The STX Proton Power lacrosse head is undoubtedly one of the most widely used heads in the sport of lacrosse. The lacrosse head has a fantastic shape for optimum ball handling with pin point accuracy when shooting and catching the ball. It is manufactured with a streamlined and aerodynamic design that guarantees the head remains light and hard-wearing and provides superior performance in the game.
The best part about this head is that it is designed with STX Forward Cant technology for straightforward ball release, quicker passing and quicker shooting. This head is especially suitable for attack players and is NFHS compliant.
Good
Snug fit with STX handles
In most cases, I've observed that the STX heads attach more tightly on their own lacrosse handles than heads from other brands. The head barely fit on a STX handle, and I could hardly fit it on a Maverik handle. The Maverik handle was just a bit larger. The rule of thumb is that all heads are compatible with all handles, but more force or tape may be needed whenever you mix the brand of lacrosse head and shaft.
Mid and high pocket, excellent for shooting
I strung a mid-pocket that was reasonably easy. The ball felt great and it was incredibly smooth when adjusting from cradling to winding up for a shot. The pinch is very good and resulted in very good ball retention. A shooters pocket would also function pretty well too. Don't offend this head by stringing a low pocket. It was born to shoot, go a high or mid pocket.
The scoop is sort of bendy, but this is so you get the shooting flex. This, together with the Forward Cant, results in you getting great retention and you can even feel the "whip" while shooting.
Accurate passes great channel
Just one glance at the face of the head you can see it isn't NCAA compliant. The lacrosse head doesn't feature the long parallel side walls stretching out from the throat. The steadily diverging catching area functions amazingly well and the mid-pocket I'd strung was awesome. All of my passes and shoots were very accurate.
The rounded top featured on the Proton Power scoop finds a very good balance between being ground-ball friendly and precise. Some lacrosse heads have a very pointy tip that makes for an outstanding pocket channel but you are not able to grab a ground ball. While other lax heads are designed with a top just like a spade, making ground balls super easy, but your feeds aren't as accurate as you would expect. This lacrosse head is pretty decent, although if the top were any flatter I don't think the pocket would be as accurate.
Good for ground balls
The rear of the scoop is smooth enough making sure that there is no lip to lift the top of the head off the ground when picking up ground balls. The face is wide enough which provides you a larger area to gather the ball with. You can get some flex if you go aggressively for a ground ball.
Built for forwards
The Proton Power head is made for feeding and shooting and consequently is seriously suited to midfielders and attackers. If you're not generally a finisher, there are far better all-field lacrosse heads available.
A really good choice for face-off
If you're a player who takes the odd face-off, this head will perform well. The sleek sidewalls lay close to the ground, which certainly is a nice bonus. The lack of firmness suggests it's not possible to take the most intense faceoff, but more nimble face off tricks ought to be okay. The head can hardly hold its form for very long in a face-off, but the lax head is effortlessly forced back into shape, if it won't go by itself.
Bad
Easy to string, but difficult to string legally
My first attempt at stringing this head ended up being illegal. The ball wasn't able to roll out of the pocket when held vertically and tilted forward. I needed to change the sidewall strings by the throat to be sure they didn't interfere and also restring the base strings to be certain the ball didn't get lodged behind the ball stop. These were small changes, but with the possibility of extra pinching from common use, this might result in being something you'll need to address regularly. Stringing up a low pocket is not strongly recommended.
For the ones who prefer traditional stringing, you'll be disappointed to know that you get only two slots at the bottom. You'll have to put two leathers through each hole or devise another solution. The stringing holes are rather tight so you have to persist to get the laces through some of them. If you are burning the nylon ends you'll have to ensure they're thin because if you have a thick knob it won't slide in the holes. But once your pocket is set and the strings are tied off, they're set for good.
What on earth is with the ball stop?
I'm not sure exactly what the particular goal of the island ball stop is. I was not able to figure out any real benefit. The brand say it's intended to reduce weight, but it'd be only a couple of grams at the most.
Watch the pinch
As always with heads which feature a narrow pinch, you'll want to make sure that it won't pinch too much, resulting in it being non-compliant. You can insert a bit of wood just a bit bigger than a lacrosse ball between the sidewalls where they pinch to keep it compliant. Field hockey balls work nicely as well.
Not necessarily the firmest lax head available
The Proton Power head from STX isn't the stiffest head available. The scoop has actually been designed specifically to flex, so if a rigid lacrosse head is really what you think you need, this is not the head for you.
Not necessarily the best choice for defense
This lacrosse head is too bendable for defense. You will see no real impact with a poke check, apart from the top hour-glassing right out. But it's not made for defence and so I don't consider this to be a concern.
Summary
So if you are an attacker, how could you not love this lacrosse head? There surely are some other heads stronger, lighter, stiffer and that of the like. But the STX Proton Power head represents exactly what lacrosse is all about. This head is a goal-scoring machine.
