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Stewie

Sniper skin- anyone used this?

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Friend shared a video of this product on facebook, seems neat. Has anyone tried it out?

 

 

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hmmm I like the butt end idea since it's customizable and should be pretty thin still.  I had tried some tacki-mac ones in the past and always felt they were too thick and were too big at the top (I prefer a thin tape wrap with a small thin nub at the top).  I just checked their site and am intrigued, looks like I might be making an impulse buy haha

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I like my tacki mac and have a russian grip in the mail. The blade wrap interested me but I always tape over the toe. My assumption is that you can do that with this and just trim?

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from my understanding the sleeve is customizable based on the length you want. my guess is that it comes in a sheet that will be too long for about anyone, and you can cut off the ends much like a mouth guard or the like. they also have a model called the dangler which comes in shorter. My guess is that this will be better for that purpose so you dont have to cut through the holes. not sure how well it will cover the toe area in terms of the top of the toe, you might not get a complete cover. maybe a thin strip of tape could help in this aspect. I will probably give this stuff a shot and see how long it lasts.

18 minutes ago, OldCY said:

I like my tacki mac and have a russian grip in the mail. The blade wrap interested me but I always tape over the toe. My assumption is that you can do that with this and just trim?

 

33 minutes ago, malcb33 said:

This looks really interesting. I'd love to give it a shot.

 

The sleeve does look a touch short though....

 

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A local guy was pumping these really hard saying how amazing they are for their kid and how much they love them, makes sense since it is pretty local to me.


I wonder if it is reusable and transferable or it is a once and done thing, I'd like the blade to cover the toe as well and this doesn't look to really do that.

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28 minutes ago, Hills said:

A local guy was pumping these really hard saying how amazing they are for their kid and how much they love them, makes sense since it is pretty local to me.


I wonder if it is reusable and transferable or it is a once and done thing, I'd like the blade to cover the toe as well and this doesn't look to really do that.

guessing its single use only. probably difficult to remove it once its formed without cutting the stuff off the blade. they estimate between 10 hours for bantom and 40 hours for atom players. If i can get about 20 skates itd be nice, but at 15 a pop, i think 10 might be a little low for me to get off the tape. will see how performance is. perhaps they will offer these in a multi-pack in the future at a discount once up front costs are satisfied.

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@Hills - sounds like it is a once and done thing.  He says it will last the life of the stick and is then recyclable.  I wouldn't guess that after shrinking it, there would be a way to get it back to its original form to get it on another stick.  

 

The only problem I see with it is not being able to cover the toe.  My son plays a lot along the boards and the toes of his sticks tend to take a beating.  Would be interesting if there is an option to cover the toe.

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Just now, chromechaser said:

@Hills - sounds like it is a once and done thing.  He says it will last the life of the stick and is then recyclable.  I wouldn't guess that after shrinking it, there would be a way to get it back to its original form to get it on another stick.  

 

The only problem I see with it is not being able to cover the toe.  My son plays a lot along the boards and the toes of his sticks tend to take a beating.  Would be interesting if there is an option to cover the toe.

the life of the stick estimate is for the grip portion. here is the "chart" they use to estimate how long the blade one will last

 

  A Sniper Skin Blade is subjected to the abuse of hockey and will eventually wear out.
  Results may vary but, here are examples from our experience:
  - A Major Bantam Rep player may see up to 10 hours of use
  - An Atom House League player may see up to a 40 hours of use
  - A Hockey Coach may see up to 80 hours of use
* Some customers are not wearing them out...

 

 

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Yeah, I checked out their site and saw that as well... doesn't seem to be worth it with how long they say it will last.

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1 minute ago, chromechaser said:

Missed that part.  Thanks.  Doesn't sound like it would be terribly economical.  Better for the environment though.  

yeah, ill try one to see how much mileage i can get out of it and the performance. If it last say a month, not sure it will be worth it for me, but if i can get two months out of one or more, it could be something id do. may even look to just get the upper grips, not a big tackimac guy, and even my textured surgical tape wears pretty quickly, could be worth that for the convenience, and the fact that you can add name/number for 5 bones. My guess is to make it really catch on they will have to look into a lower price point or increased durability in a second model.

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3 hours ago, malcb33 said:

This looks really interesting. I'd love to give it a shot.

 

The sleeve does look a touch short though....

 

3 hours ago, Stewie said:

from my understanding the sleeve is customizable based on the length you want. my guess is that it comes in a sheet that will be too long for about anyone, and you can cut off the ends much like a mouth guard or the like. they also have a model called the dangler which comes in shorter. My guess is that this will be better for that purpose so you dont have to cut through the holes. not sure how well it will cover the toe area in terms of the top of the toe, you might not get a complete cover. maybe a thin strip of tape could help in this aspect. I will probably give this stuff a shot and see how long it lasts.

 

 

 

10 minutes ago, chromechaser said:

@Hills - sounds like it is a once and done thing.  He says it will last the life of the stick and is then recyclable.  I wouldn't guess that after shrinking it, there would be a way to get it back to its original form to get it on another stick.  

 

The only problem I see with it is not being able to cover the toe.  My son plays a lot along the boards and the toes of his sticks tend to take a beating.  Would be interesting if there is an option to cover the toe.

