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Warrior Regulator Head and Mesh
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Double Gear Review: Warrior Regulator Head with Regulator Mesh

Gather ’round, folks! We have something new to show you from a lacrosse mega-brand! There’s some exciting new features put to action in the Warrior Regulator head and a fresh slice of mesh using the same name.

From throat locking system to intricate hatching, at first glance, the Regulator seemed to be the most intriguing lacrosse head I’ve seen out of 2015, so far.

The newest head from Warrior is serving as Part 2 of our Triple, Double Gear Review series as Warrior was kind enough to send us all 3 pieces of their new mesh, along with the matching heads, to check out!

Let’s meet the new creation, the Warrior Regulator!

Company: Warrior / Product: Regulator / Price: $99

Appearance – 9/10

Warrior Regulator Head and Mesh (6 of 20)

This head is pretty, no doubt about it. The reflective gold throat jewel, the detailed hatching around the head, the reformed Revo sidewall, the extremely flared face-shape… it’s all so beautiful. The Regulator seems to be a little Revo, a little Evo, a little Rabil 2 and a little bit of something new.

The face is similar to the Evo flair, but is longer and more gradual. Just by looking at the head, it gives me the impression that any player of any experience would have no problem adjusting to the Regulator.  The sidewall shape features Warrior’s classic off-set and design remarkably close to the Revo line.

Warrior Regulator Head and Mesh (6 of 20)

The difference… this is not just a defensive head. Heck, it looks like it can suit the needs of just about any lacrosse player out there. There’s also little to no flare at the face, which should help the head from self-pinching inwards.

The scoop and top hole protection are typical for Warrior, no different from their other top-shelf head offerings. One thing you’ll notice right away is the throat locking system, but we’ll get to that later.

Stringing – 8/10

Warrior Regulator Head and Mesh

I’m tough on bottom-string holes and at least these small four ovals are a bit larger than that the Evo holes and it seems more plausible to get leathers through without pliers. Feeding a shooting string through them is no biggie.

The 18 holes spaced closely and evenly up the side-walls give a stringer a ton of freedom when working towards forming their perfect pocket. 6 evenly spaced scoop holes is the Warrior standard, great for creative top-strings and 6-shooters, but still doesn’t match the four in the throat… a problem nearly every head has.

Warrior Regulator Head and Mesh

I dock points for the undersized bottom holes and the 3 or 4 sidewall holes that are not easily accessible from the front of the head.

Stiffness – 8/10

Side to side the Warrior Regulator is a rock. It’s going to stand up strong during checks, not warp on face-offs and is going to receive blows and heavy pressure like a champ.

The most flexibility you’ll find is in the scoop, giving the user a nice cushion on turf, grass and harder surfaces for the head to become flush with the ground, making it that much easier to scoop up loosies.

Warrior Regulator Head and Mesh

There’s a lot of resistance when bending the head side to side and the plastic quickly snaps back to its original shape, instead of a slow bend back to something close to the out-of-package look. The stiffness is part if the reason why it would be hard to pinch, but another is…

Durability – 7/10

It’s built like a brick, but doesn’t play like one. The plastic is thick and super strong, making it really tough to force the side-walls inward in a pinching fashion. I have a feeling the Regulator would elongate drastically if pinched, but due to its thickness, it could be a sweet head for box lacrosse. The added plastic serving as a throat locking mechanism could suffer under the heat from pinching, I’ll update this post once I try it out!

Warrior Regulator Head and Mesh

All in all, the integrity of the Regulator should hold up through hard checks, countless reps, awkward pressure and anything else the game will throw at you. I’m knocking points this time for the LOC-Throat. It make me nervous to introduce a permanent structure into the head that no one is sure how long is it made to last. Could it breakdown after one shaft change? What about 5? What about after a season? I don’t buy the fresh vs dead concept, so don’t try to convince me that a head I’m paying nearly $100 for should be breaking down after one season.

All we know about the patent pending LOC-Throat, is that it’s supposed to eliminate the annoying shaft rattle we all dread. When you drive a screw into the shaft, the Loc-Throat prongs expand inside the shaft, providing pressure for a more secure fit. Because of this, the head can’t work with Epoch Dragonfly shafts, Ghost shafts and other non-metal shafts because they aren’t thin, hollow tubes for the system to slide into.

Warrior Regulator Head and Mesh

Love using wood, carbon-fiber and other non-cookie cutter shafts? Don’t even consider the Regulator in that case. It’s just not going to fit, unless you break the LOC-throat, which I also can’t recommend.

This is something that only time can tell, but since the head is so new I will try to come back to this post periodically to report my findings over time.

Value – 6/10

6, at best. Everything seems so awesome on the Warrior Regulator, except the price point. $99, really? I guess we can say it’s one of the better heads under a hundred by that standard, but I think it would do a lot more for the game by bringing out top-shelf products and selling them under $85.

