Finding a stick that is an ideal combination of responsiveness and lightweight feel matched with the rigidity of wooden material isn’t always easy.
Thankfully, some of the top brands in the hockey industry are now working to produce sticks that very closely mimic the feel and balance of a wooden stick while being made completely from composite material.
The CCM Extreme Flex 4 Goalie Stick perfectly fits the bill for most players when it comes to just the right fit and feel.
It’s very difficult to match the level of feel for the puck and vibration dampening ability that wood material offers, but CCM engineers and design experts have created a product that will likely surprise most elite-level players who generally would not opt for a composite material stick.
The CCM E-Flex 4 Goalie Stick is available for a very affordable price compared to many of the top brands and products in the hockey industry and it’s easy to see why so many players across all skill levels are reaching for this model over others.
In this article, we’ll take a closer look at how the CCM E-Flex 4 Goalie Stick is made and just what it offers to players—goalies in particular.
CCM Extreme Flex 4 Goalie Stick Review
The CCM E-Flex 4 Goalie Stick draws its name from the composite material it’s made of that is aimed at allowing players to have the same flexibility and feel of a traditional wooden goalie stick.
Many professional hockey goalies still utilize wooden sticks as they present players with the best possible feel and balance in most cases, but the composite material that the E-Flex 4 is made from is designed to very closely mimic the responsiveness and vibration dampening ability that wood material provides.
Part of the reason why so many goalies are now selecting composite and carbon fiber material sticks is that brands have made significant progress in creating products that are more lightweight and still capable of offering the level of durability that many high-level players demand.
The engineers and design experts at CCM worked alongside NHL goalies and other hockey gurus to determine just what players need and expect out of their sticks.
This process yielded a considerable amount of data and useful information that helped the brand create some of its new hockey sticks and is a big reason why so many professional hockey players are now using CCM products. (If you’re looking for more CCM content we’ve an article comparing the differences between the Axis Pro and the Eflex 4 sticks here!)
Lightweight Design
It’s highly important for goalies to have a stick that is both lightweight and well-balanced. Goalies heavily rely on their instincts and quick reflexes to make saves and disrupt the opponents attempts to score points.
The CCM E-Flex 4 Goalie Stick is one of the lightest sticks on the market today when compared with other top brands’ products.
This stick is able to offer much of the same high performance as other premium quality goalie sticks while still being relatively lightweight thanks to CCM’s efforts to design this model with a newer, more flexible and less dense composite material.
Until this point, brands have found it hard to create a composite stick that is able to mimic the same feel for the puck that wood offers, but many players say that the E-Flex 4 is one that is extremely close.
The CCM E-Flex 4 Goalie Stick utilizes a combination of some of the latest cutting-edge composite materials available today. These include ZeroFlux, Innegra, and Sigmatex composite materials that all come together and make up most of the stick’s composition.
Overall Feel and Balance
One of the most important factors in selecting a goalie stick is making sure it has the right feel in the hands of the player.
When we mention ‘feel’ of the stick, this is mostly referring to how the stick is balanced and the ease with which a goalie can wield it and make the necessary maneuvers to get into position for a save. Wooden sticks offer a level of feel and balance that many players deem to be superior—and rightfully so.
The focus of CCM’s team when making the CCM E-Flex 4 Goalie Stick was to create a product that provides a very similar level of energy transfer and dampening ability as compared to wooden sticks.
Most goalies know that wood material tends to soften over time and is much more susceptible to cracking or chipping, but the new composite material of the E-Flex 4 is made to guard against that type of damage.
Related: Bauer Ultrasonic Goalie Stick Review
Shaft Composition
One of the most important factors of a high-quality goalie stick is one that offers plenty of durability on its shaft.
This is an area that many sticks from other brands seem to lack the same quality standards as CCM and the CCM Extreme Flex 4 Goalie Stick is made with the brand’s new Soft Flex design that optimizes toughness.
The shaft features a specialized composite material known as Sigmatex, which is designed to be exceptionally lightweight and durable thanks to an intricate style of interwoven layers of material.
Each layer adds more strength as it is added to the stick’s shaft, which creates an increasingly strong and rigid shaft.
Part of what makes this material so important is its ability to transfer subtle energy and vibrations without making the player feel too much shock in their hands.
The overall aim of the Sigmatex material is to give players the same type of feel in their hands that they might get with a wooden stick.
Last year's model of goalie stick from CCM. It's comfortable and lightweight, but does have issues with breaking in the blade.
Related: CCM Axis Pro Goalie Stick Review
Final Verdict
It’s simply not feasible for most goalies to purchase a new wooden stick every year in the same way a professional player might.
For those who desire the same elements that a high-quality wooden stick provides, the CCM E-Flex 4 Goalie Stick is an excellent choice.
This stick is made with the latest types of composite materials that have been developed to give goalies a sense of balance and overall feel for the puck that very closely resembles wood material in many ways. The E-Flex 4 is a goalie stick that will last many seasons when used and cared for properly.
