and can tell you that they didn’t loose any pop from where I was standing. (I have the bruises to prove it too).
Curves
The R2 comes in a nice variety of curves, many of which are similar enough to the Easton blades to make the average bear quite happy. Making a hockey player happy is a much taller order, but still well within the realm of possibilities.
Nash is similar to the Sakic curve with a moderately, deep mid-curve and a slightly open face and a round toe.
Morrow is close to the Lidstrom curve. It is a deep heel-curve with a very open face and a square toe on a long blade. The lie is a little different, but still close to the Lidstrom.
Tucker Is similar to Easton’s Drury blade. It is a short heel curved blade that is very deep. The Tucker isn’t quite as open as the Drury so it won’t be quite as handy close to the net, but it’s something that most Drury curve fans will be able to work with.
Messier is a short bladed mid curve that is very deep with an open face.
Parting Thoughts
The R2 is a pretty good product in its own right. It’s pretty close to on par with the Easton gear overall as long as you are willing to factor in the tradeoff between durability and performance. In my experience most recreational players are happy to sacrifice a little performance for something that lasts longer. It’s not like hockey is cheap or something. The R2 sells for about $55, which is slightly less than the $65 price tag on the Synergy II blades.
© 2007 Scott Noble – All rights reserved. Unauthorized use prohibited.
You might also enjoy my book on hockey, Hockey for Weekend Warriors. Click here to read the reviews.
A few of my other reviews that you might find helpful:
Easton Ultra Graphite Blade
Easton Synthesis Blade (This was renamed the Synergy II)
Recommended:
Yes
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