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Gear Review: Stallion Head by STX Lacrosse

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Company: STX Lacrosse / Product: Stallion HeadPrice: $89.99

When STX teams up with Kyle Harrison to make a head (which they’ve done before) you know it will turn out to be something special. As soon as I found out we were reviewing the STX Stallion, I immediately called dibs. I’ve been a K18 fan since the guy was ripping g’s at JHU and more recently have watched him break ankles (off my teammates, thankfully!) at the Summer Bender.

He is the last of a dying breed (see: all-around midfielder) so I have been itching to test this head since it came out. Before I reviewed the head though, I wanted to make sure I did my research on the head, so I hit up STX.com and went through all the information I could on the design and engineering of the head. Pretty wild what goes into it now a days.

Appearance… +10.0

The Stallion has a very clean look to it, which if you have figured out my tastes by now, you know is right up my alley. The C-channel on the sidewall is supposed to be a big feature of this head and thankfully it doesn’t look hokey at all, I’m curious to see how this will work out in testing it. Color-wise the stick has plenty of options, 10 at least! It also has a mixture of glossy and matte finishes throughout the head. The one I received from Lacrosse Panda was Kelly Green, so I through a yellow and grey string job in it (Go Pack) and got ready for testing.

The head has a pretty pinched face that opens up nicely up top that should definitely help with both scooping up gb’s and ball retention. One thing that is good to note is the design of the bottom rail. Just by the looks of it, you can tell that it is designed for a high pocket placement. I’m a mid-pocket/low-pocket guy so this could be interesting to see how the stick handles a little lower pocket.

Stringing… +7.5

Stringing is great with this stick, it’s like they read my mind when thinking about designing the holes in the sidewall, for the most part. Since I’ve been stringing only traditional pockets lately, one thing stuck out at me. Across the top of the head, there are six holes. Which, while great for mesh pockets, put me in a pickle for my leathers. I’ll get to that in a second, but if you only string up mesh pockets, then skip the next paragraph because you won’t be affected at all by the top holes in the stick.

The middle two are an obvious choice to help get that nice channel, those weren’t a problem at all. For the outer two leathers though, I had a hard time choosing between the two holes on each side and ended up going with the outermost holes as you can see in the pictures. The only issue I faced, which I may be the only one, was that the outer ones seemed too close to the sidewall, and the inner ones seemed to close to the center two leathers. I think it is a great idea to have multiple options for placement of the leathers but personally, I would have rather seen the holes for the outer leather in between the current two holes.

STX Stallion Head by STX Lacrosse
Where I wish the holes were…

Moving down the sidewall though, I couldn’t complain even if I was just feeling cranky. The uppermost holes are a little wider so you can start all the knots you want in them, whether going across the top or down the side, you have plenty of room. Even around the throat, the C-Channel actually helps with only tying a single figure-8 knot instead of having to bulk it up.

Stiffness… 7.5 (+10, but -2.5)

Plus ten and I’d give it more points if I could, for the most part. STX hit a home run with the stability of this head. Whether it’s the C-Channel, sidewall braces, or just overall construction I couldn’t pinpoint it, but it is the complete package for the all-around player.

The head is stiff in all the right places and has no problem playing both sides of the field. Even in game-play I never once had a problem with being bullied out on ground-balls, face-offs, defense, or driving down the field. As you can see though, it didn’t get the full 10 and I believe that is a direct result of how stiff the head is. After facing off for a while, I really started to notice that the head didn’t return to its normal shape as well as I’d have hoped. This was a minor inconvenience more than anything else, but it is still something that takes your attention away from the game.

STX Stallion Head by STX Lacrosse
Look at the C-Channel.

Durability… +10.0

The structure of the Stallion doesn’t only apply to its stiffness, but is also said to add to the durability of the head. By making the bottom rails with a C-Channel and the adding the braces in the sidewall, the head is much more structurally sound and less likely to break like traditional heads.

STX Stallion Head by STX Lacrosse
C-Channel + Braces = Durability

Value… +10

Ringing in at $90, this head is definitely in the high-end spectrum for costs, but it is obviously considered a high-end head due to all the features and quality of the head. That being said and as you can see by the score, I don’t feel it is fair to dock the head points because it is a quality product. If you pay $90 for a head, you expect $90 worth of goods, I feel that is what you get with the Stallion, if not more.

Overall… +8.8/10

Overall this is a fantastic head and I am considering picking one up myself to have. Unfortunately for me, one of you get to claim this one as your own. *sniff sniff* All kidding aside, the Stallion is advertised as a head for the all-around midfielder and that is exactly what it is. Toting a high-pocket, stiff sidewalls, and ready for any string job you throw at it, this head is more than happy to take the beating you dish out on the field all-season long and ask for more.

Got some gear you wish we would review? Hit us up and let us know what you think we should review next.