A Vapor evolution continues

By Michael Caples –

Evan Baker says that the Vapor APX stick “is the perfect evolution of the Vapor X:60 stick”.

He should know — after all, Baker is the category manager of sticks for Bauer hockey. And according to Baker, Bauer’s latest stick features what people loved about last year’s X:60, and then some.

“We kept the shaft Micro-Feel II shape the same — double concave walls for increased grip with rounder corners for better in hand maneuverability — and we have continued our use of TeXtreme carbon fiber, which is used exclusively by Bauer in hockey sticks, but improved everything else related to the dynamic performance of the stick.”

The APX stick is expected to be the weapon of choice for the newest member of the Bauer team — Alex Ovechkin. The Capitals’ superstar will be working with a stick that caters to every different type of shot.

“We tweaked the Intelli-Sense Shot Technology flex profile so that it has an even quicker release on wrist and snap shots while still maintaining power on slap shots and one-timers because of the secondary kick point in the handle area,” Baker said. “The blade core now consists of a patented dual density core design that allows us to have a feel comparable to the Supreme Total One from our Power Core material while maintaining torsional stability for improved accuracy at a lighter weight because of our Aero Foam material thus improving the balance of the stick so it feels lighter.  In fact, the stick is lighter — by about 15 grams.”

During the design process for the new stick, Baker and the Bauer team of engineers even tweaked the stuff that holds the stick together.

“Our team developed a proprietary resin system, or the glue that holds the stick components together, called ‘eLASTech’ that contains two specific elements to help improve feel and performance,” Baker said. “The first helps to improve the overall feel of the stick by absorbing energy and the other reduces the growth of micro fractures caused by slashes, face-off impacts and blocked shots that can lead to breakage, and it will also help keeping the stick feeling newer, longer.”

And while the APX is the newest member of the Vapor family, Baker said it is a mix of both the Vapor and Supreme equipment lines.

“In my mind, the Vapor APX could be described as the perfect combination of what we feel is the best performing flex profile for shooting with the best feeling blade profile that is available to a consumer today,” Baker said.  “It takes the dynamic flex and shooting performance of Vapor and combines it with the feel of a Total One stick.  It uses our most advanced carbon fibers, core materials, molding process and resin systems to make our most technologically advanced stick to date.”

Bauer’s category manager for sticks said that despite being one of hockey’s household names, there are still roadblocks when designing sticks.

“One of the major things we are dealing with right now is the increasing cost of the materials used to make composite sticks — technology is expensive for everyone and trying to increase product performance for the same cost we did last year is getting increasingly more and more challenging,” Baker said. “Compare hockey to the cycling, golf or baseball industries, where they are using similar carbon materials in similar ways and the prices of those products continues to climb as technology evolves.

“Managing durability expectations is another one.  We do our very best to develop sticks and manufacturing technologies to make better sticks but our consumer also need to understand that the materials that make a stick durable, like fiberglass, are the same materials that can have a negative impact on the weight, balance and performance of a product when they are looking at the most elite level products.  One that we will definitely put to the test this season will be understanding the importance of having the ‘best’ stick because it’s the most expensive versus getting the best performing stick you can afford.”

Bauer will also be releasing the Vapor X 7.0 stick, which Baker has high hopes for, as well.

“For the first time ever in our history we will be offering two mono-comp Vapor sticks in the same family — Vapor APX with all of the advanced materials and the Vapor X 7.0 that is probably the best ‘second’ stick in any family and in our mind can compete with all of the other brands elite sticks head to head.”

And there’s more to come, according to Baker. He wouldn’t reveal what it is, however.

“I think people will be surprised with what we do in the next 6 to 12 months,” Baker said. “That said, I can almost guarantee they are going to love it.”

For more information, visit bauer.com.