Non-Tape Stick Grips

[Miller55 333]

Thinking about changing away from classic Howie's tape to preserve my palms better. I swear a lot and am hard on palms, but with repalms these days being expensive and hard to come by good quality, I'd like to have my palms last as long as possible.

I've tried in the past and the issue I had was that they were too thick and just went back to tape. My handle is pretty close to the classic Kane style, so each of the brands makes an option I can use.

 

Wondering if the great minds here can weigh in on Lizard Skins vs. Tacki Mac vs. Buttendz.

If possible, rate each from 1-10 in terms of palm wear (10 being best for preserving palms), feel (10 being thinnest and best stick feel) and grip durability (how long the grip itself will last, 10 being forever)

[Sniper9 530]

Butt endz is a huge waste of money when you can get tacki macs. I like the subtle looks of tacki macs better too. I personally like lizard skins the best. Soft and grippy and doesn't damage palms. Only thing is that black does transfer some colour onto the palms but they don't damage the palms. Lizard skins also don't last as long as butt endz or tacki Mac and isn't transferrable from stick to stick. 

I only get lizard skins on sale. Otherwise I'd settle with stretch grip tape. Or even tennis grip.  

 

 

Edited March 21, 2022 by Sniper9

[Westside 232]

I’ve been using tacki Mac and tennis overgrip on my twigs for the last few years and have zero complaints. Haven’t worn through a set of palms since using either. Tacki Mac I use just the grip, not the adhesive strips, which cuts down on bulk and improves stick feel. I’ve worn through one of the grips but for the most part, they last longer than the stick. Tennis overgrip needs to be replaced after a season or so. Gives a bit of a cushioned feel, but is also considerably cheaper at $5 or $6 for 3 wraps 

[Miller55 333]

 

1 hour ago, Westside said:

I’ve been using tacki Mac and tennis overgrip on my twigs for the last few years and have zero complaints. Haven’t worn through a set of palms since using either. Tacki Mac I use just the grip, not the adhesive strips, which cuts down on bulk and improves stick feel. I’ve worn through one of the grips but for the most part, they last longer than the stick. Tennis overgrip needs to be replaced after a season or so. Gives a bit of a cushioned feel, but is also considerably cheaper at $5 or $6 for 3 wraps 

Tennis over grip is very thick imo. I'm sure they vary but I got a few ultra thin Dunlop and they're much thicker than tape. I was leaning towards Tacki Mac anyway, so thanks

[VegasHockey 1280]

This is the best grip I have ever used; https://vukgripz.com/

We sell a ton of it in store and I have yet to hear anything negative from any customer that buys it. 

[Westside 232]

9 minutes ago, Miller55 said:

 

Tennis over grip is very thick imo. I'm sure they vary but I got a few ultra thin Dunlop and they're much thicker than tape. I was leaning towards Tacki Mac anyway, so thanks

It’s thicker than tape, but can be stretched out so it’s fairly thin. Feel it’s not much different than lizard skins in that regard 

[Sniper9 530]

1 hour ago, PBH said:

This is the best grip I have ever used; https://vukgripz.com/

We sell a ton of it in store and I have yet to hear anything negative from any customer that buys it. 

Basically a lizard skin knockoff. 

[VegasHockey 1280]

2 hours ago, Sniper9 said:

Basically a lizard skin knockoff. 

Not even close. 

[shoot_the_goalie 281]

5 hours ago, Miller55 said:

 

Tennis over grip is very thick imo. I'm sure they vary but I got a few ultra thin Dunlop and they're much thicker than tape. I was leaning towards Tacki Mac anyway, so thanks

I don't use it on hockey sticks anymore, but the Wilson Sensation Overgrips are very thin providing much more feel than the standard over grip.

[xstartxtodayx 343]

I like a layer of stretchy sticky tape over regular cloth (either medical tape from CVS if they have some nice colors, or the overpriced version of the same stuff from the hockey shops).  I tried Tacki Mac for a few games but it felt too thick to me, I guess I prefer something on the thinner side.

[marka 526]

Howdy,

I used to use Tacki-mac and loved them, but something happened in my hand/wrist such that if I play without a big knob, my wrist hurts pretty badly.  I can't get a Tacki-mac (or Butt-endz or anything else) with the knob that seem to work best for me, so I just use cloth tape.

I solve the glove palm problem by constantly buying gloves and rotating them fairly often.  🙂  I don't seem to tear them up as badly as I used to with cloth tape and a small knob though... I wonder if the bulk adds some give to the knob, so that the palms don't wear as badly?

