“...ideal for powerful and accurate plays.” - Oxdog.net
As a result of FSL’s average reception, players were still on the lookout for a modernized shooter’s blade. To answer this demand, Oxdog looked back at their previous successes. Avox was, once again, an obvious starting point. Adding Optilight’s lightweight design to this concept feels like a natural fit. Gate’s design retains most of the greatest qualities of Avox, while also smoothing out some of the previous kinks. This simple, yet so beautiful 50-50 combination was released in new colourways and alongside a successful marketing campaign, it helped launch Gate as a new fan favourite.
It takes just a few minutes to realize that Gate is basically an Avox 2.0. Regardless of the archetypal similarities, though, Gate is not nearly as one-dimensional. The pocket at the tip of the blade that we find in Avox has been removed here and replaced by the amazingly versatile desing of Optilight. Reducing the weight down to 70 grams is also an important factor that plays into Gate’s feel in game. The much advertised STEP structure does increase Gate’s stiffness, which resulted in a great and powerful shooting feel in my MBC variant. This power naturally transfers to passing too, which can be a double-edged sword. Long passes with Gate feel effortless, but quick passing plays in smaller spaces did sometimes cause me trouble. Increased stiffness comes with a downside of slightly harder touch too, but all things considered, I really do like the design and feel of Gate. A pet peeve of mine is that Gate is not available in the traditional black, white, and tiff blue colours. Don’t get me wrong, the new colours look great in some stick combinations too. I just would like to see the traditional colours promoted as they mix well with any shaft choice.
There is one critical flaw I have found in Gate. Somehow, it just keeps breaking. This is in general usage too and I haven’t yet found any specific action or contact that causes it to break. I suspect that Oxdog attempted to increase the stiffness too much, which causes the blade to crack under enough pressure. Multiple players in my team, in addition to myself, have had Gate break in the exact same way. Some of these blades had only been in use for a couple training sessions too. I gave up after my second one broke, both cracked in the same position close to the middle of the blade. A local team that plays on a way higher level than mine also had similar issues with Gate. With that said, I know more players who have used Gate without breaking it, than those who have. It is possible that the first batches of this blade had some issues, and the more recent ones do not break as easily. My sample size is incredibly small compared to global usage, and this problem should not deter you from trying this blade. Just remember to buy from a store that has warranty in case yours breaks immediately.
Gate is an interesting blade with a lot of good attributes. I personally enjoy that Oxdog did not attempt to make this blade too light. The weight is perfect for a blade of Gate’s size, and I think that additional weight cuts could have made this blade feel flimsy and unstable. Shooting with Gate is absolutely brilliant. Gate is mainly marketed based on shooting power, but the precision is also an underrated aspect here. Using Gate felt oddly natural since the first training session and I pretty much skipped the whole adjustment period with this blade. Unfortunately, Gate slightly lacks in aspects outside of shooting. Additional touch and control attributes would be needed to push Gate into the global recommendation territory. For shooters though, this is my current number one recommendation. This Optilight-esque design has been a goldmine for Oxdog and I hope that they continue to utilize it in future products.