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You should read Hooked: A Hurling Life. By Justin McCarthy with Kieran Shannon. In it he goes into great detail about the importance of having a very good hurl . It was written in 2002 so it comes from the attitude to Hurley design from before that period i.e. He advocates a 36 inch hurl but it's very interesting nonetheless. He even sees it very important to use only black tape on the hurl as it provides the best contrast to the white sliothar when you try to pick it up as it's flashing in front of you at speed. He also emphasises the importance of a wide grain on the hurl and knots are a no no. He also believes that bending a hurl against the ground to test it weakens the fibres in the stick and shortens its life. Well worth a read.
Jack_Sparrow (Westmeath) - Posts: 1014 - 18/12/2016 10:17:53 1940756 Link 0 |
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Thanks, I'll have a look at that. I've read the book before, can remember a section on the hurley alright Another thing which you've mentioned there that I've often wondered about is insulation tape on the Hurley. To me I'm not sure what purpose it serves? It's hardly strong enough to stop a crack so not sure what the point of it is puck_da_sliotar (Cork) - Posts: 17 - 18/12/2016 10:35:43 1940758 Link 0 |
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I suppose it personalises the stick so it's easy to pick up your own in the dressing room and it looks better but as you say doesn't stop it breaking. Sometimes it covers up the Hurley makers stamp which can take from the look of the hurl in my opinion. I often wondered the same though. Jack_Sparrow (Westmeath) - Posts: 1014 - 18/12/2016 11:01:04 1940767 Link 0 |
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If people were applying some sort of duct tape I'd understand it but insulation tape isn't going to stand up to any strong force puck_da_sliotar (Cork) - Posts: 17 - 18/12/2016 12:21:04 1940783 Link 0 |
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When I started out at senior level around 03 or thereabouts I would've tended to use a 36 hurl but over the years I've shortened it to a 34. MesAmis (Dublin) - Posts: 13705 - 18/12/2016 12:22:11 1940784 Link 0 |
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Yeah never saw the point of the tape myself. Most hurls I get now don't have the tape or even the band on them. I feel I get a better strike off them now in anyways MesAmis (Dublin) - Posts: 13705 - 18/12/2016 12:58:08 1940790 Link 0 |
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Would always have gotten 36" then moved to 35" , a couple of years ago a friend of mine was playing intercounty and persuaded me to use one of his 34"'s, really quickens up the stickwork, but I did find the distance suffered slightly Bon (Kildare) - Posts: 1898 - 18/12/2016 15:19:21 1940804 Link 0 |
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A big change too recently of course has been the Cultec hurley. Certainly it's a decent attempt at something other than ash but it doesn't seem to have caught on that much at adult level. It seems to be used by a lot of goalkeepers for puck outs puck_da_sliotar (Cork) - Posts: 17 - 18/12/2016 19:24:22 1940843 Link 0 |
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Up till recently enough the abrasive coating on the Bas wore away after a while leaving the Bas smooth and pretty much useless, there's a newer version now with improved grip on the Bas, interesting to see how long this lasts on it
Bon (Kildare) - Posts: 1898 - 18/12/2016 20:45:28 1940855 Link 0 |
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Have to admit I thought the tape looked 'cool' if you put it on right. All my hurleys were ex- Kilkenny players hurls, my ol' man used to acquire these somehow and shave them down to my height and remake the handle. I thought I was the dogs bollocks strutting around the pitch with them :D realdub (Dublin) - Posts: 8586 - 18/12/2016 21:33:46 1940868 Link 1 |
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http://www.americanhurling.com/NorthAmericanHurleyCareManual.htm Jack_Sparrow (Westmeath) - Posts: 1014 - 18/12/2016 22:51:20 1940881 Link 0 |
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I'd suggest the Leinster counties generally use a longer hurl than Munster lads. Pretty sure Callinan plays with a 34 and Bubbles a 33. When I hurled in Dublin I played with lads 5ft 9 or 10 and were hurling with a 36 which to me is a bit mental. Shefflin had a ridiculously long looking hurl too. Personally im 6ft 1 and have used a 35 for years where my brother is the same height and he reckons he can't understand it..hes always had 34. An inch makes a big difference!! ;) tiobraid (Tipperary) - Posts: 4119 - 20/12/2016 09:25:14 1941075 Link 0 |
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tis all about the inches lads,the more the merrier. perfect10 (Wexford) - Posts: 3929 - 20/12/2016 09:46:03 1941081 Link 0 |
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I'd actually agree with the insulation tape idea. I always thought the same but thought it was just me! I got new hurls over the years with no tape and I always seem to strike and have a better touch once the tape went on. Firstly I thought I was superstitious or something!
tiobraid (Tipperary) - Posts: 4119 - 20/12/2016 09:52:51 1941084 Link 0 |
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I've decided to do a little study into the topic and write up the findings. If anyone could complete the following survey I'd appreciate it. Feel free to pass onto friends who may be interested, thanks puck_da_sliotar (Cork) - Posts: 17 - 30/12/2016 11:13:54 1942310 Link 0 |
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Some lads are longer than others..(braveheart) GGdub (Dublin) - Posts: 260 - 11/01/2017 00:33:49 1944752 Link 0 |
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Up to the wrist bone seems to be the measure now and that's most important for youngsters as a hurl that's too long and heavy will impede their development, causing a clumsy strike and mishits.. bricktop (Down) - Posts: 2503 - 16/01/2017 10:39:20 1946010 Link 0 |
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Growing up we were advised to measure your Hurley length to the top of your hip bone. Nowadays you could easily shave two inches off it. Killarney.87 (Tipperary) - Posts: 2513 - 16/01/2017 11:54:10 1946040 Link 1 |
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From the surveys completed so far it seems must players have changed their hurleys to shorter in past few years. puck_da_sliotar (Cork) - Posts: 17 - 20/01/2017 23:04:01 1947487 Link 1 |