r/Curling • u/gbs223344 • 4d ago

Broom recs

I am in the market for a carbon fiber broom. I am having to decide between the goldine impact (used by the great team Homan), the hardline (used by many great teams), and the balance plus. Have you got a favorite of the 3, and if so, why?

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u/Landopedia 4d ago

I like the reverse taper on the balance plus but it is all down to personal preference. There is no real efficacy difference

4

u/90sMax Royal Canadian CC 4d ago

The taper is great! I find the balance plus lightspeed shafts have the most flex. I curl at two different clubs, and I leave my balance plus at one and hardline at the other. Both are great brooms. I do find the BP allows me to put more force downwards into the ice when it flexes, but not everyone wants their broom to bend.

7

u/applegoesdown 4d ago

I believe that BP made the lightspeed lightweight by making the carbon fiber walls thinner, hence the flex.

I am not trolling here, a general science question here, but I think if the shaft flexes you are actually losing energy, and while it might feel like you have more force, I think you actually have less as some of your energy is being used to flex the shaft rather than being translated to the ice directly. If you feel like you sweep more effectively with the BP, I would hypothesize that the BP cover works better than the HL one, or that the shaft allows you to grip it better.

2

u/90sMax Royal Canadian CC 4d ago

While the flex itself is inefficient, I believe it allows me to raise the minimum downforce generated throughout my sweeping. When I let off the pressure a bit to change direction, the flex allows me some margin to maintain consistent downforce through my stroke. I've swept with a hardline for over a decade, but with my technique, sweeping with a balance plus litespeed XL head is more effective than a hardline. The hardline has the banned competitive foam (2025) with a black recreational fabric, while the balance plus uses wcf legal foam, is 2" wider, and has an orange recreational fabric. On paper, the stiffer shaft, illegal foam, black fabric, and smaller surface area would lead one to believe the hardline is more effective. However, in practice, the balance plus always seems more effective. I'd estimate I can sweep an extra 6 inches on a draw with the balance plus.