Illegal equipment from the manufacturer

[Lax_Stats]

Can anyone speak to the quality control used by lacrosse equipment manufacturers to ensure that equipment leaving their plant is actually legal when it leaves??? Does someone measure each stick to make sure it is at least 6 1/2 inches wide or that it is at least 40 - 42 inches long etc? Just curious is all since I have heard so many players with illegal equipment complain that it came from the manufacturer that way.

[laxfan25]

I would seriously doubt it - the Chinese don't even know the rules of lacrosse!
Since the heads pop out of injection molds, I would say if your die-maker did his job right, the mfr isn't going to do any width checks. The shafts are also probably cut with a jig or fixture, so those should be uniform as well.
I too though have heard the "but I bought it that way" argument.

[CyLaxKeeper00]

lacrosse coaches should teach all of their players how to 'bake.' your stick is your responsible check it then bake it.

[onpoint]

Also, different heads are different lengths, so one head on a handle may be a different length then another head on the same handle. The manufacturers certainly flirt with the rules before you ever get it, so you always have to be careful with some of the newer heads like the Blade, Evo/Revo Pro, Deuce, etc.

[DwinsChamps]

Well, the head's are made by pouring plastic into a mold and before that, the molds are guaranteed by the manufacturer to be precise a certain percentage of the time (usually 95% or greater). So, the "quality control" is essentially hoping that more than 95% the heads they produce will be legal and profitable enough to cover their expenses of dealing with the 5% of unhappy customers.

[DLSLax]

they make the heads as close to the rule as possible, then as you use them more and more in games they get more and more pinchd, if you look at a head thats been used for a year and a brand new one, the year old one will be shorter and maybe more pinched

[laxfan25]

Well, the head's are made by pouring plastic into a mold and before that, the molds are guaranteed by the manufacturer to be precise a certain percentage of the time (usually 95% or greater). So, the "quality control" is essentially hoping that more than 95% the heads they produce will be legal and profitable enough to cover their expenses of dealing with the 5% of unhappy customers.

LOL! I can see you manufacturing background here Dwins! I dare say that any company producing product with a 5% error rate won't be around very long. Mold makers are working with tolerances in the minimum of a hundreth of an inch or greater. The problem is that the stick companies are requesting them to make them too close to the legal limits. when it is really unnecessary. A 1/4" isn't going to make a darn bit of difference, except possibly garner you a 3 min trip to the sin bin.

[Rob Graff]

Ahh, but that 1/4 inch is something you can use to MARKET- i.e. "We have the Narrowest Head Allowable"

People who think it's the stick, and not your hands, can be seperated from their hard earned $ with silly stuff like that

Rob

[UMR_LAX_4]

We recently had a problem with brine ripper sticks. We bought a bunch of them to give to new players to try the game out. A lot of them stuck with it as they're game stick. In a preseason scrimmage, we found out one didn't meet the 10 in. rule, so we checked all of them. We had 12 sticks in all that were illegal, including some that had barely been played with. It was a major hassle getting it all worked out during the season and having some guys play with other people's backups.

[SMUattack]

I agree with laxfan. I don't like the fact that some of these companies now are trying to get as close to the limit as possible. I play with a Warrior Evo Pro, and I had my stick checked twice this year and both times it was found to be illegal by less that 1/4 of an inch on the width at the top of the head. The ref said "the heat had probably warped my head" which I found to be a poor excuse.

[laxfan25]

I agree with laxfan. I don't like the fact that some of these companies now are trying to get as close to the limit as possible. I play with a Warrior Evo Pro, and I had my stick checked twice this year and both times it was found to be illegal by less that 1/4 of an inch on the width at the top of the head. The ref said "the heat had probably warped my head" which I found to be a poor excuse.

One player told me that the notches on the head of the Evo Pro were put there by Warrior so that it would pass the stick test. Since I don't like tossing sticks (unless they're flagrantly illegal) I've always used the notches as the measuring point, but I know that not everyone does it that way, and I've seen others call them illegal. The Evo Pro is the one that I see the most issues with on the head width measurement.
I'd be curious if your stick measures 6.5" from the inside of the top of the notches vs. the inside of the vertical sidewall.

[GrayBear]

The NCAA rules provide a warning/disclaimer for equipment, aimed at designers and manufacturers (and probably to avoid another fiasco like that with the Warrior goalie stick a few years back):

"The Men's Lacrosse Rules Committee suggests that manufacturers planning innovative changes in lacrosse equipment submit the equipment to the committee for review before production." Rule 1-25

This doesn't really speak to the precise question brought up, but does underscore the need to check your own equipment choices before buying (caveat emptor!)