How to tape a hockey stick, and what color tape goes on a colored one

To tape a hockey stick, wrap cloth tape around the blade from one end to the other, overlapping each pass a little, then trim the edge and build a knob at the top of the shaft for your upper hand. Heel to toe or toe to heel is preference. So is the color. On a colored stick, white tape keeps the blade bright and black tape frames it.

What you need

A roll of cloth hockey tape for the blade, and a second roll if you want the knob in a different color. Scissors help. A puck of stick wax is optional. That’s it, and every rink shop sells all of it.

A new stick comes to you with a bare blade. Tape isn’t in the box, and what comes with a hockey stick has the full list of what is.

How to tape the blade, step by step

Pick a starting end. Most players start at the heel, where the blade meets the shaft, and work out toward the toe. Plenty start at the toe instead. Neither one is the right answer.

Lay the end of the tape on the bottom edge of the blade and wrap it around, keeping it flat and snug. Each new pass should cover part of the one before it. About half a tape width is the common habit, but there’s no rule. Keep going until you reach the other end or the spot where you want to stop.

Tear or cut the tape. Then trim the excess at the toe, or fold it under, so there’s no loose flap to catch on the ice. Press the whole wrap down with your fingers, or rub it with a puck.

Wax goes on last if you use it. Rub the stick wax across the taped area on both faces. Players do it mostly to keep snow from sticking to the tape, and it’s the kind of thing you’ll either swear by or never bother with.

Heel to toe or toe to heel?

You’ll hear arguments for both, usually about which way the edges of the tape face when the puck slides across them. We haven’t measured whether it changes anything you’d feel. So we won’t tell you one is better.

Try one direction for a few skates. If it bugs you, try the other. Tape costs a few dollars, and the experiment takes ten minutes.

How much of the blade to cover

Some players tape the whole blade, heel to toe. Some tape only the middle. Some leave the heel bare. A few players run a thin strip down the center and nothing else.

All of these are normal. It comes down to what you like looking at and what you like feeling on the puck.

How to tape the knob

The knob is the bump of tape at the top of the shaft. It gives your top hand something to hold onto and covers the open end.

The usual method: pull off a long strip of tape, twist it into a rope, and wind the rope around the top of the shaft a few times to build up a ridge. Then cover the rope with flat wraps until it feels right in your glove. Size is personal. Some players like a big knob they can feel through a glove. Others want barely anything there.

If you’ve just cut your stick down, the knob goes on the new top. How to cut a hockey stick covers the cut and what it does to the flex, and the knob is the last step there too.

What color tape goes on a colored stick?

This half is opinion, and here’s ours. There are three easy ways to go, and they all work.

White tape. The blade stays a light shape, and from a distance the color carries all the way down. White also shows every puck mark within a skate or two. Some players like that record. Others re-tape the moment it goes grey.

Black tape. The classic. It boxes the blade off from the shaft so the color reads as the shaft’s color, and the blade becomes its own dark shape at the bottom. It also hides wear longer than white does.

Tape in the stick’s own color, or close to it. The whole stick reads as one piece from knob to toe. Harder to find in the right shade, and a near miss can look like an accident.

The knob doesn’t have to match the blade. A white blade and a black knob is a common combination on any stick, and on a colored one it puts a neutral at both ends. If you’re building a whole kit around one color, how to match your hockey equipment colors covers the gloves and the rest.

When to re-tape

When the tape is torn, peeling at the toe, or soaked and heavy. Many players re-tape the blade every few games and the knob far less often. There’s no schedule anyone has to follow.

Every time you strip the blade, take a look at what’s underneath before the new tape goes on. Fresh tape can hide a crack completely, and signs a hockey stick is about to break explains what to look for.

What we won’t tell you about tape

We won’t tell you that tape makes a blade last longer, or by how much. We haven’t tested it. We won’t give you a pro’s taping routine either, because we’d be guessing at someone else’s habits.

What we will say: a tape job is the cheapest thing on a stick you can change, and the only one you can redo between periods.

Common questions

Do you have to tape a hockey stick? No rule says you do. Most players tape the blade and build a knob anyway, and plenty skate with a bare blade. It’s preference.

Should you tape heel to toe or toe to heel? Either. Players argue about it, and we haven’t measured a difference. Pick one, skate on it, switch if you don’t like it.

Does a new Maila come with tape? No. A Maila ships in a velvet bag with a regulation puck, and the blade arrives bare so you can tape it your way.

What color tape looks best on a colored stick? White keeps the blade light, black frames it, and tape in the stick’s color makes it one piece. All three work. Try two rolls and keep the one you like.

Do you need stick wax? No. It’s optional, and players mostly use it to keep snow off the tape.

Get the stick right, then tape it

Tape is the easy part, and you can redo it tomorrow. The size and the hand are what decide whether you’ll like the stick. How to choose a hockey stick walks the fit in order, or find your stick in about a minute. Then pick a color from the sticks and decide what tape goes on it.