Roller Hockey-Tape the Stick or Not?

[hockeyplaya97 0]

I have a roller hockey game later today and I wanted to know if you guys tape the stick during roller hockey or not? I would think it sticks to the floor more but I havent't played in about a year(broke my ankle right before the session started and it ended right after I was off of the crutches). I know the benefits would be better grip on the puck but you guys' thoughts?

[Archangel#16 1]

I use tape on my stick. it seems that if you dont have the tape, you miss a lot of passes. also if you use tape, just get on the rink and press on the blade and scoot it back and forth a couple of times. this makes it so the tape isnt so sticky on the bottom

[gee2626 0]

I use tape on my stick. it seems that if you dont have the tape, you miss a lot of passes. also if you use tape, just get on the rink and press on the blade and scoot it back and forth a couple of times. this makes it so the tape isnt so sticky on the bottom

That's what I use to do. Lately, I've been using a product called "blade tape". It gives excellent grip and feel, while not have the drag of the tape. Also, if you don't like the friction of tape, I've known players to add two strips of tape horizontally on the blade.

[Tyler B 0]

or cut the tape off the bottom of the blade

[4onthefloor 0]

Well, there's this stuff called blade tape and it adheres to both sides of the blade so you don't have to wrap around the entire blade like you would ordinarily do with traditional tape.

[DamnLocust 0]

I can't believe how popular "blade tape" is all of a sudden, especially since it's a 10 year old idea. Seems every other post or topic is about it.

If you're playing on sport court or most other indoor surfaces, you won't notice the friction much if at all on the bottom of the blade. If you're playing on an outdoor surface, as was suggested previously, just scrape off the bottom layer of tape using the playing surface. Just apply some pressure and skate around, dragging the blade a bit on either side to clean off the tape on the bottom.

[Ginge52 0]

I play on ice court and I tape the whole blade then use a candle to wax the bottom of the blade. I find it helps the blade slide better and i think it makes the tape last longer.

[OhMyGodImOnFire 0]

Should you wax roller hockey stick tape? I'd think it would rub off on the surface, making it more slippery.

[voss 0]

i don't think the wax idea is a good one

i just use strips of tape to tape the blade

[bombit 0]

I tape my sticks like I would playing ice. I take a candle and wax the ish out of the bottom of the blade though so the tape is slick and smooth where it would contact the floor. On painted concrete it usually wears out on the bottom after a few games but it lasts a while on sport court.

[Alias81 0]

If I value the blade 2 horizontal strips along the bottom if it's something I'm not to fond of I won't tape it.

[rwshockey55 0]

I have tried all methods and found the 2 horizontal strips of tape works best for me

[stevoc 0]

If I value the blade 2 horizontal strips along the bottom if it's something I'm not to fond of I won't tape it.

I do the same for all my blades...I put two horizontal strips at the bottom, then wrap the entire blade, starting at the toe and working up to the heel. I do this for couple of reasons:

Tape helps me receive a pass, especially hard ones. The tape deadens the impact of the puck on the blade, helping me control the pass as the puck tends to bounce off the blade without tape.

I start at the toe and go towards the heel thinking that the exposed ends of the tape are facing forward towards the blade end, producing less resistance against the puck when I shoot.

I notice no drag of any kind with the tape on sportcourt.

[english15x 3]

It all really depends on how you like your blade to be. I used to tape it traditional heel to toe. Now i just use the horizontal strips.

The heel to toe method is mainly for ice so you don't get snow build up. I can see why people would tape toe to heel for the resistance although it wouldn't make much of a noticeable difference.

[mac23 0]

At a place where I played last year, they had just bought a new court, so they had a rule saying that you couldn't have any tape on the blade. Made it harder to control passes.

[Ratfinklives 0]

It's all personal preference, I prefer a taped stick, but usually less tape than with ice. With a puck of course, with ball hockey no tape.

[#96 0]

I use wax on my tape too. Not candle wax though. I use something called Mason Wax. It goes around Mason Jars to seal them. It has a very low melting point, so a few touches with the sport court, the wax melts away anyway. But I like it for the top part of tape because it seals the edges and I also find it lengthens the life of the tapejob.

[thefelixculpa 0]

This is a very useful thread to me. I have been playing street hockey/rec hockey leagues since I was 7 (I am 20 now) but never did I have the money to play ice hockey and there are no puck inline leagues around here.

With a ball, I am as good as anybody, I'd play pickup games with guys I knew who play ice hockey for elite non-pro teams like the Jr. Flyers, Central Panthers, etc, and fit right in. I know the game and everything there is to know about hockey.

But when I started college and finally had the chance to tryout for a real inline team, I had no idea how to play with a puck. I went to tryouts without anything on my blade and I looked like a fool trying to handle the puck.

On a second note, can anybody give me any advice on what some good excersizes would be to strengthen my puck handing skills? It is so frustrating for me after feeling for all my life like I was a great hockey player, then to finally play with a puck and realize how far behind I am from other people who have puck experience.