Review Malik Diamond (review)

Description:

Harnessing a 25mm 'Dribble Curve' that proved ever popular with the Gaucho, Malik have created an ever better stick.
95% carbon (5% more then Gaucho) complimented with 5% fibre glass makes this stick a weapon to be feared.

Hitting:

Whilst the bow isn't as severe as my Nano, a little caution is required when hitting the ball.
You dont necessarily have to hit from the right foot, just ensure that you aren't leaning to far back and ball hugs the turf all the way into the backboard.
But if the moment takes you and you feel like trying out the keepers' hand reflexes then the ball can easily be lofted.
The power of the stick is noticably stronger then my old Gaucho, almost as good as my Tour.

Tomahawks:

The edge of the stick's blade is slighty thickened and makes striking the ball on your reverse a dream.
Easy to keep flat for passes/shots and simple enough to lift, only needing to tilt your wrists.

Dribbling:

I purchased this stick as a 36.5 to aid my dribbling (closer to ground or whatnot).
The extreme light weight and the low bow make dribbling a doddle.
So easy it feels like your cheating when you left-right the defender.
The first touch is also very good, the ball doesn't bounce away.

Pushing/Grip

Pushing is easy thanks to the weight of the stick.
The standard Malik grip is very nice. But I covered it with two Wilsons Tennis grips for personal preference.
The rounded handle is carried further into the shaft to allow quick hand rotation.

Slapping:

I generally don't 'slap' but on the odd occasion that I did, the stick provided a nice accurate, grounded pass.
The sweet spot is very large it would appear, as I haven't missed it yet.

Sweeping/slinging:

The bow makes 'slinging' slightly harder then a 17mm straight stick, but the thickness of the shaft gives maximum contact and increases speed.
Deceptive sweeping is excellent, the bow being not super late, but late enough to decieve would be interceptors.
The light weight makes the stick feel like a feather as you use it.

Flicking:

Whilst not as superb as my Nano, the stick still manages to generate considerable speed, even being an inch shorter, a factor that I originally thought would hinder my skill.
Penalty strokes and overheads are also good too.
Strokes are easily handled and over heads soar down the pitch.

Overall:

Great stick. Will buy again.

Graphics:

Very nice stick, another good review waxxed

What happend to the smurf!?!?!?!?
The thing i remember from my first visit to the forum was John's picture and your smurf; its part of the fhf's charm!

I shall induce you into another coma conceived of bliss shortly then...

Papa smurf is just the ticket, im drifting into a hebetude of euphoric wonderment.

Why dont you review all fourty seven of your sticks??

Must be a good stick. A FHF member used one to score a couple of goals today to move up the EHL goalscorers table!

Good review, although I have some questions . I'm thinking about getting a high end Malik for my next stick (probably a Gaucho), but they are rather expensive. Would you say the Diamond is good enough to warrant the hefty price tag? Also, is the DC bow pretty much the same as a Gryphon pro/Mercian CB3/Voodoo V3, or straighter/more severe?

Thanks.

no stick is good enough to warrant the retail price tag!

Is it any more expensive than the equivalent Grays, TK or Gryphon?

If on a budget then the Gaucho is fine.

The only major difference is the hitting power, but thats not that important...

And I think that the DC bow is slightly higher up then the gryphon/voodoo flicking sticks.
But don't quote me on it.

Is the diamond head heavy like I found my mates gaucho (he is sponsored by malik). This might be because I use a ridiculously light voodoo v3...

I think that most non-flick sticks would seem head heavy when compared to drag flick sticks.

But having said that my Nano is only slightly lighter then the Diamond.
Barely noticable by hand.

Yer the V3 is ridiculously light in the head it makes the stick feel really light even tho the weight of it isn't relatively light.

Its probably just my v3 then

Just chuck a generous amount of turf guard on the head and even it up a bit.

or remove half the weight from a malik i could get not sure either would benefit the stick too well... haha

Perhaps we should have an(un) official lightest stick competition?

Weigh our sticks and see who's is lightest?
Not for bragging rights, more for informative reasons.

I say my adidas superlight xxtreme is lighter than both.

As I previously suggested, not a bragging competition, just for informative reasons.

Unless of course my Nano is only 400 grams.

I have to say my voodoo v3 isn't as light as it would seem as its 594 grams (with chamois) the balance point is 395mms and its a 37.5

That's an excellent idea waxxed, perhaps if it was endorsed or what have you by the mods it would be a bit more comprehensive?