STX Proton Power Lacrosse Head Review

The Proton Power lacrosse head from STX is certainly one of the most talked about heads in the game. The lacrosse head has an excellent shape for maximum ball handling with deadly precision when shooting and catching the ball. The lacrosse head is constructed with a streamlined and aerodynamic style that assures the head continues to be light and strong and ensures better performance in the game.

The best thing of this head is that it is constructed with STX Forward Cant for easy ball release, faster passing and quicker shooting. This lacrosse head is highly recommended for attack players and is NFHS compliant.

Tight fit with STX handles

On the whole, I’ve noticed that the STX heads attach more tightly on lax shafts than heads from other brands. It barely fit on a STX shaft, and I could only just attach it to a Maverik handle. The Maverik handle was just a little larger. The guideline is that all heads are compatible with all shafts, but more effort or tape might be needed whenever you mix the brand of lacrosse head and shaft.

Mid and high pocket, ideal for shooting

I strung a mid-pocket which was quite easy. The ball felt great and it was pretty steady when transitioning from cradling to preparing for a shot on goal. The pinch looks quite nice and resulted in superior ball retention. A shooters pocket could also do the job very well too. Don’t offend this lacrosse head by stringing a low pocket. This lax head was created to shoot, string a high or mid pocket.

The scoop is a little bendy, but this is so you get the flex for shooting. This, along with the Forward Cant, means you get great hold and you feel the “whip” while cranking.

Accurate passes great channel

Just one glance at the face of the lacrosse head you can see it’s not NCAA certified. The lacrosse head does not feature the long parallel side walls extending from the throat. The steadily diverging opening works incredibly well and the mid-pocket I had strung up was awesome. All my feeds and cranks were very accurate.

The rounded top featured on the Proton Power scoop results in a very good combination of being ground ball friendly and precise. Some lacrosse heads have a particularly pointy tip that results in a very good pocket channel but you can’t grab a ground ball. While other heads feature a tip like a spade, making ground balls a cinch, your passes do not have the accuracy you'd expect. This head is okay, although if the scoop were less pointy I don't think the pocket would be anywhere near as accurate.

Not bad for ground balls

The back side of the scoop is sleek enough to ensure that there is no ridge to lift the tip of the lax head off the ground when going for ground balls. The catching area is wide enough which results in a larger area to scoop up the ball with. You can get some bend if you go aggressively for a ground ball.

Produced for attackers

The Proton Power is designed for feeding and shooting and for that reason is seriously suitable for forwards and midfielders. If you’re not primarily a goal scorer, there are more appropriate midfield heads available in the market.

A superb option for face-off

If you find you take the odd face off, this head will perform well. The streamlined sidewalls get you near to the ground, which surely is a benefit. The low amount of stiffness means that it'll be challenging to take the most aggressive face off, but more agile faceoff moves should be fine. The head isn't going to hold its form for long in a face off, but the lax head is effortlessly bent back into shape, if it doesn't go naturally.

Simple to string, but tricky to make legal

My original go at stringing this lax head ended up being illegal. The ball wasn't able to fall out of the throat when held up-right and tilted forward. I needed to tighten the sidewall strings by the throat to be certain they didn't obstruct the ball and also tighten the bottom strings to make sure the ball didn't get caught up at the rear of the ball stop. These were trivial alterations, but with the likelihood of further pinching from normal use this might become something you will need to deal with on a regular basis. Stringing up a low pocket is not recommended.

For lovers of traditional stringing, you will be a bit disappointed to find out there are only two holes at the bottom. You will need to double up the leathers or be creative in coming up with another option. The stringing slots are quite snug so you have to persist to get the string through many of them. In case you are melting the lace ends you must be sure they are narrow because if you make a wide knob it won’t squeeze through the holes. But once your pocket is set in and the strings are tied off, they don't move.

What on earth is with the ball stop?

I am unsure exactly what the particular goal of the island ball-stop is. I haven't been able to pinpoint any kind of real advantage. The brand say it’s supposed to reduce weight, but it’d be only 1 or 2 grams at the most.

Look out for the pinch

As always with lax heads that contain a narrow pinch, you need to make certain that it won't pinch excessively, resulting in it being illegal. You can position some wood just a bit broader than a lacrosse ball between the sidewalls where they pinch to keep it compliant. Field hockey balls work well.

Not necessarily the firmest lax head on offer

The STX Proton Power lacrosse head isn't the strongest head on offer. The scoop has been specifically made to bend, so if a stiff lax head is exactly what you think will suit, this is not the lacrosse head for you.

Isn't recommended for defence

This lacrosse head is way too bendable for defence. You get no real result from a poke check, other than the top hour-glassing right out. But it's not intended for defense so I don’t consider this to be a concern.

So if you are a forward, how could you not love this lacrosse head? There are other sorts of heads stronger, lighter, stiffer and that of the like. But the Proton Power lacrosse head personifies what lacrosse is all about. It is a goal-scoring weapon of mass destruction.

This head is not designed with All Climate Performance so use caution if you're playing in the heat or cold. The heat especially, since the lax head currently flexes quite a bit. The light-weight element and the additional flex could possibly have an affect on its longevity, but just the same this is a brilliant lacrosse head.