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Gear Review: Dragonfly F30 Shaft by Epoch Lacrosse

[rwp-review id=”1″]

Company: Epoch Lacrosse / Product: F30Price: $129.99

Appearance… +7.5

Dragonfly offers their shafts in either white or black.  Personally I prefer the white over the black as very few players are rocking simple, white shafts these days.  However, as with the rest of the Dragonfly shafts, I was a little bummed Epoch didn’t take advantage of their brands neon green.  Bright green is in right now.  From LXMPro uniforms to pros like John Christmas and K-18 rocking neon green heads, we have seen a lot of it and I think Epoch missed an opportunity to add a little more flair to their sticks.

Grip… +10.0

Of the 4 Epoch shafts that I reviewed, I liked the F30’s grip the best.  The F30 features a traditional octagon shape but instead of squaring off our even dipping in the sides like most composite shaft makers do, the F30 is very smooth and flat on the sides and edges.  The smoothness of the edges allows the stick to rock really easily in your palms without sacrificing your ability to hang onto your stick.  The F30 features the same rough finish as the rest of the line which provides extra control.

The F30 features flat sides that feel great when cradling.

Weight… +10.0

Carbon technology was introduced to lacrosse for a reason, it’s amazingly light.  When you pick up the F30 you can’t believe you almost do a double take, it’s that light.  Epoch hit a home run with their carbon technology.  The company’s seamless design strengthens the stick while allowing them to reduce weight and the F30 feels like it’s been on quite the diet.

Durability… +7.5

As I mentioned above, the F30 was my favorite of the Dragonfly shafts that I reviewed which mean that I spent more time playing with it than any of the other shafts.  When LAS sent me the Dragonfly shafts they asked me to really put them to the test.  With that in mind, I made it my goal to see if I could break the F30.  I don’t know if I’m sad to say I didn’t reach my goal, but I definitely couldn’t break the stick.  As more big name players start to put the Dragonfly line to the MLL test we’ll really get a better look at how sturdy they really are, but the F30 definitely held up in all of the tests I ran it through.

The F30 feels great no matter where you play with it.

Value… +3.0

If you have been following the rest of the Dragonfly reviews you’ll know that $130 is too rich for my blood and unfortunately the F30’s review suffers because of it.  I loved playing with the F30 and I definitely think that Epoch has created a stick that a wide range of players will enjoy.  That said, the Dragonfly line of shafts are some of the most expensive in the game and it’d hard to give them value points with a price tag that high.

Overall… 7.2/10

The F30 combines an awesome geometry with a textured grip that makes this thing a treat to handle.  It’s strength to weight ratio is tough to match, and it’s not too rough on the eyes.  As Epoch starts to take off as a company I’m sure we may see the price of the Dragonfly line come down, but until then the stick may be out of reach for many players.  I’m excited to see what Epoch comes out with next.

The F30 balances weight and durability in a shaft that looks pretty clean.