How do you tape your blade?

[Puckducker]

Got a new 3 pack of sticks in today that I'm going to start taping shortly. I've never really put much thought into taping my sticks before, generally just kept things pretty conventional and never had any issues. 

So that got me wondering why some goalies (Price, Andersen) only tape the toe half of their blade, and leave the heel half completely exposed. Is it a stick handling advantage they are going for, or maybe getting harder rebounds off the heel?

I was also reading older posts on the Goalie Store forums where people claimed that not using tape actually increases stick durability, since you don't have the tape absorbing and holding onto water. 

I have to assume any advantage you may get one way or another has to be pretty minor at best. 

[stackem30]

Stick taping is pretty personal, and I tend to think everyone's opinions are really just relevant to what they like. So take this with a big 'ole grain of salt:

I really don't get the whole "just tape the toe" thing for goalies. I suspect that originally, it may have just stemmed out of goalies admiring how players get that crisp tape job on the toe, and thinking it looked cool. I totally get why players do it: they cradle and shoot the puck off of the toe all the time, and it makes sense to have a little more grip/padding there. Goalies? Most guys are shooting the puck from the heel or the middle of their blade, and they're making just as many saves with those parts of the stick. So I'm always going to want tape on the full blade of my stick. I'm sure people will disagree, but I tend to think of the toe-taping as a trendy thing that's just having a moment.

That isn't to say that taping just the toe will really impact or hurt anyone's game. As you said, I really think the advantages and disadvantages are minimal.

However, I do think taping your stick makes a big difference in how your blade holds up. When I was a teenager, I'd go so long between taping my stick that the bottom of the blade would be exposed to the ice, and I can tell you that they wore down and got chewed up much, much quicker (keep in mind, these were wood/foam-core sticks... might not be the case with composites). Goalies' sticks are, in theory, always supposed to be on the ice, and I like knowing I have tape there. Going without tape might work fine for the pros who get bundles of fresh sticks whenever they need them, but when I shell out for a new stick, I like to know it's going to be protected a bit and last longer.

On that note, I've never had a problem with tape retaining too much water and hurting the blade. I certainly don't re-tape my stick for every skate, but I do it much more often now. I also take my glove and wipe excess snow/slush from my stick throughout the game to keep it dry and light, and that small action helps quite a bit. Generally, I will put a single strip of electrical tape along the bottom of the blade (extremely light, and water-repellent), and then I'll tape from just above the heel to about 3/4" from the toe with hockey tape.

Again, just my personal thoughts. I'm not right, and nobody who tapes the toe is wrong, etc. I'm always open to new things, but I've never had any issues with a conventional tape job, and I'm clearly skeptical of the toe-tape thing for goalies. So I just keep doing what's worked for me.

[Kapz]

I've always waxed black tape and run a puck over white tape. Suppose to help with snow build up and keep at least some water out. Not sure if it actually does help with wear but it also looks way better.

[coopaloop1234]

@stackem30 That electrical tape idea is pretty smart. I usually do the one strip along the bottom to bolster that area since it's always in contact.

Aside from that, I tape my stick 'normally'. Heel to toe, no fancy gimmicks.

[IPv6Freely]

I tried just doing the toe half of my stick, but I found my stick kept slipping a bit when trying to get leverage to make passes because of the lack of friction on my heel. Granted, my technique is all kinds of wrong I'm sure, but that's what I've found. So I basically tape as much of the blade as what actually makes contact with the ice. 

[Dharmaboy]

I put a strip along the bottom that touches the ice and then I candy cane it.

[stackem30]

I'm genuinely impressed to check back in and see that nobody is mad at me for suggesting that toe-taping is just a trend. I have a feeling that if I said that on GGSU, I'd have received several death threats by now...

All jokes aside, there's nothing wrong with it. Hey, Price and Anderson both do it, and they certainly know best what they need to compete at a high level. In all likelihood, the only real advantage an NHL-caliber goalie gets from taping their stick any certain way is a mental edge. So if Price and Anderson are convinced that they have an advantage in taping their stick that way, they're not wrong. For those of us with less perfect stick skills, I do think there are more legitimate concerns (like wearing down the blade, or the problem IPv6Freely cited).

On another note, it's notable that both the Montreal and Toronto goalies tape just the toe of their stick... kids in Quebec and Ontario must be doing it a ton! I know that I just taped my stick like my favorite goalie* when I was a kid, and I haven't made many adjustments since.

