If one were to look at a photograph of the 2010 STX X10 placed right next to a picture of the older STX Xcalibur head, that person would not see much of a difference between the two. The X10 head reflects the measurement change at the throat that needed to happen in order to meet the wider throat specs handed down by the NCAA for 2010, but the X10 is pretty much the 2009 Xcalibur changed only slightly to fit 2010 college specifications. It is LEGAL FOR both HIGH SCHOOL AND NCAA play.

At close inspection, however, there are some other differences between the old school Xcalibur and the new STX X10. The designers changed more than just the throat opening size in this most recent incarnation of the timeless and legendary STX head style. By the way, the original STX Excalibur was first produced over 25 years ago in the mid 1980's, and it has managed to morph itself well into the new millennium. It likely stands alone as the best selling individual lacrosse head model of all time.

The STX X10 weighs just a little less than 150 grams, placing it in the medium duty weight range. The stringing holes on the X10 are configured a little differently when compared to the Xcalibur, and there are a few more of them as well. And while they were redoing the throat section of the Xcalibur mold to make the X10, the look changed with it. The shaft slides inside the plastic head a little bit farther than the Xcalibur, so it should hold up to stick checks perhaps a little bit better than its predecessor.

STX removed the raised/built in foam stop feature that the Xcalibur has, and as do many of the recent STX heads. I wonder if this is a back to the future trend for them. The X10 uses a very thin ball stop that is placed flatly onto the uniform plastic surface at the throat of the head. I wonder aloud why 'they' don't make thicker foam ball stops for all heads. It must be an economic issue, because truthfully a thicker foam ball stop properly placed helps to hide and 'protect' the ball at the bottom of the pocket. It is illegal to use more than one ball stop in a head, but they do not regulate the thickness of a single foam ball stop. The stoppers used to be a thick piece of foam. As a player I would 'shave' mine with a razor blade so it would fit the actual round shape of the ball and help it to sit down a little extra. The Gait stops are thicker than many of the others now being used.

STX describes the X10 as having 10% improved stiffness over the Xcalibur. From the offset profile down to the trellis sidewall the STX X10 is a fairly basic, versatile, and durably built head that can work for any kind of player. We think it is a great head for middies at the college and club level.