“Designed for precision and quick play…” - Oxdog.net
Optilight was the first attempt at a lightweight blade from Oxdog. Released alongside the Zero Rudd shaft in 2018, Optilight faced some scepticism as having a lightweight blade was not considered as imporant as it is today. Regardless of some people considering these selling points gimmicky, Optilight ended up being a brilliant overall blade. This blade made even great passers like Sami Koski finally give up Block, and switch to the newer generation of Oxdog blades. Storvreta’s superstar Filip Langer also named Optilight as his favorite blade, thanks to the exceptional performance in all areas of the game. Even if most average players did not realize it at first, this blade made way for a whole new ideology of developing lightweight floorball blades.
To reach the weight to 66 grams, Oxdog decided to make this blade a bit smaller than the previous ones. In game, Optilight does feel a lot like Block, but with incredible swiftness and comfort. It’s also angled a bit differently than other Oxdog blades, which makes the blade feel a lot more closed. The heel of this blade is visually very similar to Avox, but the reduction in material makes it feel noticeably different. The stiffness does remain though, which is crucial for a great shooting feel in Optilight. The touch is a bit harder than Razor or Highlight, but remains above Avox thanks to the weight reduction. I have found drag shots to be the most comfortable with Optilight. Other shooting techniques feel tolerable too, but do not quite reach the comfort level of Gate or even Avox at times. What Optilight lacks in creating power for one-timers, it makes up for in unrivaled precision. When you need to reliably score goals in small spaces, this is the blade for you. The ball seems to snap away from this blade with such control that making even the tiniest of adjustments is possible. This is where I personally realized that having a light blade is not just a marketing trick. When you need less strength to move the stick, you can focus on precision instead. This is in fact the main selling point of any lightweight blade or stick. Great news defenders! This is beneficial for you too. Having the ability to make snappy movements with the stick helps with intercepting passes and stealing the ball from attackers. There is a reason why you don’t see too many top professional defenders use heavier sticks anymore.
There aren’t many blades as versatile as Optilight. If I called Razor “Block on steroids”, then this blade is Block on that pure, lab-grown good stuff. Razor has some minor downsides that do not exist in Optilight, although some aspects are still comparable between the two. The beauty of Optilight is that any type of player can modify this to their needs with relative ease. If you want to be a passing machine, you can do that brilliantly. If you want a strong hook to focus on drag shots, you can compete with the best shooting blades out there. The world is your oyster with Optilight.
This is my number one recommendation for any player and playstyle. The only reason why this blade does not get the full score is that I wish it would be just a bit larger. A tiny issue I know, but there aren’t many others I can point out. Oxdog has found a sweet spot with Optilight’s weight. It’s not too light to make a heavier shaft unbalanced but still light enough for the premium models. There simply aren’t enough superlatives to describe this blade. If for some reason you have not tried Optilight yet, this is your time to do so. Optilight is not only one of the best Oxdog blades, but one of the best available from any brand.