*My agent has recommended that I not specify this goalie, as the unwavering, repetitive nature of my posts is putting my #brand at serious risk.

[Naz]

16 minutes ago, stackem30 said:

 I know that I just taped my stick like my favorite goalie* when I was a kid, and I haven't made many adjustments since.

Me too...

[stackem30]

@Naz

[SaveByRichter35]

I'm with @stackem30.  I also never got the point of taping just the toe.  I just took it as copying Price.  Personally, I run a strip of clear packing tape along the bottom of my blade.  Then one strip of regular tape, and then tape the blade normally.  I always wax the tape on the blade as well to help repel water.  I change the tape probably 2 or 3 times a season in a 12 game season.  I also use a separate stick for warmups than I do for games.  Its more to save my better sticks from all the nonstop slap shots but another benefit is my game sticks don't see much water unless the ice is really bad.  

[SaveByRichter35]

9 hours ago, Kapz said:

I've always waxed black tape and run a puck over white tape. Suppose to help with snow build up and keep at least some water out. Not sure if it actually does help with wear but it also looks way better.

Why wax for black and puck for white?  Why not just wax both of them?

[Kapz]

14 hours ago, SaveByRichter35 said:

Why wax for black and puck for white?  Why not just wax both of them?

Purely for looks.

[itis121]

I tape half of the blade, bottom perimeter and the horizontal strip at the bottom w/ wax. Mostly do this because I'm a cheapass when it comes to tape. My play style has me poke checking a lot so I usually end up with skate cuts on the tape after a few skates.

[Mroy31]

I also do the strip along the bottom before covering the whole thing.

The only thought I have on the toe-taping is that maybe it's a visual thing for when they handle the puck?  Like if their curves lend themselves to long passes better closer to the toe than the heel?  I don't know enough about the curves they use to back that up.

[TheGoalNet]

There’s only 1 way... #BlackTapeBandits 

[Chenner29]

7 hours ago, Mroy31 said:

I also do the strip along the bottom before covering the whole thing.

The only thought I have on the toe-taping is that maybe it's a visual thing for when they handle the puck?  Like if their curves lend themselves to long passes better closer to the toe than the heel?  I don't know enough about the curves they use to back that up. 

Good point, it could be an easy way for them to know where to place the stick to snap it off the toe vs roll the puck off from heel to toe.

It could also be a visual marker for them to map the middle of the blade so they know they are square (hips, shoulders, stick).

Personally, I do the strip lengthwise from the top of the blade to the heel, then wrap the blade from toe to heel.
I'll run a puck along the tape to get it nice and flat, then apply a layer of wax to keep snow from sticking to it.
I usually carry two sticks and change to the second one after the second period.

[BauerHockey47]

Removing the tape from your stick after every skate will dramatically improve the lifespan of your stick blade, at least for foam-core sticks. Leaving the tape on leaves the water to absorb into the blade itself, as the stick drys. So, I remove my tape after every skate. After all, a few rolls of tape is cheaper than a new pack of sticks.

Personally, I tape my stick toe to heel, starting about a third of the way from the toe (leaving the toe exposed) and taping back to just north of the heel of the stick. I tape toe to heel so the puck moves with the tape when I shoot the puck from heel to toe. I leave the toe exposed to use less tape and just to be different.

I also have a lundqvist style handle, using a thin layer of trainer foam and grip tape where the shaft meets the paddle. And I only use half the width of a roll of tape to make a knob at the end of the shaft.

[stackem30]

18 hours ago, TheGoalNet said:

There’s only 1 way... #BlackTapeBandits 

I am a lifelong #BlackTapeBandit, but I just could not do it the few times I've had white-based sticks — it just looks bad to me.

[MTH]

Quote

How do you tape your blade?

Nude while watching reruns of Alf.

Why?

[mufforz]

As most have said it's mostly preference. For me I started with heel to toe (no wax) I towards the end of the game the tape to be saturated with water and it did affect my stick play (I'm not great by any means to begin with but I'm decent enough). Switched to mid to toe and yes the stick gets wet I am now able to whipe away the water and I feel late in the game I can whip it up just as good. Again it's all personal preference. I use a warrior cr3 and a swagger pro at as a back up

[bunnyman666]

I wrap sock tape around the entire edge of the blade and on the bottom of the paddle. Then I tape regular stick tape over the sock tape. After that, I just tape it up from the lower portion of the paddle to the toe. I don’t wax my goal sticks. My tape job keeps out the water.