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2021 Guide to buying the perfect field hockey stick – Comparing Options

2021 Guide to buying the perfect field hockey stick – Comparing Options
March 4, 2021 RAGE Custom
In Info

Looking to Buy a Field Hockey Stick?

Field hockey sticks have standardized formulation and are made by a handful of factories using the same materials!

It’s 2021… people are catching on and it’s becoming common knowledge in many industries that brands do not manufacture the products they sell. In most cases, the same factories are producing for all of them.

Field hockey is NO different!

Some sports brands have started to become transparent about this. Proving that at the end of the day, the only thing you are paying for is a different label and the cost of their marketing.

You are a modern consumer and you have a right to evaluate whether traditional brands are offering real value and not just some gimmicky old marketing spin.

In this post, we’ll talk about things that matter to you, that matter for the environment & matter for the sport itself.

In this day & age, when there has been such tremendous advancement in so many fields, are you content being overcharged for just different graphics & a few millimeters shaved off the head? Is a new slightly different mould really that revolutionary?

What about

You & What Really Matters!

Why not ask for real innovation & control? Consider the following:

  1. You should demand a field hockey stick that has the right bend & head shape for your game?
  2. Is the correct length based on your height, so that you don’t suffer from short-term injuries and long-term back problems?
  3. It should be a weight that feels comfortable in your hands & compliments your game?
  4. It should be easy to choose things like grip color, stick finish & whether you want Hyper Feel on the head or not?
  5. And it should all fit your budget? No Compromises!
That’s a very fair Criteria, now let’s look at where we can possibly find you such a perfect field hockey stick.

Brands That Started During or Before the 70s

Baby Boomer Brands

As far as the mass-produced old brands are concerned, their archaic business model is based on an old-fashioned supply chain structure and hence incapable of providing versatility or customization options.

Yes, they may provide budget-friendly offers sometimes, but we will talk about how that too comes with a much steeper environmental cost a little later in this article.

Older traditional brands & their subsequent supply chains are sadly one-trick ponies. The trick goes something like this…

  • Create 8 to 12 stick graphics every year
  • Order in bulk & fill up shops
  • Try to sell everything, rinse & repeat!

Unfortunately, “You” and what “You” want are irrelevant, with them it’s all about what “They” have & what “They” want you to buy.

So, based on the Criteria we are looking for above, we’d call Baby Boomer Brands, a Fail!

Brands That Came Tumbling After

The Hybrids

Hybrid Brands are the ones that allow personalization but still typically follow Baby Boomer processes to source their products.

Almost all of them, don’t make their own sticks and source their products in factories that specialize in mass production NOT Mass Customization.

While they offer personalization options, they tend to have limited choices and charge a steep price point for these selections. If you’re not looking for complete customization but want more than just a standard manufactured field hockey stick, The Hybrid brands could be an option “Worth exploring”.

A Surprising Contender

The Field Hockey Factories

This list wouldn’t be complete if we didn’t mention… The Field Hockey Factories!

Contrary to popular belief, you do have the option of directly reaching out to factories by searching on Alibaba or Google.

Unlike others, we are not going to scare you by making unsubstantiated claims that the quality will be horrible, your money will be lost, the stick will never arrive. In fact, Alibaba has quite strict quality controls, and if the company happens to be a verified supplier with some trade assurance certificates, you’ll get more transparency & data than what most brands provide.

The biggest benefit is of course price but the downside is that most established factories will have a minimum order quantity & will require a substantial amount of time to produce samples. Communicating what you want exactly can be a hassle sometimes too.

So, while factories are theoretically fully equipped to meet the criteria, for individual or smaller orders they may not be the right fit. So, we’ll give The Factories, a “fun to explore but tread lightly”.

RAGE® Custom – Field Hockey Sticks

We are the first, the original field hockey customization company that started the revolution!

When we say “Custom Field Hockey Sticks”, some people think it’s just about the graphics. As this quick video explains, we are about so much more:

We check all the boxes when it comes to providing a world-class product & service… For us “Custom” means, making something that matters to YOU!

We offer:

  1. Mould Shape options to create a field hockey stick with the proper bend and head shape for your game.
  2. Correct Length options to ensure your field hockey stick does not cause short-term or long-term back problems.
  3. Extensive Weight options to ensure the stick feels comfortable in your hands and compliments your game.
  4. Add-On choices including grip color, glossy or matte lacquer finish, Hyper Feel on the head, etc.
  5. You control the composition, so you choose what you pay for your stick.

And… there’s more…

We are the only ones in the world, who give you complete control over the stick graphics!
Ordering a custom field hockey stick couldn’t be easier… Just use our Online Design Tool or Free Design Service. You can also download these Vector Templates to design & order your own field hockey stick.
We also give you the unique ability to collaborate on designs as a team by using the Share Design feature.
For bulk orders, we offer huge discounts and with us, you can set up individual names & numbers within bulk orders at no extra charges. This opens up new possibilities for schools, clubs & businesses.
We also give a Complete Satisfaction Guarantee & Warranty as part of our Return Policy.

Manufacturing has changed, it’s become consumer centric and that’s a very good thing. Its pushing companies to innovate in a real way that benefits the end consumer, not come up with useless jargon and a yearly product range that lets them charge more for a few months.

On a Side but Serious Note

Before ending, let’s just pause & address a very serious topic. And that topic is…

The Impact of You Buying a Field Hockey Stick on the Environment!

As sports lovers & players, we have an extra responsibility to make sure that our passion for playing field hockey does not unnecessarily harm the planet.

It’s quite popular these days to play the “climate card” and unfortunately greenwashing is quite real.

Composite field hockey sticks fall under the category of thermosetting polymers. This means that once a stick comes out of the mould, it can’t be melted or reshaped into anything else. We as a sports fraternity cannot shy away from this fact. While the terms fiberglass & carbon may seem like naturally occurring substances, the thermoset resin used means that broken sticks & excess inventory are destined for landfills.

In our own way, we are experimenting with Recyclable Fiber Reinforced Thermoplastics to try and create field hockey sticks that can withstand the rigors of the sport. Unlike many others, we continue to offer wooden outdoor, indoor & junior sticks as an alternative.

But instead of claiming that we have the perfect environmental solution, we’ll leave you with the following, and you can logically choose an option that you feel is better for the environment:

To control costs & maximize profits, traditional brands order in bulk based on yearly estimations, these estimations are usually not correct & so a certain quantity ends up in landfills.

With our made-to-order approach, no product we offer is wastefully made, so whilst work on bringing alternative eco-friendly materials continues, we believe that our approach of slowing things down and producing high quality products collaboratively with customers is a far better & sustainable solution.

“Mass Produced” or “Made Only When Needed”? We hope you choose the latter!

Conclusion

We’d love for you to start your journey of taking slow, thoughtful & meaningful decisions about the products you buy, with us.

Let’s get started on a field hockey stick like no other!