tape-O vs. renfro

[jimmy 194]

I've been carrying Renfrew, Andover and a canadian brand tape and am considering stocking Tape-O. I've heard good things about it, but curious how it stacks up against Renfrew? Thanks

[JR Boucicaut 3804]

They're both garbage. Look into Sportstape or Comp-O-Stik.

[NuggyBuggy 0]

They're both garbage. Look into Sportstape or Comp-O-Stik.

What makes Renfrew tape garbage ? That's pretty much all I ever see in any of the Toronto hockey stores.

[kovalchuk71 212]

The ends fray REALLY easy...Its quite annyoing <_<

[jimmy 194]

I don't believe renfrew is garbage as it is the #1 selling tape, however, some other brands might be better quality, that's what I'm looking for. I'm very interested in Comp-o-stik, I'm comparing their prices now. Seems it's 11cents more per roll. is it worth it?

[lecavalier 0]

All I can use is Renfrew since it's the only tape all the stores around here stock...

[notorious#29 0]

If you can find Comp-O-Stik, go for it. Most of the stores around here only carry Renfrew and Andover, but I managed to find a store that has Comp-O-Stik, and its worth it. Once you use Comp-O-Stik, you won't go back to Renfrew.

[jimmy 194]

If you can find Comp-O-Stik, go for it. Most of the stores around here only carry Renfrew and Andover, but I managed to find a store that has Comp-O-Stik, and its worth it. Once you use Comp-O-Stik, you won't go back to Renfrew.

Curious what your LHS sells the 1" white cloth, clear and friction tape for? Comp-O will cost me 29 cents more per roll for cloth, and 26 for friction. I'd have to raise my prices. Customers don't like that. The only tape they sell cheaper than current suppliers is clear tape.

[Icedog03 0]

My shop sells Comp-o-stik for $2.99 a roll

[kevinbelt 0]

the store i work at sells tape-o, and the rink i play at most of the time sells renfrew. i used to use renfrew just because i would forget to buy tape until it was game time. our graf and eagle sales rep just picked up comp-o-stik, though, so he gave us some samples. i've used the white and black cloth, and the colored shin tape (like clear, only not clear).

the colored clear, as we call it, is the best shin tape i've ever used. it wraps really tightly, and doesn't stretch at all, plus it's incredibly easy to tear off the end. i like the cloth tape, too, although i've had some problems with it. all of the tape doesn't unroll at the same time, so you get little strings building up around the edges, and your tape job looks pretty amateur. it's not a big deal, but it annoys me.

i've never really liked tape-o. i play with it because that's what we sell, but i don't think it's good tape. it rips really easily. i'll look down at my blade after like three shifts and there will be tears in the tape job, and it's not like i play very hard. i don't remember having that problem with renfrew, but it's been over a year since i've used it.

plus comp-o-stik comes in more spiffy colors.

-k

[Jason 65]

I've used Renfrew, Lowry's, Sportstape and Andover. So far I like Andover best, then Sportstape, then Lowry's, then Renfrew. Lowry's and Renfrew fray and the edges like crazy. Andover does this the least for me and the tape seems to be slight thicker, stronger and has a nice texture. It's all I buy right now. Only in white though. Haven't tried Comp-O-Stick yet. Can't find it in a LHS.

[notorious#29 0]

If you can find Comp-O-Stik, go for it. Most of the stores around here only carry Renfrew and Andover, but I managed to find a store that has Comp-O-Stik, and its worth it. Once you use Comp-O-Stik, you won't go back to Renfrew.

Curious what your LHS sells the 1" white cloth, clear and friction tape for? Comp-O will cost me 29 cents more per roll for cloth, and 26 for friction. I'd have to raise my prices. Customers don't like that. The only tape they sell cheaper than current suppliers is clear tape.

$2.89 for a roll for the white, I dont know about the friction tape or clear.

