Buttendz Hockey Stick Grip Review

With their line of rubber butt end hockey stick grips, the creators of Buttendz set out to put an end to abrasive, inconsistent and soggy butt end grips that players usually create by wrapping hockey tape around the butt end of their sticks. The folks at Buttendz sent us samples of their products to test and see how they measure up to the traditional method of using tape.

Design and Construction

Buttendz sent us test samples of each of their products—the FLUX grip and the TWIRL grip. The FLUX offers a smoother grip with a medium sized butt end for players who prefer more of a moderate grip and medium-sized knob at the end of their stick. The TWIRL, on the other hand, features 144 individually-raised pods for players who prefer more grip—similar to that of a twirled tape job. Every Buttendz product is made of 100 percent rubber.

In addition to eliminating the abrasive and soggy feel of hockey tape butts, the Buttendz product is also supposed to:

• Enhance feel when stick handling.
• Provide a consistent feel for your top hand every time.
• Reduce grip pressure in the top hand; promoting harder, more accurate shots.
• Reduce vibration when shooting and receiving passes.
• Reduce wear to the palms of your gloves.

One thing I appreciate about the Buttendz products is the number of color combinations offered to players for purchase. Similar to how players can customize their sticks with different tape colors, Buttendz offers an abundance of color combinations for players to match team colors, stick colors, or go wild with something completely unique.

Application

Each Buttendz comes with one pre-filled adhesive spray bottle. The packaging (a plastic tube containing the Buttendz and the adhesive) offers directions for the application process, and the company also has this video on YouTube showing how to put the product on your stick and take it off—a process that looks incredibly easy.

It’s not.

I typically prefer a moderate grip and medium-sized knob on my sticks, so I went ahead and first tried to apply the FLUX model to my stick. Based on the smaller circumference of the Buttendz product compared to the size of the hockey stick shaft, I had some reservations about how easily it would go on, but I went ahead and sprayed the inside of the grip with the adhesive and began to pull it over the shaft of my stick.

After some finagling, I was able to get the grip over the shaft of the stick and began pulling it down. I got it maybe three-quarters of the way on and it stopped budging. No matter how hard I pushed or tugged, it wasn’t moving. So I decided to try to pull it off and try again—which was not an easy task. After several minutes of messing around with it, I was finally able to roll the bottom of the grip up enough that I could pull it fully off to try the application process again.

On the second attempt, the rubber was stretched a bit already, making in easier to pull it over the end of my stick and start pulling it down. This went much better than the first time, but still not as I expected. I got the grip pulled most of the way down, but noticed a small roll underneath the knob. Again I tried to pull and push and massage out the rubber grip to no avail—the roll stayed. At this point, my fingers hurt and I was frustrated with the process (and wasting roughly 15 minutes trying to get this thing on…) so I took a pair of scissors to it to get it off.

Luckily, Buttendz sent me a TWIRL model as well, so I opted to try putting that one on. After putting on the adhesive spray, the TWIRL was even more difficult to stretch over the shaft of my stick. I finally gave up and began working the rubber to stretch it out. Several minutes later, I reapplied the adhesive to start again. Same result—got stuck. Desperate just to get the damn thing on my stick, I actually ended up putting mineral spirits inside the grip to help lube it up for application. I FINALLY got it on and went upstairs to show my wife what I accomplished after 45 minutes of work. Her response?

“That’s great! But you could have taped your stick like five times by now, right?”

::sigh::

Yes, yes I could have.

Performance

Once I finally got the product on and used it a couple times, I was actually really pleased with its performance. I had some initial reservations because the grip is thicker than my typical tape job, but it wasn’t an issue while I was playing. It definitely provides more grip than traditional tape does—and as a defenseman often poke-checking the puck away from forwards with one hand, that improved grip provides increased confidence and an enhanced ability to swing my stick around.

Did it improve my shot or reduce vibrations on shooting and passing? I can’t really say one way or another. It certainly didn’t hurt performance in those areas, but I can’t really say it helped either. However, using some older gloves with worn palms, having the rubber Buttendz on my stick was softer to the touch and was less abrasive to the touch. I can certainly see how this would help reduce wear and tear to the palms of your gloves over the long-term—a huge benefit if you’re spending $100+ on a pair of hockey gloves.

Overall Impressions

At $20 a pop, Buttendz aren’t super expensive, and they do provide an enhanced level of grip. For me, it comes down to whether Buttendz really can replace hockey stick tape. I mean, I have to buy tape anyway for my blade, which comes in at about $5 per roll, and after I tape the butt end of my hockey stick once, it pretty much stays on there for the lifetime of the stick. Using Buttendz on my stick didn’t produce any type of “Wow! Is this what I’ve been missing?” moment for me. The application process was a hassle—especially compared to taping my stick—and I’ve just never experienced a moment where I wished I had the greater level of grip that Buttendz provides.

If you have ever wanted more grip, Buttendz can provide that. I recommend stretching them before putting them on your stick and work quickly. Goalies and defenseman—players who typically poke check or play with one hand on their stick—will likely benefit most from this product.