Bauer Sling Hockey Stick Review
Leave it to Bauer to absolutely revolutionize the hockey experience. They started the slingshot style with the Nexus ADV. Now they’ve cleaned up their product and cut out the unnecessary fluff. They heard you loud and clear—you wanted more control and more durability, and Bauer returns with a refined version of their prodigious SLINGTECH design.
Evolution
Evolving from the Nexus ADV, the Bauer Sling comes in with a newly optimized SLINGTECH blade for better release and control than ever before. Keeping with a similar weight class to the Nexus ADV at 375 grams, this stick goes a step further with its advancements in durability, control, kick and balance points, and even Bauer’s own SLINGTECH.
SLINGTECH 2.0
SLINGTECH technology—as the name implies—is designed like a slingshot, making shots more powerful while requiring less work from the user. This technology first came with the Nexus ADV, and Bauer has further upgraded SLINGTECH to have even better strength, power, and control than its predecessor.
Mechanism
The top of the blade above the hole is the stiff part, which stabilizes the blade during the loading period. The bottom part is the flexible portion that bends and pulls on the stiff upper part to create a slingshot effect, meaning a quicker and stronger release. The slingshot is its own mechanism — instead of doing all the work, you can let the blade work for you.
Aerofoam + Epoxy
In the original SLINGTECH design, the entire blade was created with Bauer’s own Aerofoam material, which helped it stay light while allowing it to keep its strength. With the newly refined SLINGTECH 2.0 design, the blade is now made of two parts: Aerofoam and a stronger, more flexible epoxy. The addition of the epoxy in the build enhances the stick’s overall durability, and integrating vertical carbon bridges in the foam’s fusion makes the stick much more stable.
Increased Strength
It’s a bit complicated, so here’s a shorter version: with Bauer’s new innovation, the blade is now 15% sturdier on impact than it was in the original SLINGTECH design. That means your teammates can finally pass to or shoot at you as hard as they want, and you don’t have to worry about losing control of the puck or your blade snapping.
Increased Power
The Bauer Sling has now further enhanced its SLINGTECH innovation through its use of Bauer’s new SLINGTECH 2.0 design. With SLINGTECH 2.0, the hole is smaller, adding more stability and reliability in receiving and taking passes and shots. The bottom section is stronger and more flexible with the epoxy in 2.0, giving the stick more power and durability.
Taping the Bauer Sling
Similar to the Nexus ADV, feel free to tape the blade in whatever way you choose. Whether your style involves tape from heel to toe, not taping the toe, only taping the toe, just taping the bottom section, or even taping only the toe and the heel (if that’s what you prefer), the tape job will not change the stick’s effectiveness in any way.
ER SPINE Tech Shaft
With the Bauer Sling’s new material and weight readjustments, the shaft is now thicker, making for a more optimized kick point in the shaft. In addition to the faster transfer of energy that Bauer’s ER SPINE shaft technology brings, releasing the puck is now 10% faster.
ER SPINE Technology
The Bauer Sling uses ER SPINE technology, which is a five-sided shaft that improves grip and the overall feel of the stick. With this design, the stick contours around the palm, making it easier to control the puck.
Final Thoughts
The Sling is such an interesting innovation. Bauer’s improvement in its SLINGTECH technology has additionally allowed them to readjust the weight and materials that went into the Bauer Sling’s overall build. The Bauer Sling is able to feature a thinner and lighter blade due to the inclusion of the stronger epoxy, meaning that the rest of the stick is thicker. This then further optimizes the stability in the stick’s kick point, along with the stick’s ability to channel your energy into your shot.
Reviewed By: Katie Lakusta
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