[kovalchuk71 212]

Honestly Jimmy, if you have a bunch of rec. players in your area that dont really care about their tape as long it stays on the stick, I would keep at what your selling....If you have people that come in and complain about the tape, I would consider changing then

[jimmy 194]

My shop sells Comp-o-stik for $2.99 a roll

Yea, the higher wholesale cost means higher retail prices. I charge $2.00 per roll for Renfrew and Andover white. My customers would need a real good explanation why tape now cost $3 per roll. Too many, tape is tape and cheap is better. They'll acuse me of being a big bad high priced LHS! :D

[Icedog03 0]

My shop sells Comp-o-stik for $2.99 a roll

Yea, the higher wholesale cost means higher retail prices. I charge $2.00 per roll for Renfrew and Andover white. My customers would need a real good explanation why tape now cost $3 per roll. Too many, tape is tape and cheap is better. They'll acuse me of being a big bad high priced LHS! :D

all the shops around here sell renfrew or jaybird for $2.99 aswell

[Chadd 916]

My shop sells Comp-o-stik for $2.99 a roll

Yea, the higher wholesale cost means higher retail prices. I charge $2.00 per roll for Renfrew and Andover white. My customers would need a real good explanation why tape now cost $3 per roll. Too many, tape is tape and cheap is better. They'll acuse me of being a big bad high priced LHS! :D

That's why we don't sell comp-o, I just can't sell a tape that expensive in my market. There is a PIAS close to me that sells renfrew for much less than we sell our Andover. Amdover is close to comp-o in terms of quality and cheaper. Sportstape was ok, but they quoted us one price and charged us 13 cents more a roll, plus we got killed with shipping charges. I won't touch them ever again after doing that to us.

Our tape-o rep gave us a couple samples last year, I ended up giving away the last half of the roll because I couldn't get through a period without the tape shredding.

As to the question of why everyone sells Renfrew, it's the cheapest tape on the market.

[whbd18 0]

andover is horrible tape,every time i use it ,i have to retape the blade after about 10 minutes,i like renfrew alot and its all i use,i would never pay $3 for a roll of tape no matter how good it is

[blues_91 0]

I always have to change my tape every game no matter what brand so I just buy renfrew in bulk.

[Chadd 916]

andover is horrible tape,every time i use it ,i have to retape the blade after about 10 minutes,i like renfrew alot and its all i use,i would never pay $3 for a roll of tape no matter how good it is

You are the first person that I've ever heard say that Renfrew was better tape than Andover. I even have some of the guys from other shops that sell Renfrew buying Andover from me.

[Shorthanded67 0]

Most shops near me sell Renfrew but I give my business to the one shop that sells Andover, even if I have to pay a tad more. Same explanation as most players, Renfrew frays on me but Andover seems to have better durability.

Yeah the bad thing with tape is that it is one of the top sellers in a shop. Therefore if you raise the price on it, it's immediately noticeable to customers.

I have not worked in an LHS but I am a manager of a produce department so I'll try to compare. It's the general consensus that you never raise prices on bananas (always the #1 seller in any store) but when you need to start making a bit more profit for the department, you tag small incremental increases on the more non-noticeable items (like....mangoes :P ).

[JR Boucicaut 3804]

At RDV we sold Sportstape for $2.50. Renfrew frays too much.

[thunderbirds_are_go 0]

We sell Renfrew mainly here, but have had Andover and Jaybird tape also. The Renfrew tape has always been the most adhessive, but it does fray a lot. We've just got so Comp-O tape in but we're selling through our Renfrew before we start on it, and I haven't used it yet, so I can't say how much of an improvement it is. We're pretty small, so we get our tape through a second tier distributor, and they charge the same for Renfrew and Comp-O tape. They're both nearby our distributor (in New Jersey) so maybe he gets a better price from Comp-O for that.

[asdfa 0]

i don't know how consistent tape is for you guys, but i went through about a month of renfrew where the ends didn't fray at all and they lasted about 3 icetimes each taping

[ken 0]

I usually only use Renfrew tape but I had a game one night and was at the mall and stopped in Olympia Sports and bought some tape there. Not sure what kind it was, but it was terrible. Kept fraying, wouldn't stick well, etc... Also bought some clear tape at Modell's which wasn't as good as Renfrew. Not saying Renfrew is the best, but the best I tried. All I see at my LHS and even Sports Authority is Renfrew.

As for $2 or $3/roll, wouldn't really matter to me. I paid $3 for the junk from Olympia that I used once and threw out it was so bad so $3 for a decent roll I don't think is bad...Jimmy, where is your store located?

[ambro 0]

Andover is bad tape. It wears through too easy on the bottom of the blade. Sportstape did that to me as well. Renfrew though is the worst overall tape. The only tape that I have found not to wear through on the bottom is Jaybird. There is no tape ever that can beat Jaybird. It is by far the best.