Warrior Rabil HS Lacrosse Head

The day Warrior signed Paul Rabil in 2012 and joined their design team, we waited in anticipation for a whole new line of lacrosse gear. A line which was built for attackers, one which was all about shooting, a line which epitomised all that is Paul Rabil. He drove, like he does to goal, to build the ultimate in lacrosse equipment. The new line features a lacrosse head, a shaft, shoulder pads and arm pads. All the fine tuning and tweaking of specific areas was done by him. Surprisingly enough there are no gloves included in the line. Maybe they'll keeping us waiting with antici ............ pation.

As the name suggests, the Rabil HS lacrosse head is designed for high school attackers, midfielders, dodgers and feeders who demand the utmost performance from their stick. It's the marquee release for 2013 and will help the elite player get more power into their shots. It is packed full of great features and is made using the latest technology.

Design

The Rabil features Warrior`s NOZ-assist technology which gives it its featherweight feel. This involves part of the head being hollowed out and injected with nitrogen gas. Nitrogen gas is lighter than air which reduces the weight of the head and supposedly increases its strength. The resulting head weighs in at 4.3oz, which is crazy light!

A signature series wouldn't be complete without an eye-catching design. Warrior has not gone all out with this which is good because what they've come up with is pretty cool. The 2 shot multi color sidewalls looks great. The dual shot moulding process allows the dye to be injected while the head is being manufactured. This is best way to colorise your head as I'm sure we all know the perils of home-dying our heads. There's a wide array of color options which do make the head stand out without being in your face.

Scoop

The head also features a pointy tip which allows you to thread a triangular shooting string. This really increases the accuracy and velocity of your shots.

Warrior Rabil HS Lacrosse Head - Side on view

Sidewalls

The head is designed with flared sidewalls which increased ball control when cradling, passing and shooting. The flares, combined with the extra stringing holes and pinch, assist in stringing high and mid pockets. This head is very similar to the STX Super Power only the Rabil is little ahead with the extra sidewall holes.

As with all good shooting heads, it's got to be fitted with an offset. And it sure is. The Rabil is built with Warriors Truoffset design. The curve of the top sidewall rail starts at the throat and straightens out about 1/3 of the way up. The bottom sidewall rail is a long, smooth curve which adds depth to your pocket resulting in additional shot speed. The smoothness of the curve transfers through to the pocket giving you a bit more consistency with the ball release.

Throat/neck

For a head to be a goal scoring head, it needs to be accurate. The throat of the Rabil runs directly up to the tip of the scoop giving you a very accurate channel. Additionally the neck is very strong to cope with the strain of a hard shot.

Warp factor

With all Noz heads you do have to be careful as the lightening efforts can take away some of its durability. They're not the stiffest heads going around. Just make sure you don't beat up on it and you'll be fine. Remember this head is for shooting.

Summary

While predominantly relying on the Rabil name, Warrior have done well to also make this a great head. the weight, sidewalls and shooting capability make this a serious option for goal scorers. This head comes with a 6 month warranty direct from Warrior and meets only NFHS specifications. If you're looking for the NCAA head, check out the Rabil X.