The LOC-Throat makes me nervous, if this little piece of expanding plastic won’t hold up for shaft change after change, it doesn’t belong in any head I’m using. Let’s see how it stands up to the amount of wear and tear we put on our gear.

Warrior Regulator Head and Mesh

What ultimately kills me is the inability to use any shafts other than standard metal shafts. I love my wooden shafts for box lacrosse and composites as my daily drivers, so this leaves me needing to go buy a new metal shaft for it to work, but how convenient, all of Warrior’s shafts seem to fit so if you’re into brand-matching, there you go!

Overall – 7.6/10

They say this head is for a d-mid or long pole and I think that’s crap. Sure it’s cheaper than the Revo, but it’s not nearly as wide and bulky making it a solid choice for all players. By looking at price-points and their other offerings, it almost seems like it’s being pushed as a less-elite Revo, which I can say it’s totally not, because it’s completely different!

I get that they aren’t trying to reinvent the wheel with every new head, and introducing gimmicks can be a huge killer in the lacrosse industry, but for now I think the LOC-Throat is junk, this head isn’t really anything new and is coming in with a steep price tag.

It’s not a bad head by any means, but with so much other noise on the racks, I see nothing that stands out about the Regulator to make me want to run out and go get another. Being limited by which shafts you can use is always a heartbreaker for me, that’s why I’m not to jazzed about the newest offering from Warrior. I’d say something in the “C” range is a fair grade.

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Company: Warrior / Product: Regulator Mesh / Price: $19.99

Stringing – 9/10

Warrior Regulator Head and Mesh

Pulling a 9 diamond triangle top-string across the Regulator head was no problem. I’m glad that at least if they’re going to have the same name, that the two Regulator products work really well together.

It’s defiantly not rock-hard out of the package and a huge boost for the non-wax/coating side of the mesh industry. It may be thick,  but it’s immediately soften in the hands and doesn’t need shaving cream or hot water to get it game ready.

Warrior Regulator Head and Mesh

The diamonds have great shape and there was very little stretch or breaking apart to be done in prep.

Ball Control – 7/10

With no added grip or texture, the ball is allowed the freedom to move around in the pocket a bit more (granted that you didn’t just string a whip-crazy cradle for the ball to sit in the same spot, all the time).

Warrior Regulator Head and Mesh

Each slice a lot smoother on one side and more abrasive on the other. I strung the pocket the same way, but with both sides facing inward and I felt slightly more confident (maybe it was the roast beef sandwich I ate in-between) with the slick side in, so I left it that way. As far as I’m concerned, there’s not much difference and anyone trying to convince me otherwise is just blowing smoke.

I’m not big on coated meshes, but they do add extra tack which helps grip the ball like a wide-receiver’s gloves, but I’d rather play without it and feel the ball shift through my head anyway.

Durability – 9/10

It’s thick, strong and an all around solid piece of mesh. No coatings are going to break it down and the thickness is going to give it an increased stick life.

When pulling the mesh apart as hard as possible, I noticed little straining on the diamond connections and heard no popping from a loose weave.

Warrior Regulator Head and Mesh

I used a shooting lace to tie down the throat, but I wouldn’t be concerned about using a much thinner gauge cord, I don’t see this mesh ripping at the bottom just from hard passing like the thinner meshes are prone to do.

You need a mesh that works for you, not one you’re constantly working around and the Warrior Regulator seems to provide such a service.

Consistency – 9/10

Warrior Regulator Head and Mesh

Without wax to flake of or melt away, the pocket is going to maintain its shape, diamond structure and pocket form until it finally frays or blows-out from heavy use.

Warrior Regulator Head and MeshThe diamond weave points aren’t weak and are uniform from top to bottom.

Even the burn points where the mesh was cut is clean and consistent across the board, there really isn’t anything wonky about using the Warrior Regulator mesh.

Maybe it’s me, maybe it’s the mesh, but I nailed the same spot on the wall 5 out of the first 6 times I aimed at it, giving me an instant boost of confidence when using something that’s new to me.

Value – 7/10

I can compare this stuff to a variety of products offered by companies like Stringer’s Shack and a few others that are coming in well under $10, so although $20 seems reasonable, it could be a lot better.

The packaging is minimal which is a huge plus, I hate when we start killing dolphins because we need to include a fancy box or hard plastic packing with our mesh. Keep it simple, save the planet.

Overall – 8.2/10

Out of all three mesh offerings from Warrior, the Regulator is hands-down my favorite to string, play with and recommend to others. It’s a thick, hearty piece of mesh that isn’t prone to cinching, bagging, curling or ripping.

Lacrosse would benefit from the mesh retailing under $20, but hey, that’s business and that’s why I only write about it. If you’re a huge Warrior fan-boy or looking for a piece of wax/rubber/resin-less mesh, the Regulator mesh is worth a try. I just hope it can stay in my head for over one full season, if it does it deserves a bonus!