It is very rare that anyone would ever see an ice hockey player not have ice hockey tape! It doesn't even need to be that specific! Hockey players all tape their sticks! Some may have personal reasons, but we believe there are benefits to taping a hockey stick correctly! "How to tape a hockey stick handle" is another great topic that we will touch on, but will want to focus on the "WHY" in this blog! Thank you in advance for taking the time to hear our thoughts! Here is a quick link to our hockey tape products as well!
Why Do Hockey Players Tape Their Sticks: Personal Reasons
We did our own research! We wanted to explore other sites opinions like StackExchange and even BS Hockey! But, many of the other sites only talk about the importance of wrapping the hockey stick blade. Now, we believe this is important. Reasons:
- Hockey Tape protects the blade of the stick
- Any hockey grip tape put on the blade will increase puck control for shooting, passing, catching the puck and defending!
- It just looks bad-ass!
Describing Those Personal Reasons:
Now, while all of those may seem like performance reasons, players have learned the game of hockey from watching their favorite pros! So, although it originally stemmed from performance benefits, most hockey players probably feel "naked," in a sense, if their the blade doesn't have some sort of friction tape on it. Since playing professional baseball, it would probably be similar to a player putting a bat grip their bat! Players use some type of product to enhance their grip, control and performance! But, unlike hockey players, baseball players cannot put tape on the barrel of the bat. So, although that analogy may work, the purpose of the tape is based on its location.
Because of our interaction with NHL and youth players, we have learned that most like to have some type of patterned hockey tape on their handle. It adds some flare to their stick, especially with all of the new products recently on the market! And, it does help them feel the stick better. Especially, through their gloves! Players also tape their hockey stick handle because they want to protect the palms of their hockey gloves! Hockey sticks take beatings. Whether during practice, game play and from general use. So, the edges will start to wear on the palms of the gloves! Players believe that by adding friction hockey tape, this will help prevent holes in the their hockey gloves!
Why Do Hockey Players Tape Their Sticks: Performance Reasons
This is where we see specific hockey grip brands start popping up! Unfortunately, because VukGripz is new, we have not been listed on any Best Hockey Tape lists. For example, check out Honest Hockey's 6 Best Tapes of 2020 (don't worry: we sent them a message to review us)! Most products in this market fall under 2 categories:
- Cloth Tapes are thin; rough; textured; absorb moisture and sweat; can leave sticky residue; not reusable after extended use; and fray on edges.
- Grips are sticky; tacky; thicker than cloth tapes; absorb moisture/sweat; not reusable after extended use; will lose sticky/tacky top-layer coating fast; and are heavy.
Describing Performance Reasons to Grip Your Stick:
Now, cloth hockey tape is like Howie's Hockey Tape (#1 on Honest Hockey's List) or Renfrew Hockey Tape (#2 on the List). Basically, these guys took athletic tape and made it cool hockey tape by adding colors, patterns and designs. The second category is has companies like Lizard Skins Hockey Grip Tape (#3 on the list)! These guys exploded onto the baseball scene about 10 years ago with their re-engineered bat grips. Since then, they have tried to include products in hockey, lacrosse and cycling.
I have personally used each of these products before developing my own products, and they are good alternatives! Lots of crazy designs and colors are available in both versions! And, players started using these alternatives to enhance their grip and feel on their hockey stick! Both of those solve problems of stick control! A better grip allows a player to experience a higher level of training and performance ! All of the companies that fall under these 2 categories deserve recognition for what they have accomplished. Many of those products are made overseas. The quality control is left up to the manufacturer with hopes they even care!
What if there were American Made alternatives that were manufactured, designed and packaged in the USA? What if there was a 3rd Category (insert THINKING FACE)?
The 3rd Category: Friction Hockey Tape
Not to bring up the past again, but I have been very blessed to have played professional baseball! Not many people can say that and not many business owners had the privilege of testing their products, while playing! So, I decided that I liked using my products so much that I needed to find a way to get it out there! It went like this: I started VukGripz, we earned "Best of Show" at the World's Largest Baseball Convention (ABCA) and now have 7 sports that we service! Now, we get to help answer the question asked at the beginning: "Why do hockey players tape their sticks," while describing why I developed the best hockey tape!
Why VukGripz Friction Hockey Tape is the Best when Tapping Sticks:
That is a "Bold Approach Cotton," but we can support it! So, I developed the 1st American Made, PREMIUM FRICTION Hockey Tape or Hockey Grip! Premium Friction is a road for players to take to achieving Optimum Grip! Training and Playing with optimum grip allows players to perform at a higher level!
- Why is Friction Hockey Tape Important: More Friction decreases the amount of natural slip that occurs between your hand and the hockey stick. Again, players use grip tape and cloth tape to help decrease that. But, both don't provide consistence performance for the player! VukGripz uses millions of micro-replicated, plastic fingers to do the gripping for the players! Our gripping material grabs onto whatever it comes in contact with! So, your hand grabs onto our grips! One thing to consider is how the oils on our skin may affect the amount of friction (each person is different)! But, in hockey, players all wear gloves! The hockey palm material will allow our mini fingers to grab it better, so it reduces the slip!
- How Does it Increase Performance: There are cool ways to tape a hockey stick! With VukGripz, the coolest way is putting it on your stick (insert smiley face here)! But, this is the philosophy we use to explain our performance:
- More friction = less slip/loss of energy + More friction = Increased Relaxation in Hands, Wrists, Arms and Upper Body = Increased Flexibility and Range of Motion which Increases Fluidity = Increased Fluidity allows players to free up their muscles to naturally gain more feel and explosion = More Explosion and Feel will increase stick control for passing, defending, catching and shooting on top of increasing shot speed.
We answer the question: Why Do Hockey Players Tape Their Sticks? The answer: TO PLAY BETTER!
Top 5 Hockey Grip Tapes from VukGripz:
Here are our Top 5 Selling Hockey Tapes! Click on one of the products below to learn more:
- Black Hockey Tape
- White Hockey Tape
- American Flag Hockey Tape
- Red Hockey Grip Tape
- Green Hockey Tape