If you have ever made the mistake of playing ice hockey without securing your shin pads first, you won’t go back after using sock tape. Whether you’ve never tried securing your shin pads and socks, or you didn’t know that you could, this trick is a life saver for hockey players.
There are several methods you can try when it comes to keeping your hockey shin pads from sliding around in your socks, but most players use sock tape.
If you don’t want to spend money on rolls of sock tape, I will be showing you another DIY solution. Read to the end of this article for a method to fasten your shin guards in place without sock tape. Although sock tape is not expensive, you may also find that some of the other solutions work better for you. Let’s get started.
Why Should A Hockey Player Tape Their Socks?
Skating around the ice and occasionally falling onto your knees can cause your shin pads to shift around under your socks. It’s pretty annoying when you have to readjust them constantly so that they stay in the right position on your legs.
Hockey spandex usually have patches of velcro on the front and back of both legs that you can stick your socks to which helps a bit with keeping your socks up and pads in place. However, I personally like to secure my shin pads a little bit more with hockey tape to ensure that they don’t go anywhere.
I will show you a few different positions to wrap your tape around your socks and pads to hold them still while you’re skating so that you aren’t constantly readjusting.
Method 1: Using Sock Tape
Sock tape is the one-and-done solution for keeping your shin pads nice and tight against your legs. Just pull out a roll of sock tape, make a few passes around your legs, and you’re ready to play.
There are two different types of tapes that hockey players use:
- Stick Tape
- Sock Tape
Stick tape, as you can probably guess, is used to wrap the blade and handle of your stick. It usually comes in black or white and has a cloth-like feel to it. You can use stick tape to hold up your shin pads if you are in a pinch, but it is a little more difficult to handle than sock tape.
Sock tape is a translucent tape that has a plastic texture which is much different in the comparison of stick tape. It comes off the roll easily and sticks to itself and the cloth material of your hockey socks as well. Hockey sock tape is also stretchy and allows you to get a tight wrap around your socks so your shin pads won’t budge during a game.
Best Ways To Tape Your Hockey Socks
Now that you know what kind of tape to use, you’re probably wondering where you should put the tape for the best results. I have personally seen it done a few different ways.
Single-Pass Tape Job
The first method is to perform one loop of tape just below each knee. Peel the end of the sock tape off the roll, stick it to the front of your leg, and pull the whole roll around the backside of your leg. Unravel enough tape so that you can overlap the tape on what you have already done.
You don’t need more than a foot or two of tape per leg for this method. Make sure that you wrap the tape tight enough for it to be secure but not so tight that it is uncomfortable on the back of your leg. Repeat this on both legs.
Double Down Tape Job
The next method is how I personally tape my shin guards before hopping onto the ice. All taping method requires is another pass around the lower part of your shin. You will make a pass around your leg just below your knee, then another pass above the back of your skate.
The placement of the tape doesn’t have to be perfect, it just needs to be good enough to keep your shin pads from sliding around in your socks.
Barber Pole Tape Job
The last method of taping your shin guards is to go from the top to the bottom of your shin pad with one piece of tape. This method uses a little bit more tap than the others, but it is relatively faster and only requires you to tear the tape off the roll once per leg.
This method is open for your own interpretation, but you basically just wrap the sock tape down your leg like a barber pole design. Once you have gone around your socks enough for a solid hold, tear away and you’re ready to go.
Method 2: Using Leftover Skate Laces
If you want to save a couple of bucks on buying new rolls of sock tape every now and then, maybe this method is for you. If you have been playing hockey for more than a few months, you have probably changed the laces on your skates once or twice. If you’re like me, you still have those old laces laying in the bottom of your hockey bag because you didn’t bother throwing them out.
Beer league tip: save your old skate laces because they can come in handy for repairing other equipment
Now is the perfect time to repurpose those old laces. If you don’t have any sock tape, or just want to try it out, use the old laces to hold your shin pads in place.
Wrap the laces around your leg just below your knee. Do as many loops around you leg as needed to make sure the laces are not dangling too far. You don’t want to trip on the laces during a play that would have been a glorious break away goal. Tie the laces around your leg in a double knot to make sure they don’t come untied. You can also tie them as you would tie a shoe lace to keep them out of the way.
If you like how they look and feel when you first try it, you can always cut the laces to a more manageable length so you aren’t fumbling with all 6 feet of it.
To Sum It Up
I have always used hockey tape to keep my shin pads and socks in place throughout the duration of a game. If you have not tried using hockey tape to keep your shin pads from sliding around in your socks, I highly recommend it.