Ice hockey tape is an essential piece of equipment for players, offering grip, protection, and customization for their sticks. With a variety of brands and styles available, finding the right tape can make a difference in a player’s performance on the ice. Let’s review some of the brands of hockey tape, provide general instructions for how to tape your stick, and explain why Howie’s Hockey Tape stands out as the top choice for players of all levels.
Summary of tape brands:
Howies Hockey Tape:
Known for its high-quality materials and superior adhesion, Howies Hockey Tape is a favorite among players at all levels of the game. With a wide range of colors and styles available, including cloth and grip tape options, Howies offers versatility and reliability for players seeking optimal performance on the ice.
Renfrew Pro:
Renfrew Pro is another popular choice among hockey players, offering durable cloth tape that provides excellent grip and protection for stick blades and butt-ends. Renfrew Pro tape is known for its consistent quality and longevity, making it a reliable option for players looking for a tape that can withstand the rigors of gameplay.
A&R Sports:
A&R Sports offers a variety of hockey tape options, including cloth tape, grip tape, and clear tape. Known for its affordability and wide availability, A&R Sports tape provides decent grip and protection for players on a budget.
Instructions for taping a stick blade:
- Start at the toe of the blade and wrap the tape around the bottom edge, ensuring that it overlaps slightly with each pass.
- Continue wrapping the tape around the blade in a spiral pattern, working your way up towards the heel.
- Once you reach the heel, use scissors to trim any excess tape.
- How you tape your blade will become a personal preference. It takes trial and error to find what works best for you.
Instructions for taping a stick butt-end:
- Start at the top of the stick shaft and wrap the tape around the butt-end, overlapping each pass slightly to ensure full coverage.
- Continue wrapping the tape downwards.
- Once you reach the desired amount of shaft covered by tape, use scissors to trim any excess tape and smooth out any wrinkles or bumps.
- Finally, if you want a knob at the end of the butt-end to make it easier to have an end point on your stick, start taping at the top of the stick shaft and wrap the tape around the butt-end continuously around the shaft at the top until you have the desired thickness of the knob.
Something to consider for your butt-end is a replaceable rubber grip. Buttendz makes a great grip for the butt-end that improves feel and control, protects the palm of your gloves from acquiring tape residue, and are reusable.
What I recommend:
Howies Hockey Tape stands out as the top choice for ice hockey tape due to several key factors:
- Superior adhesion: Howies tape offers exceptional adhesion, ensuring that it stays in place throughout the game without unraveling or coming loose.
- Durability: Howies is made from high-quality materials, providing long-lasting grip and protection for stick blades and butt-ends.
- Variety of options: Howies offers a wide range of tape options, including cloth tape, grip tape, and specialty tapes in various colors and styles, allowing players to customize their sticks to their liking. I personally like the classic white tape.
- Consistent quality: Howies is known for its consistent quality and reliability, making it a trusted choice for players, including me!