The Ultimate, "Faceoff System"... Duel by STX

The STX Duel head and Duel SC handle was made strictly for one player on the field, the Faceoff specialist. First, we will get into the Duel SC handle. There is nothing to special about the weight ratio, it's a average

weighted handle. Our favorite feature on the handle has to be the rubber grip feel directly underneath the head, where most Faceoff athletes place there tape. This allows you to have the grip you need for taking draws without the the extra weight that tape tends to add.

The grip on all Duel SC handle is a NY Lizards green color, personally I like that little color on my sticks but those of you who like that "Classy Clean" look, you might not like that. The Duel SC comes in two of the most common lacrosse handle colors, Silver and Black. You will also notice on the top left side of the handle it has an hole to drill your screw in it. But does that mean there isn't a screw hole in the head? why would they put two screw holes?? I'll tell you why, STX made two screw holes to really lock down your head to the shaft. One of my biggest pet-peeves is when I can hear that rattle noise between my head and handle. With STX doing this it makes it impossible for you to hear that rattling noise. The first hole is in the throat area of the head, which most screw holes are. The second hole is placed underneath the small throat on the left side on the handle. The second hole was placed there so once drilled, the screw will go directly in the "Throat plug", allowing the head and shaft to be one whole strong/durable "Faceoff system".

Now let's get into the Duel head.

The duel head had similar features to the superpower+ and Nike Lakota, both head that STX engineered. The Duel has technology that have never been done in the Lacrosse community, such as the "Throat Plug". The Throat Plug is pretty much taking the throat of the stick and shoving it into the Duel SC handle. That being said, it allows you to get your hands very high on your stick without the ref calling you for your hands being on the plastic. The "Throat Plug" has never been done before and it is truly game changing technology. Nothing we love more then seeing Lacrosse companies succeed with an idea that is 100% original, in our opinion STX did that with the Throat Plug technology. The Duel flex points are a little different from other Faceoff heads. They have the lower end of the throat being very stiff and have the flex point being at the mid-sidewall, allowing the the ball to slide directly in the throat and having it secured/locked while pulling the ball out during a pinch and pop.

One downfall is the Duel can't fit on any handle that is either carbon fiber or if it has a "top filling". I have been able to get it to fit on a few alloy handles that are hallow all the way down but it's not easy to find those to have a perfect fit. Honestly the safest bet would be to buy the complete system, the Duel head and Duel SC handle so you won't run into these problems. The duel handle is a great handle so i don't feel you will have a problem using it. Many heads will break overtime due to the beating they take on the faceoff X but it seems the only thing that tends to happen to the Duel head overtime is it will get a tight pinch and even effect the scoop. Honestly I think its great that the main problem is it getting to pinched and not breaking. People don't realize this, ALL LACROSSE HEADS ARE MADE OUT OF PLASTIC, plastic isn't indestructible so that being said, overtime it will warp because the Faceoff X is a brutal/rough position. You'll even notice you won't get any kinks in the corner of the head that MANY Faceoff heads get, I think the strong stiff throat is the reason why the kinks are prevented. If I could change one thing of this head, it would have to be making the scoop a little stiffer. There isn't a big problem with the scoop now but personally for snagging GB's I like a nice stiff scoop. If your getting low and have the correct fundamentals then you really wont run into many problems.

I used the Duel all weekend at Cornell University, in the freezing rain and snow and it held up great.

For those of you who Faceoff you know that climate change or even having your head go from warm to freezing cold, It's a pretty easy way to break a head. I was absolutely thrilled how it held up, I'm still able to use that head to this day after taking 150 draws in freezing weather. The STX Duel and Duel SC handle was designed to be the perfect system for the Faceoff specialist and we think they achieved that. For a head with the latest technogy many new features I think a $89.99 is fair, so if you liked our review and think the price is fair then pick up a Duel and Duel SC at your local Lacrosse retailer

-Nic