Hockey stick flex, explained

Flex is how much a hockey stick shaft bends when you push on it. The number is roughly the force in pounds it takes to bend the shaft one inch, so a lower number bends more easily. A good starting point is half your body weight in pounds. From there it comes down to how you shoot.

What the number means

A 77 flex needs about 77 pounds of force to bend an inch. A 50 bends easier, a 20 easier still. When you load a shot, the shaft bends and then snaps back, and that snap adds speed to the puck. Too stiff for you and you never load it, so you lose that snap. Too soft and it bends too much and feels like a noodle on hard shots.

Start at half your body weight

Weigh 150 pounds, start near a 77. Weigh 100, start near a 50. It is a starting point, not a rule. Two things push you off it:

• You mostly take quick wrist shots and snaps close to your body: go a little softer.
• You wind up for slap shots from distance: go a little stiffer.

Cutting a stick down also stiffens it. Every inch you trim adds a few points of effective flex, so a trimmed 77 plays stiffer than 77.

How Maila keeps it simple

We make one flex per size, chosen to fit the player it is built for: Senior is 77, Intermediate is 50, Junior is 20. No wall of options to second-guess. Pick your size, pick your color, play.

Flex is one piece of the puzzle. For length, size class and handedness, start with how to choose a hockey stick, or let find your stick do the math with you.