I might have to try one of the wrap overgrips over a knob built up with cloth tape.

Mark

[start_today 770]

A few wraps of hockey tape square around the buttend of the shaft, and that’s it. Shafts are grippy enough. 

This has really cut down on wear on my gloves. 

[beedee 227]

I've been using Tacki-Mac for years with great results. My wife recently gave Lizard Skins a shot and I must say it does feel pretty good. Feels a bit more spongy than my Tacki-Mac grips.

[psulion22 402]

I use the Buttendz and I really like the grip and control.  I had previously used TackiMac and ButtEndz are less tacky in a good way and firmer.  

But if all you're looking for is to protect your palms, strecth grip tape works really well for that without the excess cost and install.

Edited March 21, 2022 by psulion22

[x-axis 44]

15 hours ago, PBH said:

This is the best grip I have ever used; https://vukgripz.com/

We sell a ton of it in store and I have yet to hear anything negative from any customer that buys it. 

Curious if you've tried using regular cloth tape underneath to build up the knob to a desired width/height before wrapping. Had a lot of trouble with lizardskins because it was too thick.

[VegasHockey 1280]

32 minutes ago, x-axis said:

Curious if you've tried using regular cloth tape underneath to build up the knob to a desired width/height before wrapping. Had a lot of trouble with lizardskins because it was too thick.

Yes. I use electrical tape to build the knob top and then used Vuk grip over. Whats most interesting to me is you dont need to overlap the Vuk grip otherwise it locks your hand in too tightly. I also like that you can remove and reuse the Vuk grip too. 

[stick9 891]

Ive used both Tacki Macs and Buttendz over the past few years. I prefer the Buttendz because they are transferable from stick to stick. They're also much more durable than Tacki Macs. You get what you pay for I guess.

 

[krisdrum 233]

My kid uses Lizard Skinz.  I have started using Tacki Macks. 

For the Lizard Skins - they wear pretty well, but do fray with use.  He has been using them almost exclusively for about 3 years now.  I rarely used the X piece designed for on top of the top cap, and he's worn holes in his gloves from the plastic edge of the top cap (which I try to cover with standard hockey tape).  If I remember the few times I did use it, he wore through that edge pretty quickly to expose the plastic.

For the Tacki Macks - I have been using the Sand shorty.  Which has a bit of knob on it.  No issues so far with my gloves.  I usually use an Intermediate stick, so the added thickness of the grip is welcome.  I hairspray them on.  Probably stick with them.

Although these VukGripz look interesting. 

[Gswift 33]

1 hour ago, stick9 said:

Ive used both Tacki Macs and Buttendz over the past few years. I prefer the Buttendz because they are transferable from stick to stick. They're also much more durable than Tacki Macs. You get what you pay for I guess.

 

I have no issue transferring my Tacki Macs to other sticks...

[Westside 232]

1 hour ago, Gswift said:

I have no issue transferring my Tacki Macs to other sticks...

Same. Maybe you can't remove them with destroying them if you use the tape? I use the hairspray method and they come off by kind of rolling the grip up. Easy to put on a new stick

[Gswift 33]

1 hour ago, Westside said:

Same. Maybe you can't remove them with destroying them if you use the tape? I use the hairspray method and they come off by kind of rolling the grip up. Easy to put on a new stick

Pro tip, I use golf grip tape & solution....slides on & off easy peasy

[Westside 232]

Not familiar with that, hairspray helps the grip slide/twist on easy then it holds it in place once it dries. Never had one move on me which is obviously important 

[218hockey 50]

A little bit of soap and water is the best way to get TM grips on.

[the_game 452]

I prefer the tacki-Mac Kane grips. I’ve also had success with their other grips and making my own tape jobs and getting the tacki-Mac over it. Never had an issue taking one tack-Mac off and putting it on another stick, I also use hairspray as well which might make it easier.

I tried the buttendz but I think they’re too pricey and don’t provide the same grip as tacki-Mac. It seems like if you get the buttendz wet or have wet palms the buttendz tend to slip around in your hand, at least that’s my experience.

[stick9 891]

It's all personal preference. When questions like this are asked people tend to recommend what they use or like. The thing to keep in mind is, what works for some may not work for others. 

Give em try and see what one suites you best. I switched because I hated taping sticks. Even though I had a fairly decent process they still felt different from stick to stick. IMO $40 on grips that have lasted three or so years isn't a waste of money.