Compare Hockey Sticks of the 2026-27 Season

Our last market comparison covered the 2022-23 season, and it's still one of the most-read things we've ever published. Three seasons later, plenty has changed: new lines, a new owner at True, and higher flagship prices. So we're back at it.

Same approach as always. We took every current senior stick from the five major brands, from the top-of-the-line flagship down through the performance and value tiers, and lined up price against weight. Our own sticks are in the tables too, so you can see exactly where we land.

What changed since our last comparison

Flagship prices kept climbing. In our 2022-23 edition, most flagships sat between $300 and $360. This season the range is $330 to $420, and the average major-brand flagship is about $375. Warrior's new Pro sticks moved from $349.99 to $369.99, and CCM's Vizion is the only stick on our list over $400.

Bauer reshuffled its lineup. Supreme is back as a full line, led by the new Supreme Fuse. Nexus has no new flagship this year and is being cleared out at retail. Bauer's limited "Innovation Series" (Proto2 and Pulse 2) carries on the short-run, test-market approach we wrote about with the Sling and AG5NT, at $389.99 each.

CCM launched three flagships: the JetSpeed FT9 Pro, the Ribcor Trigger Unleashed Pro and the 2026 Vizion. The Tacks XF Ghost carries over as the top Tacks stick.

True changed hands. True Hockey was sold in September 2025 to a group led by Graeme Roustan, a former Bauer chairman. The first big launch under the new owner is a rebuilt Catalyst line, now marketed with "SmartFlex AI" adaptive kick from top to bottom.

Warrior and Sherwood refreshed their lines. Warrior launched the Covert QR7 and Novium 3 families. Sherwood launched the Code Photon line. Sherwood is still the value-leaning major, with flagships at $329.99 and $339.99.

"Adaptive" kick points are the marketing theme of the year. True has SmartFlex AI, Sherwood has DuoFire, and Bauer has Fusion. Retailers don't even agree on how to label some of these sticks. If you're not sure what kick point actually means for your shot, start with our kick points explainer.

How to read the tables

As in past editions, we left artwork and kick point out of the judgment. Both are player preference, not a measure of quality. That leaves build quality, and weight is the easiest public stand-in for it. More carbon layers and less resin make a lighter, better-performing and more expensive stick. That's why every brand runs the same ladder: a light flagship, a heavier performance stick and a heavier still value stick.

A few ground rules:

• • Prices are regular retail in USD as of October 2026, not sale prices, from manufacturer sites and major retailers (Pure Hockey, HockeyMonkey, Inline Warehouse).
  • Weights are senior weights as published by the manufacturer or a major retailer, mostly at 85 flex. Where sources disagree, we show the range.
  • Treat anything within about 15 grams as a tie. No brand, ours included, publishes exactly how its sticks are weighed (which flex, which curve, before or after paint and grip). Small gaps on paper don't mean much on the ice.
  • We list the current model in each family. That includes 2025 models that are still a line's newest stick, like the Vapor FlyLite, but not lines being cleared out, like Nexus.

Flagship builds

The top-of-the-line stick from every family. This is where the lightest builds and the biggest price tags live.

Performance builds

Each brand's second rung: one step down in materials and roughly 30 to 50 grams heavier than the flagship.

Value builds

The entry point for adult senior sticks from each brand.

So what does it all mean?

Line the tiers up and the pattern is hard to miss:

• Major-brand flagships: about 345 to 375 grams, averaging about $375.
• Performance tier: about 390 to 435 grams, averaging about $210.
• Value tier: about 415 to 450 grams, averaging about $165.

Within a tier, the brands are remarkably close. A 360-gram Bauer, CCM, True or Warrior flagship costs between about $360 and $420, and the differences between them come down to kick point, feel and taste.

What do the extra dollars actually buy?

Run the averages from the tables and the returns shrink fast as you move up:

• Value to performance: about $45 more for about 33 grams lighter, or roughly $1.40 per gram.
• Performance to flagship: about $165 more for about 40 grams lighter, or more than $4 per gram. That's three times the cost for a similar drop.

The flagship money is real. It buys higher-grade carbon, more layers with less resin, and the newest taper and blade designs, and most players can feel the lighter, livelier result in their hands. What it doesn't buy is a harder or more accurate shot on its own. A stick gives back the energy you load into it, so the right flex, length and curve for your height, strength and style matter more to your shot than the last 30 or 40 grams. Most of the performance numbers you see in stick ads, like faster release or higher shot speed, come from the brands' own testing.

So who should pay up? Players at a high level who notice every small difference, and anyone who simply loves the feel of a top-end stick. For most adult and beer-league players, the step from a value stick to a well-built lighter stick is the one you'll feel most. The step from there to a $400 flagship is mostly paying for the last few percent, plus the marketing that comes with it.

That price gap is what we built Twig around. Our Rogue D Pro and Dispatch C Pro sit in the flagship weight class at $185.99, which is less than any major brand's performance-tier stick. Our Rogue D weighs about what the performance sticks do, at $145.99. Two Twig Pros cost $371.98 and ship free, about the same as one average flagship.

One more honest tip: last season's flagships are on clearance right now at 20 to 50 percent off at most big retailers. If you're set on a big-brand stick, that's the smart way to buy one. If you'd rather have a current build at that price every day of the year, that's what we're here for.

Want to see how far things have moved? Here's our 2022-23 comparison. Not sure what size or flex you need? Start with our stick sizing guide.

Have a great season!