Effective way to reduce wear on your palms

[HockeySavants 5]

I'm sure most of us here get tired of getting gloves repalmed or seeing those brand new customs already looking like dirt after a first game.

After much testing (I have shot as much as 1500 pucks in the last week) I have confirmed that my stick grip idea works rather well.

Everyone either uses a tackimac or hockey tape as the grip on their stick.

There are many variations which all work fine, but it's inevitable that your gloves will soon start to wear.

I give you my idea:

Using shinguard tape, not only do most palms still have great grip on the stick, simple moisture from your hands give it more than sufficient grip as well. Using shinguard tape (I'm using Renfrew brand), there is no sticky or abrasive contact with your palms, thus adding 5-6X to the life of your palms. I also use First Aid Tape (medical adhesive...the bandaid spongy stuff) to add comfort to the grip, thus also reducing the strain to your physical palms as well as tension from your thumb.

Basic construction idea:

1. Friction tape to create the butt

2. Friction tape to create the contours of the grip

3. Shinguard tape over butt to prevent any contact with palms

4. Medical Adhesive to wrap grip, very spongy soft feel.

5. Wrap entire grip in shinguard tape.

It may feel almost to slippery on the palm at first, but basic hand moisture will more than help you grip on it with ease. You can also coat your palms with Barbasol shaving cream and will help significantly.

I have already taken 1500 shots with several taped sticks and palms, I haven't lost any power (if any gained), and all shots just as accurate.

What's also great about this technique, any contact with water will not wear into the grip and get sludgy, which adds significant wear to your palms.

[Chadd 916]

I prefer foam weatherstripping under cloth tape.

[BucksAway 16]

Tackimac's for me

Have had a pair of gloves for 3 years, 0 wear at ALL on the top hand. The only place i have a small hole is right under the thumb on my left glove which is bottom hand.

I have also thought about tennis grips but yet to try them, anything soft and squishy essentially would work to reduce effects on the palm

[datsyuk 0]

i concur with bucksaway, tackimacs reduce the wear on your palms compared to tape SO MUCH...i've had my gloves for about a year now and only MINOR wear and tear on them

edit: also its made of rubber so it provides soft cushioning for your top hand so you could grip your stick harder and not feel it dig into your hands

[bolt91 31]

Thanks for the tip HockeySavants. I tried the tacki-mac but it was too big for my hands. I will definitely have to try this. My custom franchise gloves have the mustang palms and I don't want to ruin them!

[JR Boucicaut 3804]

Just take a razor blade to the Tacki-Mac if it is too big. That is a standard Tacki-Mac.

[Thinkingjack 51]

Dude, theres different tacki macks for any grip you want.

I prefer thin ones, the Sand grip is the thinnest, SUPER THIN, if i'm not using that i'm using the patrick kane grip so i could do a review on it but its also thin, more spongy feeling, and has the spun tape to create that rib some people do, it's rad but ehhhh

try the sandgrip, its nice and thin and do what JR posted, i do the same i cut most of mine to the size of my hand

[bolt91 31]

Thanks for the tips guys!

[tdunleavy 0]

I'm with this group on the tacki-mac. I use the sand grip. Different question: has anyone needed to replace a grip? My sticks tend to last a long time and one of my grips is starting to rip at the bottom. Is the adhesive difficult to take off?

[IPv6Freely 2097]

I replace them on occasion because I have my grip side down when sitting at the bench and sometimes it gets cut by a skate. And no, not difficut at all. Peels off like a sticker, all in one piece. No residue.

I use the Kane grips, but I wish they had a knob on them. Tempted to try a sand grip. Not sure if I'd miss the ribs or not.

I should also mention that they actually get grippier once they wear a bit.

[JR Boucicaut 3804]

I don't even use the adhesive - straight hairspray.

[Thinkingjack 51]

i use hand soap, dial

[tdunleavy 0]

I don't even use the adhesive - straight hairspray.

JR - Hairspray? Do you just spray it on the top of the stick or inside the grip or what? Do you have to reapply over time or does it seem to be a one shot deal? Thanks.

[IPv6Freely 2097]

I don't even use the adhesive - straight hairspray.

I've never tried the hairspray route. Maybe I will next time.

[Stodgy 8]

I have used the adheisive supplied with the tackimac, and the hairspray advised on this wonderful site. I notice no difference with either grip.I have used 3 different grips with the ribbed one too thick for my liking, and the Kane and Command working out fine for me. I just bought a pair of Bauer Supreme One gloves and have noticed some pilling on the top hand glove after about 5 pickup games. Is this a normal process? The same thing happened to my Supreme 40 gloves. I air out all my equipment after every session and have started to use the shaving cream with lanolin once again , after researching this site.

[Thinkingjack 51]

i personally use any method save for the hairspray, the adhesive just leaves the residue on the buttend if you use one and remove it to a new stick in case yours broke so it's all preference. I love em either way

[IPv6Freely 2097]

They're cheap enough that if I need to get it off, I just cut it. Peel the tape off, and voila! Like it was brand new again :)

[Thinkingjack 51]

exactly, when i do the soap and no adhesive tape i just jam a butterknife or a flathead screwdriver and pour hot water in and the soap livens up, pulls right off

[bolt91 31]

Basic construction idea:

1. Friction tape to create the butt

2. Friction tape to create the contours of the grip

3. Shinguard tape over butt to prevent any contact with palms

4. Medical Adhesive to wrap grip, very spongy soft feel.

5. Wrap entire grip in shinguard tape.

I did this but a little differently. I did regular hockey tape with the twist grip and then a layer of shin guard tape. Works amazing!

I also tried using the Kane tacki mac but I didn't like how "grippy" it was.

[Law Goalie 147]

I've also had good success with 'customizing' Tackimac grips by chopping off the butt-end entirely, then adding a small butt-end to the stick with cloth tape and covering it with a strip of the Tackimac adhesive before sliding the grip on over the butt-end. Naturally, this won't work if you like a massive butt-end (if you do, check out the Goalie version), but for small butt-ends of varying widths, or rounded, this works well. You also need to be careful about smoothing out the edges, since the corners can wear through over time. On my goalies sticks, I don't notice this, but I have noticed it on one of my coaching sticks.

[mattisoffside 0]

Thanks to this thread I discovered Tacki-mac grips. Tried it out for the first time this week, good god what a difference. Feels terrific, and I actually think it's given me smoother control with my hands. And hopefully, my expensive gloves will last quite a bit longer, too. I'll probably never go back to taping the buttend of my sticks again. Love these forums.

[andyolly 0]

I like the shin tape idea. Might give it a try for a couple games this week. I've used regular tape and Tackimacs. Tackimacs definitely have helped reduce the wear, but they can be a bit annoying and are a pain to remove.

[kpeach122 0]

By shin guard tape u mean clear tape right?

[bolt91 31]

yes, clear tape

[bolt91 31]

I should also note that I tried it for a while but I ended up going back to regular tape because I felt like I didn't have as much grip. Although, you could try regular tape and do sort of a candy cane with the clear tape. I might try that.