This head isn't constructed with All Climate Performance so be mindful in case you are playing in extreme weather. The heat especially, since the lacrosse head currently flexes quite a lot. The lightweight aspect and the added flex could possibly have an impact on its durability, but the truth is this is an incredible lacrosse head.
The best part about this head is that it is designed with STX Forward Cant technology for straightforward ball release, quicker passing and quicker shooting. This head is especially suitable for attack players and is NFHS compliant.
Good
Snug fit with STX handles
In most cases, I've observed that the STX heads attach more tightly on their own lacrosse handles than heads from other brands. The head barely fit on a STX handle, and I could hardly fit it on a Maverik handle. The Maverik handle was just a bit larger. The rule of thumb is that all heads are compatible with all handles, but more force or tape may be needed whenever you mix the brand of lacrosse head and shaft.
Mid and high pocket, excellent for shooting
I strung a mid-pocket that was reasonably easy. The ball felt great and it was incredibly smooth when adjusting from cradling to winding up for a shot. The pinch is very good and resulted in very good ball retention. A shooters pocket would also function pretty well too. Don't offend this head by stringing a low pocket. It was born to shoot, go a high or mid pocket.
The scoop is sort of bendy, but this is so you get the shooting flex. This, together with the Forward Cant, results in you getting great retention and you can even feel the "whip" while shooting.
Accurate passes great channel
Just one glance at the face of the head you can see it isn't NCAA compliant. The lacrosse head doesn't feature the long parallel side walls stretching out from the throat. The steadily diverging catching area functions amazingly well and the mid-pocket I'd strung was awesome. All of my passes and shoots were very accurate.
The rounded top featured on the Proton Power scoop finds a very good balance between being ground-ball friendly and precise. Some lacrosse heads have a very pointy tip that makes for an outstanding pocket channel but you are not able to grab a ground ball. While other lax heads are designed with a top just like a spade, making ground balls super easy, but your feeds aren't as accurate as you would expect. This lacrosse head is pretty decent, although if the top were any flatter I don't think the pocket would be as accurate.
Good for ground balls
The rear of the scoop is smooth enough making sure that there is no lip to lift the top of the head off the ground when picking up ground balls. The face is wide enough which provides you a larger area to gather the ball with. You can get some flex if you go aggressively for a ground ball.
Built for forwards
The Proton Power head is made for feeding and shooting and consequently is seriously suited to midfielders and attackers. If you're not generally a finisher, there are far better all-field lacrosse heads available.
A really good choice for face-off
If you're a player who takes the odd face-off, this head will perform well. The sleek sidewalls lay close to the ground, which certainly is a nice bonus. The lack of firmness suggests it's not possible to take the most intense faceoff, but more nimble face off tricks ought to be okay. The head can hardly hold its form for very long in a face-off, but the lax head is effortlessly forced back into shape, if it won't go by itself.
Bad
Easy to string, but difficult to string legally
My first attempt at stringing this head ended up being illegal. The ball wasn't able to roll out of the pocket when held vertically and tilted forward. I needed to change the sidewall strings by the throat to be sure they didn't interfere and also restring the base strings to be certain the ball didn't get lodged behind the ball stop. These were small changes, but with the possibility of extra pinching from common use, this might result in being something you'll need to address regularly. Stringing up a low pocket is not strongly recommended.
For the ones who prefer traditional stringing, you'll be disappointed to know that you get only two slots at the bottom. You'll have to put two leathers through each hole or devise another solution. The stringing holes are rather tight so you have to persist to get the laces through some of them. If you are burning the nylon ends you'll have to ensure they're thin because if you have a thick knob it won't slide in the holes. But once your pocket is set and the strings are tied off, they're set for good.
What on earth is with the ball stop?
I'm not sure exactly what the particular goal of the island ball stop is. I was not able to figure out any real benefit. The brand say it's intended to reduce weight, but it'd be only a couple of grams at the most.
Watch the pinch
As always with heads which feature a narrow pinch, you'll want to make sure that it won't pinch too much, resulting in it being non-compliant. You can insert a bit of wood just a bit bigger than a lacrosse ball between the sidewalls where they pinch to keep it compliant. Field hockey balls work nicely as well.
Not necessarily the firmest lax head available
The Proton Power head from STX isn't the stiffest head available. The scoop has actually been designed specifically to flex, so if a rigid lacrosse head is really what you think you need, this is not the head for you.
Not necessarily the best choice for defense
This lacrosse head is too bendable for defense. You will see no real impact with a poke check, apart from the top hour-glassing right out. But it's not made for defence and so I don't consider this to be a concern.
Summary
So if you are an attacker, how could you not love this lacrosse head? There surely are some other heads stronger, lighter, stiffer and that of the like. But the STX Proton Power head represents exactly what lacrosse is all about. This head is a goal-scoring machine.
This head isn't constructed with All Climate Performance so be mindful in case you are playing in extreme weather. The heat especially, since the lacrosse head currently flexes quite a lot. The lightweight aspect and the added flex could possibly have an impact on its durability, but the truth is this is an incredible lacrosse head.
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