Equipment: Black vs. White Blade Tape & Goaltender Puck Tracking

[wolfgaze]

Perhaps this is a question for goaltenders but I was curious if it may be slightly easier for goaltenders to track the release of the puck coming off a blade wrapped in white tape versus one wrapped in black tape - due to the color contrast....

Is there any rhyme or reason to whether the NHL players opt for black or white tape on their stick blades? Just a matter of aesthetics & personal preference?

I don't play hockey anymore but this was something that peaked my interest....

Thanks for your feedback....

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[Greeneye]

aesthetics.

 

[Tacks92]

I was always told growing up: white tape on top, black on the bottom to hide the puck. And, at least as far as I can remember, pretty much everyone followed that rule of thumb until sometime in the early 90s, then guys started putting white tape on their stick blades. I think it started out as a kind of counter-culture / "I'm so good, I can buck convention" thing ... at least on the teams I played for. And then, the next thing I know, white and black are basically interchangeable.

I think the truth of the matter is, if there is any effect of black tape on camouflaging the puck it is very small. I even had someone tell me recently that white tape blends in with the ice and that's also confusing for goalies. So basically, what I am saying is that at this point I agree with Hugh: it's 99% (or more) aesthetics.

 

[goalie29]

Black tape does a poor job of camouflaging the puck. So if anyone is taping their stick in black for that purpose it's a waste of time.

On my skater stick I use black tape on the blade because I think it looks better, and use white on the butt so it doesn't stain my gloves.

 

[MattGTI]

Every goalie I have ever asked said that it doesn't make one bit of difference what color blade tape a forward uses.

 

[wolfgaze]

Thanks for the responses

 

[jazzykat]

If you are a crappy stick handler, white tape may help you see the puck on your own stick and I find it to be an easier target to pass to.

 

[jking]

If you are a crappy stick handler, white tape may help you see the puck on your own stick and I find it to be an easier target to pass to.

Was going to post this. Anyone have success with this approach?

 

[LarryO]

Was going to post this. Anyone have success with this approach?

Yes. I'm not a pro like jazzykat, so I think it helps me see the puck with my peripheral vision while I keep my head up to stay ahead of play. With black tape, I would surely be a crappy stick handler.

 

[Burnaby_Joe*]

I'm not a goalie, but I've been using white tape on my blade for years and one game, I didn't happen to have any, so I used black. What a disaster.

 

[SacredPetra]

My stick handing and catching passes got better when I switched to black tape. For me, the contrast of black tape against white ice made it easier to see where my stick is out if my peripheral vision. I'm still awful at both though, so take that with a grain of salt.

 

[cptjeff]

I've had a goalie tell me that while it doesn't make any difference with picking up the puck, white tape did make it a little harder for them to read the angle of your stick. Obviously, it's never gonna make a huge difference, but I thought I'd put it out there.

 

[Beezeral]

black or white really doesn't affect my ability to track the puck. In fact the only time I have ever been thrown off is by someone who had multiple colors on his blade

 

[CarpeNoctem]

Shooters working on their wrist shot, that should be everyone, always, should use white tape. They can track their release very clearly. It should come off a fraction of an inch before the toe.

 

[Blueland89]

whatever looks best with my stick, my only preference is Howies and no friction tape!

 

[Jarick]

Shouldn't make a difference. I recently switched back to black tape because I think it might give my teammates a better target for passes.

 

[bigwillie]

As far as getting a read, the color of your blade tapes makes about as much difference as the color of your underwear.

 

[aguynamedjoe]

When I'm off and feel like I need to be making adjustments, I use white so at the end of the skate I can see by the puck smudges if I'm playing it more off the toe or the heel. The only other difference I've noticed is that my D partner uses a black and white patterned tape, so when I'm in the corner working for a puck I can tell which blade is his and react accordingly without even having to glance up.

But as far as the OP's question, it's been said here and I've heard elsewhere, it doesn't seem to make much difference for goalie tracking purposes.

 

[Mattb124]

Was going to post this. Anyone have success with this approach?

White tape helped my not look down quite as much while skating with the puck since I could see the puck in my peripheral vision.

 

[IDuck]

i always think the answer to this is, its the same as goalie pads and the different designs/patterns they use for the 5 hole....so what does that tell you.

 

[sanityplease]

I've had a few goalies tell me that a white stick with white tape is hard to track through traffic, especially when the shooter has a good wrist shot. I tried using that combo myself, & had trouble seeing my stick using peripheral vision.

 

[seanlinden]

White on top so it doesn't stain the gloves.

White on the bottom, because it's the colour tape that I buy when I need to do the grip.

 

[CornKicker]

black tape is more for goal scoring and white tape is more for assists. if you have 14 assists and 3 goals switch to black tape, if you have 14 goals and no assists you are ap uck hog and should try some white tape.

green tape = nerd

 

[WickedWinger]

green tape = nerd

Great...and i just ordered a case of green tape

 

[Gsus]

I was interested in this because always watching NHL the players with white stick (RBZ or such) and white tape look like they got smooth hands. That's because ice is also white so you can't really see the dangling. I was interested in if the goalies have a harder time reading the realize if I shoot quick snapshots with my white stick and white tape. They can clearly see the puck but maybe not the release that much?