Knapper AK Series Ball Hockey Sticks

A new brand has been released. Knapper is bringing in a whole new line of product starting with the AK Ball Hockey Sticks. These sticks take into account the nature of ice hockey and what players enjoy most, lightness in their sticks. The twist is that it is designed for ball hockey.

We spoke about ABS Blades and how they can improve the life span of your stick as well as reducing friction on hard surfaces. If you're looking for a new stick with ABS, you now have a choice. What Knapper did is they took the design of a composite stick and inserted a strip of ABS on the bottom of the blade. That way, your blade has the same Carbon/Fiberglass ratio as your stick. A very similar design was once available however today it is hard to find.

We currently have 3 different series of AK sticks in stock.

The AK5:

• Under 600g in weight
• Shaft: 10% Carbon and 90% Fiberglass
• Blade: ABS Blade with Composite Reinforcement
• 75/85 Flex
• Mid-Curve (Sakic)
• Length: 66"

The AK7:

• 565g in weight +/- 10g
• Shaft: 30% Carbon and 70% Fiberglass
• Blade: ABS Blade with Composite Reinforcement
• 75/85 Flex
• Mid-Curve (Sakic)
• Length: 66"

The AK9:

• 500g in weight +/- 10g
• Shaft: 85% Carbon and 15% Fiberglass
• Blade: ABS Blade with Composite Reinforcement
• 75/85 Flex
• Mid-Curve (Sakic)
• Length: 66"

All sticks are available on our site, www.ballhockeygear.ca, starting at only $79.99. No more splitting blades and no heavy wood sticks with ABS. You will now be able to improve the speed of your shot and keep your blade lasting much longer.

Get your stick HERE

Using BladeTape for Ball Hockey

BladeTape is not your ordinary hockey tape. In fact, it's better than your ordinary hockey tape. BladeTape will provide you with more grip and better control in your play. It has grown more popular in the world of ice hockey and it's starting to make its way into ball hockey and roller hockey. It's the new alternative to taping your stick.

                                 

Rubber better than Cloth Tape

                                                 

Cloth tape has always been the number one use in hockey whereas in ball hockey, some players don't even use tape since it adds friction to their blades against the hard surfaces. Cloth tape can provide protection and added grip however a single strip does not protect your blade and the grip is very limited. The tape also collects dust and dirt.  

BladeTape has created rubber tape with a raised cross pattern. The rubber gives you more grip and more protection to your blade. This also prevents dust from building up on your tape. Traditional tape in ball hockey is known to accumulate dust and dirt causing the ball to "slip" off your blade. 

Another feature is that you'll be able to save time from taping your stick. The tape comes in the shape of a blade so all that's required is to peel, stick and play. No more having to spend time taping your stick before the game and it lasts up to 15 games or more. For ball hockey, it has a tendency to last much longer than 15 games since the impact of the ball is much less than a puck. 

Recommended with Frontier Blades
As mentioned in our previous post on ABS Blades, which you can view HERE, BladeTape is an exceptional partner with the Frontier ABS Blades or any ABS Blade in that matter. The reason why is because BladeTape does not cover the bottom of the stick, allowing you to have 0 friction on the surface you're playing on. Unfortunately if you're using a composite blade, you won't be able to protect the bottom from splitting. That is why we recommend using ABS Blades to give you that on-ice frictionless feeling and BladeTape will give you better grip and control in your handling.

Change your game today by switching to ABS Blades and BladeTape. You will not be disappointed.

     

NHL/AHL Teams Available!!!

BladeTape is available in various colours but is also available in NHL and AHL teams. We currently only have the Canadian teams on our site however we can order all teams. If you'd like a team we don't have on our site, you can email us at info@ballhockeygear.ca to make a request. Now you can play using your favourite hockey team. 

       

         

   

Why use ABS Hockey Replacement Blades?

The big question today in ball hockey is why use ABS blades over the Composite blades? The question you should be asking yourself is why AREN'T you using ABS blades? For the price you pay for these high end sticks so that you can have the perfect flex and lightness, is it really worth it in the long run? Deals and sales on composite and wood sticks are great and they entice you to think you are saving money, but in reality you could have spent the same money on an ABS blade that would last you twice as long. Now that's a deal!

What is ABS?

ABS stands for acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (that's a mouthful), which is essentially a hard plastic. When you apply the right amount of heat, the blade can be shaped, molded or curved as necessary. This "hard plastic" is what adds durability to the blade unlike wood or composite blades. The downside to this material, is that there is a loss of feel and an increase in weight but does that actually affect your shot in ball hockey?

Ball Hockey VS. Ice Hockey
Ball hockey is a sport that is very similar to ice hockey. In fact, they're practically one in the same. The difference is the floor surface and a ball instead of a puck. It's all the difference it needs to chew up your stick. You know exactly what we're talking about. The common splitting blade.

This happens because of the floor surface. Unlike ice, there is no smooth surface when playing ball hockey. Whether you're on slab, gym, dek, or a stick's worst enemy, asphalt, the friction
between the blade and surface is no match for wood or composite sticks.

A cheap solution is to just add tape to hold your splitting stick together and problem solved. It seems easy enough except now you're adding even more friction which will now impact your shot and cause you to "stick". 

The Cure

When the blade of your stick loses it's magic, instead of spending another $100 on a new stick after purchasing one several weeks ago, simply cut off your blade and replace it with an ABS Blade. Now you'll be able to keep composite lightness of your shaft and only have your blade with added weight. Will it slow you down? Perhaps by a fraction but not entirely. In fact, you may even speed up your shot because you'll be removing that unwanted friction from your tape. 

You'll now have a smooth slide allowing you to move the ball a lot easier. You can still add tape to the face of your blade for grip on the ball. Our BladeTape is excellent for a quick and easy grip application. 

Frontier Hockey Blades

Lucky for you, Ballhockeygear.ca carries 3 types of ABS Hockey Replacement Blades that you can purchase today. We have our F-Xover Blade, F-Blue Blade, and the F-Junior Blade. 

       

The F-Xover is more of a traditional style fiberglass reinforced solid ABS blade where as the F-Blue has a shorter street hockey blade type. The F-Junior is a Junior version of the F-Blue fitting Junior shafts. Each blade have a fitting selection for regular or tapered sticks. 

What blade do you choose?