At Rock-It Pocket we recognize that the mesh and in particular the 'hard mesh' style of pocket have become very popular in men's lacrosse. We have offered our version of a 'built in' type of mesh pocket as an option for several years now.
Mesh makes for a lightweight pocket, the highest of priorities for many players, and the mesh piece is easy to put in and or replace in the stick head.
All Mesh-keteer pockets by Rock-it Pocket are strung to the head with the finest woven nylon and polyester string in ways that limit 'pocket change' as much as possible.
Mesh pocket options: Hard mesh, Soft mesh, Six-diamond mesh, and more.
We recommend regular hard mesh that stretches out at the slowest mesh rate. We cross in three sturdy laces, and one thinner, adjustable shooter.
We offer three mesh pocket placement choices, High, Middle, and Low.
HIGH POCKET MESH
The ball sits high in the head for great hold and greater speed on shots. If the ball is set right on the backswing the feeding and touch passes work well, too. In general these tend to be high performance and also high maintenance types of pockets.
Heads we recommend for high pocket aficionados:
Brine: Clutch series
STX: Superpower, Proton Power, Deuce
Warrior: Razer
MID POCKET MESH
The ball sits in a spot that is centrally located in the head with the Middle pocket. This placement allows for a high level of consistency with mesh, and combines features that work to hold the ball well while maintaining a quick stick release. Three laces and one shooter give maximum versatility, and we again recommend hard mesh unless you are sure that you want soft mesh, Canadian mesh, six-diamond mesh, etc. There are many to choose from and they are all a little different.
MOST ALL heads can work well with the middle pocket placement.
Heads we recommend for middle pocket
Warrior: Cobra, M80
STX: Proton U
Gait: Torque
LOW POCKET MESH
This pocket has the 'meat' of the pocket down low for players who like to keep the stick in a vertical position and cradle the ball close to their body. The ball release will happen lower in the head, too, and for the most part more quickly with a low 'pocket central' place.
The low pocket will work pretty well with soft or hard mesh, and is generally the easiest kind of mesh pocket to maintain, as it will stretch a little less quickly than the other two placement picks.
X models with more open throat areas and are legal for all levels of play make a good choice for the Low Meshketeer Pocket, but the low pocket is versatile and will work well with lots of heads.
Highly skilled offensive minded NCAA college players should choose some sort of X6 model and there are several. The Evo. X6, for example, with a low pocket is going to be a quick, accurate stick set-up without too much pocket maintenance.
FURTHER MESH REVIEW…
THE MESHKETEERS - PROS
We try to customize mesh for different players with differing styles and different performance expectations.
Our goal with mesh, as it has always been with any pocket we have ever strung at Rock-it Pocket, is to have the ball find its quick and consistent release point in the pocket every single time while also maintaining good pocket depth for maximum catch and hold capability. This is the completeness every player wants in his stick.
At Rock-it Pocket our pocket crafters are working hard to make the mesh pockets perform to their highest potential. We are taking into account the differences of the many head models and what pocket styles fit which heads best.
An important factor to take into account with all mesh is that the standardized mesh pieces fit a little differently in each of the different head makes and styles. Some shapes are just more suited to having the pocket a little higher or a touch lower inside the head, etc. Using the same method of pocket installation for every head style or model does not insure equal performance because they have little quirks and or variations that the mesh pocket installer needs to account for. These different elements include but are not limited to the number and placement of holes drilled in the head for attaching the pocket, the shape of the sidewall, the width of the head, and its overall length.
Part of our plan for the building of the better mesh pocket is that we are always working on the trick of getting them to perform equally well in any playing conditions.
We are building mesh pockets in an effort to limit the amount of stretch and change that take place as the pocket wears or when it gets wet. These techniques we are using will help to make the mesh more predictable and useable for anyone while also being more versatile and capable of meeting the needs of the very demanding player as well.
MESH POCKET DOWNSIDE
The mesh pocket has some drawbacks. It can stretch out of its original good shape more quickly than one might like, and when it stretches it is not always in a consistent way. Stretch in a lacrosse pocket, even a little, can alter the amount of 'whip' in that pocket a great deal. As the mesh diamonds get bigger, the throws, and especially the shots, can get more easily hung up in the pocket causing the ball to be pulled to one side. This is widely referred to as, “too much whip”.
Mesh pockets can get slick. The ball can slide in the pocket and that makes the release less predictable. In the same way balls get slick after being played with for not too long and players don't like to play with the slick balls as much as new ones that have a little friction on the surface.
Mesh pockets can change when wet or it is raining, and even sometimes when the humidity goes up or down, even just a little. They stretch when wet. This can lead to unpredictability that can be very frustrating to one who inherently needs to put a great deal of faith and trust into his version of the lacrosse player's most important tool, his stick.
At the end of the day at Rock-it Pocket we want to help stick and player live in harmony and happily ever after, or at least until the head breaks or a 'better' one comes on the market.
