Stiffness / Flexibility - “The Feel”
Stiffness and flexibility are inherently related to each other.
Stiffness in more technical terms is called Modulus of Elasticity, which essentially determines the solid feel of your lax shaft.
Lower stiffness creates higher flexibility, and vice versa.
A high stiffness creates more powerful checks while high flexibility creates more impact absorption to keep the ball in your stick when checked and is correlated with added whip on shots and long passes.
Ziricote is the wood for any lacrosse player who wants a ton of flex and a lightweight shaft, but still isn't willing to compromise strength.
It's flexibility is exceptionally high with a Modulus of Elasticity of 1585 kpsi, making it perfect for absorbing vibrations from opponent's stick checks to keep the ball in your stick, increasing torque on high velocity shots and far passes, and dealing out killer wrap checks when needed.
For most woods, a Modulus of Elasticity as low as Ziricote's would mean it has a lot of flex but very little strength. ——— This is absolutely not true!
Even though Ziricote has the most flex out of both Tomahawk shafts and other common woods I compare against, it still has a very high bending strength of 16,400 psi that allows it to maintain structural integrity while flexing.
This is precisely the reason it is used for archery bows; it can take a lot of force and flexes excellently.
This creates a strong wood shaft with a very flexible yet solid feel that is great for experienced lacrosse players looking to enhance their skills and perfect their game with a shaft that is unlike any other in the market.
Overall, Tomahawk lax shafts are significantly stronger than most other woods, so each wood's exceptional flexibility and checking strength are what creates different "feels" when you wind up for a stick check, take a fast shot, and throw a long pass.
Below are the same woods in terms of stiffness/flexibility.
For information on flexibility, see the Compare Shafts page or the Flex Testing page for more details.
