ECD said the Mirage was designed "For Stringers, By Stringers" and they definitely delivered on that. I had the chance to string up two Mirages, one for myself which I just had to string up with an unreleased color way of ECD's Hero Mesh that I'd been saving and Hero Strings in ECD's signature colors (I even matched it up with an original ECD Signature Carbon shaft to make the complete ECD stick look awesome!). The other, which I strung for a friend of mine, I strung up with ECD Vortex Mesh. I was able to string the first head up very easily with my first attempt at coming up with a pattern for a good mid pocket. I strung both heads using the exact same pattern with the different meshes and both had a good amount of hold and a very nice release (with a bit of a difference based on preference of the mesh types, but both very nice). There are a ton of stringing holes and they are all a nice size to allow you to double wrap a sidewall where necessary. The six top string holes are perfectly spaced and large enough to do any type of top string or fit leathers through. The bottom string holes were perfect for a shooter type bottom lace although some leathers might have a tough time fitting through there.
I really liked the face shape of the Mirage. It has a high pinch and flare keeping it tight for the bottom 2/3 or so of the head, giving you great ball control. With the aggressive flare, it allows you to easily string up a nice channel. The pockets I strung in the Mirage seem to be extremely accurate, which I credit highly to the face shape. The scoop on the Mirage isn't my favorite, as I personally like a slightly more rounded scoop, but as long as you use good form on scooping the ball (two hands kids!), you shouldn't have any issues. The Mirage has a medium amount of flex, although I wouldn't recommend using it for face offs.
Like most of ECD's products, the Mirage is proudly Made in USA. As their name suggests, East Coast Dyes obviously allows you to dye the Mirage and it's flat surface makes it a good canvas for some impressive dye artwork. The packaging of the Mirage is also pretty cool. It comes on a stand that holds the head up for display, if that's your thing and you want to show off fantasy dye or string jobs, or just use it to take pictures of heads.
Overall, I really liked the Mirage. The Mirage is one of the most accurate shooting heads I've ever used and it feels great to throw with. I would highly recommend it for any offensive player who needs to pick corners easily.
