Bauer Supreme 4000 Replacement Blade: the best wood blade around
Written: Aug 17 '04
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Great puck feel, great durability for wood, inexpensive
Cons: Not enough glue, not the elastic zing of a composite blade.
The Bottom Line: Buy this blade if you do not like composites. You will not regret it.
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| penguinman's Full Review: Bauer Supreme 4000 Replacement Blade |
For some reason or another, I never quite got used to the bouncy, energetic puckhandling of composite blades. I decided to lose a few miles per hour off my shot and give myself the old fashioned puck feel of a wood stick. Enter the Supreme 4000.
Construction
Like most wood blades, the 4000 is composed of a series of wood panels arranged in layers and glued together. A fiberglass sock wraps the wood, giving it more strength. The sock is then painted black, which, in addition to being aesthetically pleasing, helps with three things: 1) disguises the puck better, if you don't tape the entire length of the blade; 2) helps keep the blade from becoming waterlogged, as it is another layer that the water has to permeate; 3) tells you which parts of the blade are likely to break or waterlog due to wearthru of the paint.
The hosel is a normal length, normal size hickory plug. There isn't a whole lot of glue on it, which is a problem. Three games into using the blade, I took a slapshot and ended up hitting the poor goalie in the chest with the blade. He was not very happy about the situation; my suggestion is to beef up the glue a bit.
Durability
I am not a shrinking violet by any means, and I have a tendency to celebrate goals by pounding my stick very hard on whatever surface is available. Likewise, I tend to celebrate opposition goals or my own bad plays by pounding my stick very hard on whatever surface is available. The ice contact portion of the blade has held up extremely well, in part because I add an extra layer of tape along the bottom. The hosel has some pretty nice chunks taken out of it by skates, boards, and posts. The toe cracked rather early but splintered in such a way that it doesn't affect blade handling. In all, it has lasted much longer than I expected, standing up to at least 30 hours of ice time to date. It will probably need replacing in the near future.
Overall, if one has a non low kickpoint Mission or Easton shaft, there isn't a better wood blade on the market for the money. At $17 a pop, these are a fantastic buy.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
penguinman
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Reviews written: 20
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