True AX9 Goalie Stick – Before You Buy

Before You Buy will serve as a review type blog that will give you an in-depth look at the featured item while giving some direct review-type opinions from ourselves on the item, specifically geared toward the performance, quality, and durability of said item. Before You Buy will also give a goaltender a sense of what to expect by educating the goaltender about this product before buying and help determine if the product is right for them.

Before You Buy

Today we will be looking at the all-new True AX9 Goalie Stick which by design, aims to be an elite goalie stick with optimized balance, superior durability, and maximum strength.

Specs

Looking directly at the options for the AX9. This stick will come in Senior, Intermediate, and Junior paddle lengths from 21in. to 27in. so that everyone can find an AX9 that will fit their needs. At the Senior and Intermediate level, there will be 3 separate blades available with MC, PC2, and TC. Junior will only feature the MC curve.

Blade Summary

MC – The MC will feature a mid curve with a slightly open face and a round toe. Similar to Bauer’s P34, P20.

PC2 – The PC2 will feature a toe curve with an open face and a round toe. Similar to Bauer’s P30.

TC – The TC will feature a toe curve with an open face and a round toe. This curve will be more aggressive than the PC2. Similar to Bauer’s P31.

From The Outside

The True AX9 will be available in 2 separate colors, Black and White. The “Black” color scheme may come as a misconception to some purchasing this stick because the stick is actually a midnight blue color. Personally speaking, I think this is an amazing look to a stick with the carbon pattern being visible and appearing somewhat black to anyone not holding the stick. Moving up to the handle you will see the paint splatter grip pattern in the classic True Blue color. The White color scheme will be the same all the way through but the stick but include white paint through the paddle and handle area down to the blade, which is the same carbon midnight blue look as the black colorway. This will be better for anyone looking for a more neutral colored stick but the trade-off would be puck marks showing easier off the white paddle.

Review

Now that you have an idea of what the True AX9 is all about, let’s hop into the review aspect. When reviewing this stick, I used a 26″ Black with a TC Blade.

When first holding this stick, I was quite impressed by the overall look of this stick. The AX9 fits the perfect middle ground between simple and complex in terms of looks. The grip on the stick felt great, not too sticky on the blocker hand but just enough to get a comfortable grip on the stick during play. The weight of the stick was a noticeable feature specifically speaking about the balance. When holding the stick in a “ready” position, I found the stick was easy to control in any direction I need to move it in while being lightweight for the ease of blocker saves.

I’m not much for a natural grip on a stick and I usually cover my handle with a white tape base followed by either a grip tape or gauss finish. I wanted to give the paint splatter a try and I was thoroughly impressed with the level of control I had. Usually, I would find the stick hard to maneuver in and out of playing the puck because of the stick slipping out of my hand too easily or not being able to smoothly transition to the top of the stick from the handle because of a grippy handle. I found that it was easy to control in most situations that a goaltender goes through on a regular basis and I never felt the need to tape up the handle area.

Once getting to shoot around and play some pucks out of the corners, I noticed that the AX9 took a couple of tries to fully dial in but once comfortable with this stick, shooting is a breeze. I was able to comfortably stop pucks and clear them up the boards with the help of the TC curve which came to my aid in gaining height on these passes and clearing attempts.

Further on pucks and the AX9, I found that rebounds came off cleanly and felt easy on my hands with no harsh shock factor. Most pucks that I intently tried to redirect towards the boards did so and many ended up ramping midway up the boards or up to the glass depending on the speed and depth I had during the save.

Lastly, in terms of durability, throughout the first few weeks of use, I have yet to have any visible damage to the AX9. The bottom of the blade has no current sign of wear from dragging on the ice and the blade/paddle both have no signs of breaking down and or damage.

Summary

The True AX9 has a lot to offer from the clean looks of the stick to the lightweight design. If you are a goalie who is searching for a lightweight stick with a balanced feel that you could easily hop into quickly with little thought of adjustments, the AX9 is the stick for you. Any goalie, excluding full rights, has a True AX9 ready for them on goaliemonkey.com or at any of our MonkeySports locations!