Summary
(The review will be my personal opinions and I have not received any payment or products to conduct this review)
Observations
I bought the iHurl in February and have been using it for about 6 weeks. This hurl has beautifully survived our club's spring break trip where we competed in the Music City Cup in Nashville followed by games in Memphis, St Louis, and Kansas City. As you can see, there's a pretty substantial crack in the bas that arose from regular use and practicing sideline cuts.
Cultec vs iHurl
When directly comparing my iHurl that has a substantial crack in the bas to my Cultec with no visible cracks, the iHurl still would hit further. When taking frees or long puck outs, I noticed the iHurl would hit at least 10 yards further than the Cultec which can make the difference in a game. Also whenever I used the Cultec, it did not feel good when I struck a sliotar, it almost felt uncomfortable. The iHurl on the other hand felt like a new synthetic hurl, almost like the day I first used it.
When comparing a new Cultec to my iHurl, they are almost identical. The iHurl might be slightly lighter but the two hurls hit almost the same. The sweet spots are in the same spots on the hurls, the way the sliotar bounces off is the same, and the bas on both are the same. They are also priced similarly with the exception that when you get a bulk order of iHurls (I think at least 20) you can have your club's logo printed on the handle. The only difference between the two is the longevity.
Now moving on to the Reynolds hurl! At first it was a little difficult getting used to because the weight and sweet spot are different from the other synthetic hurls. I haven't used an ash hurl in a while, because of the dry climate, but the Reynolds did very much remind me of an ash hurl. When I caught the sliotar with the hurl, the hurl would flex more than the other synthetic hurls and the ball wouldn't bounce as far away from me. This made it a lot easier to judge where the ball was going after it made contact with the stick. The hurl would also reverberate differently than a Cultec when I was striking out of the hand. It doesn't pop like a Cultec does but it still strikes well.
One advantage the Reynolds has over a Cultec or iHurl is you can sand it. You are able to make the bas or toe a different shape if you want and if the hurl gets cracked at all you are able to smooth it out. I really like this about the Reynolds because I have gotten a few splinters from Cultecs over the years and from the iHurl.
Recommendation
With that said don't throw out your "broken" Cultecs! I'm glad I saved mine as I use those for teaching new people, running blocking and hooking drills (so we don't damage our good hurls), , practicing sideline cuts, and for hitting the wall.
Like I said before, I have not played any games with the Reynolds yet so I sadly cannot comment on its longevity, but I really like playing with it so far. With that said I will be making another post during the summer after I've played in a few games and tournaments with it!
Thanks for reading and let us know what you think!
Author
Shawn Sprinkle
Founder and president of CU Gaelic Club
Co-founder of Colorado Gaelic Club
Co-founder of the Celtic Cutthroats