The STX Hammer 500 is the latest and greatest head that is being used by the top pros and college athletes in the game. There is a lot going on in this head so bear with me as I roll through it. First, this head has a ridiculous strength to weight ratio. It is so stiff and can withstand so many harsh poke checks and ground balls yet it is still so ridiculously light as far as defensive heads go. Like most defensive heads, this one is just as wide to facilitate in snatching the cross crease pass in mid-air.
STX has come up with their new technology called Speed Scoop which really helps you glide on rough surfaces to get a ground ball. I’ve talked about how stiff this head is, but I need to mention the technology they used to make it so stuff and durable. STX has started to use the C-Channel technology on all of their heads now and the Hammer 500 is no exception. This made stringing kind of a pain but it’s doable and there are tons of well-placed holes so you can still get a solid pocket without any problems. The Hammer 500 features strike plates for added stiffness on poke checks and they have employed a three strut design for EVEN MORE stiffness. I don’t even think Tucker Durkin could break one of these heads in one season.
To review this head, I asked for the help of my buddy Julian Young who is a DIII LSM. We went to a field and had some fun doing one on ones against each other for a few hours the past few days and we both got a feel for the Hammer 500. As he was whaling on me, Julian appreciated the stiffness of the head during checks. The thing that had the biggest impact on him was the Speed Scoop. It made a huge impact on the use of picking up a ground ball if you don’t get the angle between the head and the ground exactly right.
STX has out done themselves with the Hammer 500. Sometimes offensive heads take all the glory from companies but STX has really delivered on giving athletes the best defensive head on the market.
