Top Shelf Stick Wax works well and smells good too.
Written: Jul 10 '04 (Updated Jul 14 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Easy to use dispenser, great smelling
Cons: Some overly sensitive people dislike Steve Yzerman's picture on the container
The Bottom Line: Wax on; wax off, Danielsan
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| puckmugger's Full Review: Top Shelf Stick Wax |
▪ Why Wax ?
You must wax because Easton, the maker of Top Shelf Stick Wax, doesn’t have enough money. No wait, they might catch Microsoft soon, that isn’t it! So what is the point of stick wax in general? Heck what do you even do with the stuff?
Surfers turned hockey player might think you rub it all over the shaft to keep their feet from slipping off the stick. That’s why there are only like eight surfers in the world who play hockey. In fact, not only do you not put your feet on the stick, the only place that you wax a stick is on the blade, over the tape. This brings us to another question which I promise to answer briefly (brevity isn’t my strong suit). Why do you tape? Taping the blade of a stick makes catching a pass easier. Essentially the little flaps of tape open like pockets to slow down the puck. Enough said on that issue.
The problem with tape is that it also retains moisture. The blade of the stick then absorbs the moisture. Moisture is a bad thing in a conventional blade. It shortens the life of the stick either by the blade becoming waterlogged and soggy or prematurely breaking.
Enter the wax. Wax keeps the moisture on the outside of the tape making sticks last longer. This is the primary reason that people wax their tape. Moms, your kid isn’t messing with you when he asks for wax to put on the blade of his wood stick.
▪ But I have a composite blade
Composite blades have less of a need to be waxed, but there are still secondary benefits to waxing. Waxed tape tends to last a little bit longer than un-waxed. Most hockey players are lazy when it comes to taping . . . oh fine, I’m just talking about myself here . . . I’m lazy when it comes to taping my sticks. I would rather wax the tape once a month than not wax and tape weekly.
Another school of thought is that wax works similarly to friction tape. Waxing your tape actually increases the stickiness of it and makes catching pucks a bit easier. I already use friction tape so I will consider this theoretical knowledge until I prove it one way or the other. So consider that just thrown haphazardly on the table for your consideration and send me an angry email if I’m wrong. (That would be the first since I haven’t been wrong so far . . . well, except for that one time when I momentarily thought I was wrong and actually wasn’t).
▪ What Makes Top Shelf Special?
Well the picture of Stevie Yzerman on the new containers probably makes it special in Detroit, but the rest of the world (save those few misplaced Wings fans here and there) could give a rip about Stevie Y. Of course the way big corporate marketing works, they probably sent all the Top Shelf with pictures of Joe Sakic to Detroit making everyone unhappy. I kid you not, I had people buy other brands because they were unhappy about a picture of a Red Wing on the wax. Frankly that’s just stupid and almost as bad as how off track I am right now.
Let me just say this before I tell you what makes Top Shelf special. Wax is wax. I’ve used four different types of stick wax and not one of them increased my level of performance or was so dismal that I vowed to never buy a product from the maker again. There simply isn’t much to it.
That said, top shelf is a little better than the rest. Man, I love to make a statement and then contradict it right away. Top Shelf has a couple things going for it that no one else does. First it smells almost good enough to eat. It comes in a couple of random scents, Piña Colada and Vanilla. They don’t advertise this, nor does it have a scent listed on the container. It’s just more of a pleasant surprise when you pop open the wax. Well, it used to be a surprise . . . sorry about that.
The other thing that Top Shelf has going for it is the container. Top shelf comes in a push-up deodorant style container. Other waxes generally come as a small puck or square that has to be rubbed vigorously on. Top Shelf, with its handy dispenser, is actually a bit easier to apply.
▪Final Thoughts
Top Shelf is the best wax, but not because the wax itself is really any better. It is the best because of the convenient packaging.
I highly recommend waxing for all wood and laminated blades. For goalie sticks, wax is even more important as there is a greater investment. Any crack in a goal stick can attract water and get soggy. For composite sticks, waxing is a personal preference.
If you hate Steve Yzerman too much to buy this product, get over it.
Piña Colada smells better than Vanilla (that’s my opinion).
Some other reviews that you might find helpful:
Easton Sniper Stick Bag
Jaybird Hockey Friction Tape
Recommended:
Yes
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puckmugger
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