Pre Taping Twig Treatment:

Even before you are applying your hockey tape to your twig, there are some important things to consider that will affect how your TJ turns out and holds up on the ice. First, you need to make sure you are starting with a clean stick. There shouldn't be any water, ice, dirt or any leftover adhesive on your stick. Having that on the stick can affect how the new tape sticks and allow for water to get under and shorten the lifespan of your TJ. 

 

Tape Care:

Now that we know our stick is in good shape to get taped up, we also need to make sure we are taking proper care of our hockey tape! First, you need to make sure you are storing your tape in a place that protects it from possible damage like dents, cuts, or dirt. All of those can affect the way the tape unwinds and sticks to your twig! That is why we created the our Tape Tin! It is perfectly made to fit three rolls of tape and keep them safe in your hockey bag. Another important factor of tape care is making sure you tape is stored some where that it won't get too hot. Stored in a hotter temp location can ruin the adhesive which means the tape won't last as long out on the ice and you will need to re-tape more often when you should be spending every second that you can on the ice! 

 

Tape Application:

Finally, we can now start to get our tape on our hockey stick! When starting your tape job, you want to make sure you first decide what kind of TJ you want. Is it going to be a full sock, half sock, heel to toe, toe to heel? From there you can choose your starting position on the blade. 

Following your starting spot, make sure you are wrapping the stick tightly, overlapping the previous strip of tape to create a "barrier" of tape against the blade. As you continue to tape, make sure you are also smoothing it out with your hands to prevent and bumps or holes that water or ice could get under and ruin the TJ when you hit the ice. 

If you choose to go heel to toe and did the overlapping techniques to make sure your tape lines are straight and uniform, you now will have excess tape at the toe of your blade. You will want to take a pair of your Howies Scissors and cut as close as you can to the blade. Once the excess tape is removed, smooth out the edges to make sure water and ice can't get underneath. If necessary, you can use a stripe of hockey tape underneath going the opposite direction to create another layer of tape where you would be cutting.

 

After the Tape Job:

Now at this point, your TJ is technically done, but there are some steps you can take to lengthen its lifespan! While Howies Hockey Tape doesn't need anything added to it, adding a layer of Howies Stick Wax can really level up your TJ! Our stick wax helps to seal the edges of the tape and prevent any ice or snow build up on the stick. Did we mention it is also one of the best smells in hockey ;) Adding that layer of stick wax also helps give you better puck control for stick handle, passing and shooting!