Reebok 20K SicKick 4: Initial Impressions

Reebok was gracious enough to send Hockey World Blog their brand new 20K SicKick 4 hockey sticks, their top of the line offering in the latest installment of the popular SicKick line of sticks. Reebok continues to produce quality hockey produ

cts, but does the 20K live up to those high standards? After getting the stick out on the rink a few times, check out our initial impressions of the Reebok 20K.

Specs: Reebok 20K SicKick 4, Datsyuk curve, 85 flex.

Modifications: Cut down approximately two inches.

Appearance and Design: Despite the fact that just about every other major hockey stick manufacturer has gone white with their top-end sticks, Reebok has opted to stay dark with a predominantly black shaft and blade. The 20K has some silver accenting, with the company name running down the lower part of each side of the shaft in large silver letters. The stick specs are also in a silver box about a quarter of the way down the shaft as well.

Overall, the design is very basic. I’ve seen designs that are more minimalist, but there’s not much that is overly striking about this stick that would make me cry out, “Wow! That is a beautiful stick!” However, looking at their past offerings, Reebok seems to be a company that pushes performance over gimmicks and appearance.

The 20K comes in two different styles – grip and dual grip. Unless you like your sticks super grippy, I highly recommend the dual grip. Looking up close at the stick, you can clearly see that the bottom side of the stick has a flat matte finish while the top half has the glossy grip finish. The dual grip really does work well to allow your bottom hand the ability to move freely but still stay in place when you’re passing or shooting. The dual grip is definitely a cool feature to have.

Balance & Feel: I first used the Reebok 20K in warm-ups recently. At that time, I had the opportunity to take a few shots with another top-end stick from a different manufacturer. I can tell you without a doubt that there was a serious difference in the balance between these two sticks. The 20K was definitely better balanced from top to bottom. If anything, the stick may be ever-so-slightly blade heavy, but nothing concerning. In fact, it’s likely a product of cutting two inches from the butt end. And this certainly doesn’t inhibit the stick’s performance or feel for the puck.

Being a true one-piece stick, the Reebok 20K provides a very good feel for the puck when you are skating, passing and shooting. Reebok also implemented a lighter blade for this model to help with control and feel. Again, I had the opportunity to test the 20K against another high-end stick and the 20K definitely outperformed it.

Shooting & Accuracy: To be perfectly honest, I’m not super impressed with the accuracy of this stick – yet. The curve is definitely bigger than I am used to, so it’s taking some time for me to adjust. I generally don’t have an issue placing the puck where I want top to bottom, but I’m continually pushing my wrist shots left of the target (as a right-handed shot).  I’m hoping that this is something that will rectify itself over time as I continue to use the stick and adjust to the curve. I will address this again in my full review in a few weeks after I’ve had time to use the stick.

Shooting is very good all-around for this stick. Oftentimes, I find that a stick either performs well on slapshots or wrist shots, but hardly am I pleased with how a stick performs for both. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the 20K as an all-around good stick for shooting. Wrist shots come off clean with good velocity, and I’m able to load up slapshots with a good deal of power for hard shots from the point.

I think my favorite part of the stick, though, is how it performs with passing. Going back to the feel for the puck, the Reebok 20K is really primed for sending and receiving passes. Sent passes just seem to transition so smoothly from the blade. Increased feel for the puck allows you to better control the puck when you are sending and receiving passes.

Overall Impressions: So far so good after using the Reebok 20K SicKick 4 a handful of times. It’s performed how I would expect a top-of-the-line stick to perform. While I need some additional time to adjust to the bigger curve, shooting and accuracy have been good so far with passing emerging as an early bonus for the 20K. The design certainly isn’t anything to write home about, but the performance on the rink sure is. I’ve been impressed with the feel for the puck that the 20K provides and look forward to seeing how it performs in the coming weeks as I continue to get some heavy usage out of it.

If you’re thinking about purchasing the Reebok 20K, head over to Pure Hockey to grab one. You can get the Reebok 20K today for only $249.99. Be sure to include the coupon code HOCKEYWORLD when you check out to save an additional 10% on select items from your order!

Related Posts

• Reebok 20k Hockey Stick
• Reebok 20k Ice Hockey Skates

12 Comments

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.