change in hockey stick materials

I remember when I first started playing hockey. Hockey sticks were mostly made out of wood, but now they are being made out of a different material. Sticks are being made out of composite materials such as Fibreglass, Caron Fibre and Kevlar/Aramid. I remember when I made the change from a wooden hockey stick to a composite one. Before I went out and bought a composite stick I went online and looked up the advantages and disadvantages of composite sticks versus wooden sticks. While I was looking up this information I found a site that explains the differences between the two types of sticks, and I found the information to be very helpful.

Some of the advantages that this site had about wooden sticks is that "wood as a material is cheaper than composite materials and therefore results in reduced retail prices, and that the natural characteristics of wood result in a softer feel for the puck which many players, including internationals favor" (Barrington Sports). But then there were some disadvantages about them which made me think about my decision on buying a composite stick easier. These disadvantages were that "due to the hand made nature of the stick it is very difficult to get any two sticks that are exactly the same, wooden sticks are only as good as the wood they are made from and therefore inconsistencies in the quality, moisture content and density of the wood may result in two sticks of exactly the same specification performing completely differently, wood has a tendency over time to draw in moisture which leads to loss of power and likelihood of breakage, and that wooden sticks have a smaller sweet spot for creating maximum hitting power" (Barrington Sports). 

This site also had advantages and disadvantages for composite sticks as well. These advantages that composite sticks have over wooden ones were that "composite sticks have a greater power to weight ratio i.e. strength and stiffness can be maintained by a lighter weight composite stick, and that the manufacturing process leads to composite sticks being much more consistent in their weight, stiffness and power, so if you've used one stick you can be fairly confident another hockey stick of the same specification will feel and perform to the same level" (Barrington Sports). I liked the fact that if I break one stick then I could go out and buy that same stick and its would have the same feeling as the i just broke, but there was one thing that cough my eye and that was the disadvantages. Due to the composite materials the "Cost of materials and production result in more expensive sticks than a wooden stick of a comparable specification, and that they have a "Harsher, less refined feel for the puck, although with ongoing development this is becoming less pronounced" (Barrington Sports).  After reading this information I decided to get one and since then I haven't bought a wooden stick.  While using these composite stick I have noticed that I have a much hard shot.  Along with the harder shot I noticed that my accuracy has improved as well.  

Hockey Sticks Guide: Materials." Barrington Sports 07 05 2008 .

(Barrington Sports )