What do great products do? They solve a problem, or they take the original idea and improve upon it to make it solve the problem better, more effectively. This is exactly what No Tape Needed did with the shin sleeve. No Tape Needed improved an old product, made it fun, and is now finding success across multiple sports with their product.
What exactly is a shin sleeve?
A shin sleeve is a product that helps keep shin pads in place without tape, hence the company name. There aren’t too many styles out there but the ones I have seen before are just a piece of elastic at the top and bottom with stretch material in between which is good, but not great. This is where No Tape Needed comes in. No Tape Needed re-designed how this works by making the elastic up top a bit tighter, but then also making their product a “looser” compression sleeve. Making their product out of a material that is similar to a compression sleeve, it allows for consistent pressure / hold throughout the shin pad. Having this improvement in the design of the shin sleeve prevents the shin pad from rotating on the leg of the player or official. The No Tape Needed shin sleeve has greatly improved the shin sleeve.
How did No Tape Needed start?
No Tape started when Zane noticed kids he coached complain about their shin pads. Every practice some players would say their pads were too loose, too tight, or wouldn’t stay in place. He thought about the classic sleeve but noticed it hadn’t been updated in years. He took it upon himself to figure out a way to change these.
He started with the fabric. Most sleeves are made with elastic bands at the top and the bottom of the sleeves They are connected by some sort of cloth and try to mimic the feeling of clear tape. However, over time the fit becomes inconsistent.
Zane wanted to try something different. He knew that he wanted it to be consistent pressure all the way through. He thought of a compression sleeve and how it could be a tad stretchier to go over the leg and the pad. By doing it this way, the pressure would be consistent from the top to the bottom of the sleeve. This compression sleeve would still have the elastic at the top and bottom but be connected by compression material. This design, greatly improved what Zane had seen on the market and provided a consistent fit.
First Customers and Growth
The first batch was made by Zane’s wife for kids he coached to try out. This was the true testing ground as these were the kids that gave him the idea. The kids were happy to finally have a consistent shin pad fit!
After giving out the first few and seeing how well they were doing, Zane wanted to make them more fun. They started offering them in different colors, and patterns. Soon he was hearing from various teams in the St.Louis area about how teams could order! He was surprised at how well they were going over.
In addition to being surprised at how well they were going over for youth organizations, he had several adults and even officials reaching out to him for a set too. However, it was people outside the hockey that was surprising. He had field hockey players asking for sets. He also has roller players asking for sets too. This has been a great surprise for Zane, and him very excited about No Tape Needed’s future.
Future of No Tape Needed
Zane is very excited about the future of his product. He sees the growth into more teams and going outside the St.Louis area. He has started partnering with different organizations where for each set sold, he donates a portion of the profits to that organization. He wants to expand and partner with other organizations. No Tape Needed which just started earlier this year (2022), has a bright future.
Great products solve a problem or improve upon it. This is exactly what Zane and No Tape Needed did with the shin sleeve. No Tape Needed improved an old product, made it fun, and is now finding success across multiple sports with their product.
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