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What is the best lacrosse stick you can buy for $100 or less?
For a long time, the best option was buying a discount head, discount shaft, and quality mesh, then putting it all together, or finding someone who could. Using this approach, a beginner, dad, or anyone looking to spend $100 or less on a stick for any reason could still pick up a relatively high quality product. However, this was not an easy thing to do, especially for newer players or people who didn’t know how to string sticks, it took a lot of time and searching, and became a roadblock to the growth of the game.
If your stick is terrible, are you more or less likely to want to play lacrosse again? I think we all know the answer to that question.
The above issue has pushed me towards being a strong proponent for a truly great lacrosse stick being sold for $100 or less. While there are a number of sticks out there at or below the $100 price point, none have ever measured up in every category, and been truly great sticks… until now.
Best Lacrosse Stick – $100 or Less
I have looked at a LOT of sticks over the years, some sent to me by companies, and others purchased by kids I coach, and I’m happy to finally report that
I won’t go through and name all the affordable sticks currently available, or dog on some other product as there is a ton of stuff out there, and some of it is pretty good, but I will go through some of the problems that affordable sticks often present, and how the
Truly Amazing Pockets – The most common problem with all “factory” strung sticks in general is a terrible pocket. To compound the issue, many factory strung sticks use lower quality mesh than what you can buy from a mesh company. In beginner sticks, this problem is even more severe. Most often, it’s either a tennis racket or a butterfly net.
- The mesh they use is the same high quality mesh they sell separately. It’s really quite simple,
Powell uses high quality materials in their Frontier Mesh, and uses that very mesh in all of their mesh strung heads. This is a must, and it’s awesome to see. I can only think of one other company that does this consistently. - (this one is super important!) The pocket is not some amateur factory job at all. It’s a REAL lacrosse pocket specifically designed by an accomplished stringer, specifically for their head. It’s complex, doesn’t change, and it’s legit. As someone who has strung 1000s of mesh pockets, I can say this – I am downright impressed. They took a LOT of time and care to make this pocket perfect to the head. When you order a
Powell Head, this is what you get, every single time. I’ve NEVER seen a factory pocket this good. Ever. Seriously, I’m blown away. It throws great passes, has fantastic hold, and can be adjusted easily with the bottom string for pocket depth, and the shooting string for adding any whip, if you even need to. I don’t think you will. Kids can tighten up the bottom string a little, adults can leave it be, and both will be ready to go. I wasn’t actually sure that was possible! This is a fantastic pocket, leaps ahead of competitors. I really can’t stress that enough, and it changes the game in the $100 stick category.
Allow me to put this another way. I never keep pockets as they come. I always change something about them. It’s an obsession. I can always make them better. I couldn’t do that with this pocket. That’s never happened before. I’m kind of shook to be honest! I’m using a factory pocket, and I’m ok with that, because it’s really, really good.
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No Head Wobble – Nothing is worse than picking up a stick, throwing a couple of times, and then noticing that your head is starting to wobble as it sits loosely on the shaft. This is a huge problem in the $100 or less category. Putting tape on can help reduce head wobble, but it’s infuriating to have to do that, and it never works as well as we hope it will. I just want the head to stay firmly on top of the stick. Is that too much to ask?
Quality Butt End Caps – Some players, even in the pros, don’t like tape on their sticks. Many beginners rarely put tape on their sticks. Having a quality end cap is therefore kind of important!
Tough Plastic, It Has To Last – I don’t know what
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Light & Strong, High Shaft Quality – Affordable sticks often go one of two ways when it comes to a shaft – 1) cheap and light, or 2) cheap and heavy. Either way, it’s tough to have a low quality shaft as they dent and ding, and can quickly bend. Playing lacrosse is hard enough, and a bent shaft doesn’t do anyone any favors. The
It’s NOT a Beginner’s Head – Some brands will put out different heads at different price points, but
Choices, You’ve Got Choices! – You can get the head in three different colors – white, grey, and black. The grey is beautiful, at least to me. You can also choose from 7 different shaft colors, so kids and adults alike can represent their town or team with pride, and an affordable price. Normally, I wouldn’t care about color choices, but since
Which Switchback would you grab? #powelllacrosse #itsintheblood #explorethefield
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Final Thoughts
I can say with confidence that the
Whatever the reason is that you are looking for a $100 stick, the
Thanks to the guys at