Turf Tape: How to Apply

Hey from Shield, today I’m going to walk you through how to apply and use turf tape, a special stretch tape that Shield designs and manufactures for the protection of arms and legs in field sports.

Turf tape is an elastic stretch tape that we make in the USA, and it is designed to stick and protect your arms and legs from scratches and turf burn when you’re playing sports such as football, soccer, and OCR courses like Spartan Races and Tough Mudder challenges.

So why do we use turf tape?

I use turf tape for obstacle course races, or OCRs for short. Where I'm doing a lot of work on the ground and where my arm is running into the ground a lot. I start to get abrasions, or cuts, or scrapes. Likewise, the other biggest use for turf tape today is American football. But you see it used in lacrosse, and field hockey, soccer, and baseball. Anywhere where you’re not using elbow pads but your arms are coming into concussion contact with the ground.

Turf tape is designed to prevent abrasions, it’s designed to stay on. Because this is a technical performance tape. I’m going to give you a few pointers.

• You’re going to need scissors. This is tape on a liner. So, you’ll notice it’s not stretchy when you open the SHIELD box. But once the liner’s removed it will be. 

• Choose the right cut length; you should look to cut a length of tape that is about as long (when unstretched) as the user’s forearm.

• Keep the liner on while you’re applying it! The liner helps keep the tape from wrapping on itself.

• Keep your skin DRY and clean before applying it! Sweat, sunblock and other things can prevent the adhesive from anchoring and sticking well.

• Relax the joints where the tape will go when you’re applying.

This is going to be, really, instruction for applying to the elbow, to protect the elbow. Which is the predominant use of turf tape today. So once you’ve cut off your piece, there are going to be a couple more tricks that are going to help you get the best use out of our turf tape.

Your skin should be dry and clean. If you have a lot of dirt, sweat, or sunblock applied already. It can be hard for the adhesive to anchor into your skin. We engineer our own adhesive, designed to perform. So I want to make sure that every time you use it you are getting the best possible setup for this turf tape to last and go the distance. 

So, you’ve cleaned your arm. And you’re going to start stripping the tape from the liner, and pull off about 1/3 of the liner, exposing some of the adhesive side of the tape.

Once the liner starts to come off you’ll notice that the fabric we use for our turf tape is very flexible. So you’ll want to treat this carefully. Because you don’t want this to fold on itself. If it does, you might have to cut a new piece.

Don’t take the liner off all the way. You’re actually going to start applying your piece of turf page with the liner halfway on.

Typically turf tape goes over the elbow, halfway up the arm, and maybe halfway back to the shoulder. But it’s really a matter of preference - Some people will wear it almost all the way to the wrist. Some people will wear it almost all the way to the shoulder. It depends on how you want to apply your turf tape.

Once you’re ready to finish the application, you’ve got to get the remainder of the tape off of the liner and onto skin. That’s when you’re going to take the application area and start to lay the turf tape on as you peel the liner off. In this way, the tape liner helps get the other half of the turf tape on.

The other trick I want to give you is, when you’re applying turf tape You want to make sure your joint is in the open or relaxed position. You don’t want your skin to be under tension.Which it would be if I flexed my arm.

Once the liner is fully stripped off, you can see that the tape is still loose in some places. Now, to finish application, just softly apply the sides of the turf tape onto the area you are covering.

Now at SHIELD, our adhesives are specially designed to anchor with pressure. So if you give a little bit of pressure to the turf tape you’re going to help the adhesive anchor into the skin. Again, we engineered our turf tape, we designed it this way, so that when you apply it properly it lasts. It should last all day. When I apply turf tape it lasts the entirety of an OCR course. It sticks with you. When I wear SHIELD turf tape, I know I’m not going to get cuts, scratches, scrapes. It just helps me stay in the game.

Find our turf tape at the shield store.I hope this information helps.

Stay safe out there!

This video is intended for information purposes only. This video is not intended to treat or diagnose any medical condition, nor is it intended to be considered as medical advice. Our goal is to educate and be a useful resource for how to more effectively use tapes to support your fitness journey. We realize that all experiences are different, and that not all products may suit you. Our hope is that we can help you find the right SHIELD product to support your fitness journey.