 

You guys all need to learn to use YouTube lol (and if a few of you buy, then the Sniper Skin guy needs to send me a free blade cover):

 

 

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5 minutes ago, Cosmic said:

 

 

 

You guys all need to learn to use YouTube lol (and if a few of you buy, then the Sniper Skin guy needs to send me a free blade cover):

 

 

that essentially shows just the point i was making. I seen that video.  there is a gap in coverage at the end of the toe after he cuts the end off. this still lends it prone to hit the boards etc. a thin piece of tape at the end could help, but will be difficult to keep in place when you're running hot water on a product with adhesive. Its not going to affect me as I dont tape the toe, but someone who wants to do so for extra protection of that end area might not get the wrap they desire.

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Just now, Stewie said:

that essentially shows just the point i was making. I seen that video.  there is a gap in coverage at the end of the toe after he cuts the end off. this still lends it prone to hit the boards etc. a thin piece of tape at the end could help, but will be difficult to keep in place when you're running hot water on a product with adhesive. Its not going to affect me as I dont tape the toe, but someone who wants to do so for extra protection of that end area might not get the wrap they desire.

 

Ah ok, I admittedly did not watch the video to the end. I actually thought the same thing when I first watched the video, as I always tape to the toe for no other reason other than durability:

 

00CDE5E1-51C0-4283-BF7C-FE33863B142E_zps

 

When I saw the video that looked like the Sniper Skin went to the end, my thought was, "Maybe I will try when I run out of tape and wax," which ought not be any time soon. The PF Performance Tape with either the PF wax or just Blade Butter, lasts me about 8-10 pickups/ games usually, unless I get the anomalous gash on the face of the blade from a slapshot, which sometimes comes after 2-3 skates.

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there is a little bit of overlap, but my feeling is that if your pushing the stick hard into the boards, that little overlap is going to move with the motion as its not anchored at the end. if he wanted to sell people on its ability to cover the toe better, he shouldve used a stick with a black blade! perhaps another option for that end may be to use something else to adhere that end prior to cutting, like maybe one of those bag sealers, if the grip can/will melt together.

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Can see some pros and cons:

 

Pros

---------

Easy for children/youth players to use, since it doesn't need to be redone as often 

 

Environmentally superior to tape

 

Name and # for kids

 

Cons

---------

Not being used at pro level/won't be used, #1 influence for children 

 

Likely a huge pain to take off and get on the "right" way (without air bubbles)

 

Heavier than tape with possibly dampened feel

 

If kids use this as alternative, won't know how to tape when they are adults 

 

Safety issue for children. Boiling water can be very dangerous and while there is obviously a warning on the packaging,

it doesn't mean they'll listen. 

 

 

IMO not worth it for adults, possibly worth it for kids. I don't like shitting on someone's dream product but they are really underestimating how kids think. If there are no pro players using this, many kids will not try it. They will also be afraid of standing out in a negative light. The design isn't all that pretty, anyways. 

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I would be interested to try the grip version.  How well do they adhere to wooden extension plugs? 

 

For the blade option, I imagine they don't retain water like tape does, so there may not be that big of a weight difference...  Also no need for wax. 

 

I wonder if there is a difference in friction between the bottom of the blade and the ice compared to tape. 

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honestly the product itself may not outweigh tape. The polymer material doesn't seem overly thick/heavy and varies from something like blade tape. That and it eliminates the need to overwrap as in tape. I think that the "not used at pro level" will have limited effect on kids. Kids use brands more than anything, and almost no kid could tell you what brand of tape a pro is using. This is exactly the kind of product kids could think is cool and I think it will pick up there more than any adult level.

 

My main concerns remain performance and durability based.

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5 hours ago, Stewie said:

honestly the product itself may not outweigh tape. The polymer material doesn't seem overly thick/heavy and varies from something like blade tape. That and it eliminates the need to overwrap as in tape. I think that the "not used at pro level" will have limited effect on kids. Kids use brands more than anything, and almost no kid could tell you what brand of tape a pro is using. This is exactly the kind of product kids could think is cool and I think it will pick up there more than any adult level.

 

My main concerns remain performance and durability based.


So wouldn't this work both ways, kids don't care what their tape looks like? The customization is practically useless then.


Just playing the opposite side here, and what I would think if I had to stock my (non-existent) pro shop with this. With different brands out there for the butt end of the stick (Tacki Mac, Buttendz) it's facing an uphill climb there, too. Like I said I never like crapping on someone else's idea but I'm just really not sure it'll pay off. I was really into BladeTape and that really never became popular. Would rather say something now and hopefully the owner decides to backtrack and avoid possible losses. Kudos though to entrepreneurship. 

Off topic but how cool would it be if someone designed custom made hockey helmets? Better fit = better protection and while I'm not sure it would be used at the retail level, I could definitely see a market for pros and people who have suffered prior concussions. That, and gloves that are designed to be baked would make me open up my wallet without hesitation.  Too dumb to do it myself so hopefully someone sees this and runs with it.

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- Is this environmentally better than cloth tape? You change it less often, but I assume the materials that go into making whatever rubber-plastic compound this is are more toxic and take longer to biodegrade than cloth tape. 

 

- Bbd, I think someone makes customized goalie helmets, but they can't get them certified by the helmet overlords, so kids can't wear them. 

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