The Wall Test for Stick Sizing

The wall test is one of the most widely used stick sizing methods and one of the most commonly misapplied. Understanding both what the test tells you and what it doesn't tell you is necessary to use it correctly.

What You Need to Know

The test procedure is simple: stand in regular footwear on a flat surface, hold the stick vertically with the blade flat on the floor and the butt end pointing up, and note where the butt end falls relative to your face. Chin height is the conventional forward reference; nose height is the conventional defenseman reference. These references are calibrated to account for the approximately one-inch height that skates add when the player is on ice.

What the wall test cannot tell you is how your specific skating posture affects effective length during play. A player who skates in a deep, aggressive forward bend — common among elite forwards and players trained in skating efficiency — effectively makes themselves shorter than their standing height would suggest. For these players, the wall test consistently underestimates the appropriate length. On-ice testing in their actual skating posture is the only way to find the correct length, and the wall test's value is as a first approximation that gets them into the right range before that on-ice verification.

Key Takeaways:

• Wall test: blade flat on floor, note where butt end falls — chin for forwards, nose for defensemen in street shoes
• References are calibrated to account for approximately one inch of height added by skates
• Deep skating posture makes a player shorter — the wall test consistently underestimates length for aggressive skaters
• On-ice testing in actual skating posture is the definitive confirmation — wall test is the starting range, not the final answer

Use the wall test to get into the right range, then confirm with on-ice testing in skates — the wall test is a useful approximation, not a precise specification.