Grip Tape or a Grip-Finish Stick: Which Is Better?

Your top hand needs to hold the stick without twisting. Your bottom hand often needs to slide. How you get that balance is up to you: a tacky shaft from the factory, grip tape, or a smooth shaft with a little tape where you need it.

Your three options

Option	How it grips	Adjustable?	Main trade-off
Grip-finish shaft	Tacky coating from the factory	No	Same grip everywhere, including where your bottom hand slides
Grip tape	Wrapped tape on the upper shaft	Yes: where, how much, how thick	Adds time and can wear gloves
Smooth shaft	Little grip	Add tape where you want it	Top hand can slip, especially with worn gloves

Grip-finish shafts

Stick makers sell many models in a “grip” version. For example, the spec list for one Bauer Supreme junior grip model says a “DuraFlex resin provides extra grip on the stick.” Bauer’s own buying guide says its custom sticks come with a choice of grip. The grip is part of the stick, so it is the same everywhere along the shaft and you cannot change it.

Grip tape

Grip tape goes on the upper shaft where your top hand sits.

• Howies sells a stretchy gauze grip, 1.5 in wide and 5 yd long. It says to start at the top of the handle, wrap down and stretch the tape gently until it is as thick as you like.
• Renfrew Pro sells a self-adhering stretch grip it says leaves no residue, and a lighter gauze grip.
• CCM sells a polyurethane stick grip, 25 mm by 140 cm. A retailer listing quotes the claim that one roll lasts up to 20 sessions.

Tape lets you do things a coating cannot:

• Build up the handle. NHL.com reported that goalie Martin Jones adds layers of stick and grip tape to fatten the handle for his big hands, as Carey Price used to.
• Grip only the top. You can tape just the top hand area and leave the rest of the shaft smooth.
• Start over. If it feels wrong, strip it and try again.

Smooth shafts plus cloth tape

A smooth shaft with a cloth tape knob is the simplest setup. Cloth tape gives a dry, slightly rough feel at the top. If your top hand slips, add a few wraps of grip tape just under the knob.

What about the blade?

Grip on the blade is a different question. Some NHL players replaced blade tape with grip stickers. NHL.com reported in 2023 that Zdeno Chara used Rezztek blade grips exclusively by 2018, because he was tired of retaping after slashes tore his tape. Chara said the grip was lighter than tape and claimed it improved his shot speed and accuracy. Those are his figures, not independent tests.

One small study is worth knowing about. In 2019, researchers Martin Plesch, Samuel Ján Plesník and Natália Ružičková filmed 13 players, from amateurs to NHL players, shooting with tape and with a stiffer, rougher blade sticker. They found the sticker produced significantly faster shots with more spin and energy. It is one study with a small group, but it suggests the blade surface does matter.

How to choose

1. If your top hand slips, try grip tape before buying a new stick. It is cheap to test.
2. If you like your bottom hand to slide, a smooth shaft with grip tape only at the top gives you both.
3. If you never want to think about it, a grip-finish stick does the job out of the box.
4. Check your gloves. North American Tapes warns that tape tacky on the outside can wear glove palms faster. See friction tape vs cloth tape.

The knob styles page shows grip and knob options side by side.