FarParker

 

 

I actually started this whole thing in 1996. I was just taping my stick and felt there had to be a better way and wondered why no one had invented something more durable that did not attract frozen snow and water. My first prototype was from a mountain bike inner tube! After a failed patent attempt due to a cricket bat invention from 1896 that showed something similar I abandoned it. Going to market without a patent was not feasible in my opinion. Then along comes the "one piece" composite hockey stick and voila-the balled dropped again. My product was a cushion, a slight dampener-just enough to offer better feel to the lively blades. I was rolling again after 10 years. Much serendipity and hard work has lead me to where we are now-the number one tape alternative to traditional cloth hockey tape!

 

 

The most rewarding aspect is knowing that I am slowly changing the way that people play the game. Kids eat it up, parents are realizing that it saves time and money and when you go into a rink anywhere in the world now chances are you'll see it on someone's stick...that's pretty cool. I am amazed how fast we have spread around the world based on word of mouth...friends tell friends and it goes from there.

 

Some of the Pro sticks you’ve put the tape on are pretty cool looking...can you describe some of the features and benefits, or major advantages over regular tape you want to touch upon? (Or...is that trade secret for the time being?!?)  

 

The graphic aspects of our products are definitely very exciting. We can print just about any image/design that you can imagine, and we have! But the graphics idea is the "eye candy" around the whole product. To me the real benefits of BladeTape are simple. And when an 8 year old can come off the ice and tell you them, it certainly reinforces things for me:

 

• Better grip on the puck - what grabs rubber better than rubber itself? Grip translates to spin and spin means deadly accurate wrist shots.

• Freer, easier stick handling - no more friction drag, as we are deliberately not wrapped around the blades bottom edge.

• No more frozen snow and ice-we offer the same performance from start of the game to end of the game - no thumbing off frozen snow which interferes with your grip on the puck! And…no more waxing - saves you time and money!

• Better feel on today's composite sticks...giving and receiving passes feels better, we offer a slight cushioning to dampen the lively feel of today's blades. Not enough to take anything off your shot...just enough to make it feel better with less "hop".

• Super lightweight...today's sticks keep getting lighter - all the equipment in the game has actually. We are super lightweight at approx. 14 grams per. Compare us after a game and we are even lighter than cloth tape by more than 60% (18 grams compared to 45 grams).

 

 

 

 

We offer customization to anyone. Leagues, associations, tournaments, fundraisers and corporations are all catching on now. We have the last great piece of real estate left in the game for marketing. It’s a pretty cool spot to have as your canvas.  It can be done in as little as 10-12 pairs now for any individual or team, so go ahead and "pimp your stick" and play better too!

 

 

The graphic image lays 99% in the valley of our "ribbed design". So it's mostly protected from damage and wear by the ribs which are contacting the puck. We actually encourage you to rub a puck on newly imaged graphics of your BladeTape so as to enhance the bite and remove the ink from the ribs (it does happen naturally, but you don't want your first shift a slippery experience). We keep you design on file and re-ordering is fast simple and easy. We do charge a one-time initial design fee. So contact us and let us help you make your stick match your team, event or special occasion.

 

 

Yes, we are finding that bottom edge failure is no longer an issue. The culture of the game is an issue, as we cannot get enough people to fully understand that tape just causes friction drag. Your stick handling increases dramatically when you are not taping the bottom edge. The pros have been doing this for years (slice the bottom tape off). It’s no big deal to them as they are back in the room 20 minutes later re-taping. Now as a rec. league player, you don't have to worry about it. The newer blades are even better as they are going to "solid core" technology, so they are even livelier and less friendly to stickhandle with. Many nay Sayers of our product have not even tried us, they just assume that tape must be needed. We do tell parents that your son or daughter should not be playing ball hockey on the concrete floors outside the dressing room while they wait to play their games...most seem to understand this now with the expense of the new sticks (ice is fine, concrete and asphalt is NOT!).

 

 

This product is for anyone playing ice or inline hockey, period. We have too many people using it that swear by it. Too many that will never tape again. Why? We work. We offer everything that we say we do as far as on ice performance and we save time and money. A pro can use anything he wants and we are on 1% of the NHL's 700 sticks already. They come to us. Many don't know we even exist yet. In Europe, we are on many more pro sticks, as they seem to adapt easier to new technology (Elite League players) for whatever reason. We are on many AHL and major junior sticks and kids eat us up because they know how it feels right away. They cannot learn the skills of the game on today's sticks (in my opinion). BladeTape will help them right away.

 

 

You'll save time - no more taping and re-taping. What a hassle that was for me. Now I just show up and play.

You'll save money - we last for many a whole season (unfortunately for me)! And you don't have to wax anymore either; we repel the frozen snow and ice.

You'll notice your stick handling improves, that your wrist shot is dramatically better and that when you take a backhand pass the puck is almost "sucked in" by your BladeTape. Plus the stick feels lighter and better in your hands. Read our testimonials on our website...they are from regular hockey playing folk just like you!

 

 

Most players easily get the recommended life from our products and many get far more. There is no real "maintenance". Tap your stick to kick-off after playing to remove the excess water on your blade. But I think I'd like to add the fact that we are "repairable"- not many read this aspect on our package. If you do get a major skate cut and a flod on your BladeTape.... get to the bench, wipe the water from your blade as this is a "lubricant" to the glue and we cannot stick unless your blade is dry. Get the product unstuck from itself (if folded) and lay it flat again on the dry blade and with hand warmth at the bench, you can actually repair it on the fly! Try that with traditional cloth hockey tape. I guarantee you…you cannot do it.

 

Once the ribs are showing wear and your grip is lessened, please do me a favour and buy another one and replace it! We aren't gonna make it as a company if you only buy one per year!

 

 

 

We make it all here in Richmond BC. Our process is patented and I cannot share our intellectual property or tell you more. Let's just say it's "rocket science" and most would not understand it anyway!

 

Everyone thinks goalies are "different". We can say this is true. I don't wish to burn any bridges, so I'll leave it at that for now. The pros we deal with are all good guys and have come to us because they love what the product does. As a group I must say they are the most "superstitious" lot we deal with. Why wouldn't they be? Think how hard it is to get to that level, think of the sacrifices made. Then you'll understand why so many are reticent to change. But we are making inroads and the "crazy goalies" are leading the way!

 

 

So far we are finding it to be anything but a limiting factor. This is the last great piece of marketing real estate left in hockey, particularly in Europe. If the NHL game ever gets "covered" the way the Euro teams cover their players then that's when our game will really take off here in North America. I think logo'd tape is very interesting as a marketing tool. And based on the 400 plus designs worldwide that we've done in the past 2 seasons, adorning our shop walls now, I think it is hear to stay!

 

 

Look for us in any small mom-and-pop hockey specific boutiques in Canada...we are in some 300-400 stores now. Check our website for a store near you. And help us get into your local store and we'll reward you!  Worldwide, we are again in over 25 countries, so if we aren't there yet, we are coming soon!

 

 

No, I think you have covered things nicely and I hope my responses have been helpful. I know that my pals that use BladeTape now are all fully converted. They buy it and I don't give it away to them. BladeTape works and you will never believe that it can until you try it. I bet if you do give a 'test ride" we'll convert you over. The composite stick took 10 years plus to make it's transition, I expect in 10 years time there will be a lot less of you taping your sticks with traditional cloth hockey tape.

 

Thank you to FarParker for allowing us to speak with your audience and trust me, converting all of your fans to BladeTape IS my very goal, one player at a time, if we must!