Inelastic, conformable sports tape

1. An athletic tape product for securing or supporting a human or animal body part, the product comprising:

an elongate, pliable, substrate having a first major surface and a second major surface, the substrate being formed of a woven material that is stretchable in a longitudinal direction between a relaxed state and a stretched state, wherein a longitudinal length of the substrate in the stretched state is greater than the longitudinal length of the substrate in the relaxed state;

a polymer material applied to the substrate, the polymer material affixing the substrate in the stretched state; and

a coating material disposed on one or both of the first major surface and the second major surface, the coating material selected from the group consisting of a cohesive material and an adhesive material.

2. The athletic tape product of claim 1 , wherein the substrate is a woven material comprising longitudinal fibers extending in the longitudinal direction and transverse fibers extending transversely with respect to the longitudinal direction.

3. The athletic tape product of claim 2 , wherein the longitudinal fibers, transverse fibers, or both comprise a material selected from the group consisting of cotton, polyolefin, polyester, and a cotton/synthetic polymer blend.

4. The athletic tape product of claim 2 , wherein the longitudinal fibers, transverse fibers, or both have a linear mass density of from about 50 deniers to about 500 deniers.

5. The athletic tape product of claim 2 , wherein the longitudinal fibers are spaced along a transverse axis at a density of from about 20 to about 100 fibers per inch when the substrate is in the relaxed state.

6. The athletic tape product of claim 2 , wherein the transverse fibers are spaced along a longitudinal axis at a density of from about 15 to about 75 fibers per inch when the substrate is in the relaxed state.

7. The athletic tape product of claim 1 , wherein the coating material is disposed on the first major surface at a coating density of from about 40 g/m 2 to about 150 g/m 2 .

8. The athletic tape product of claim 1 , wherein the coating material is an adhesive material.

9. The athletic tape product of claim 8 , wherein the adhesive material comprises a material selected from the group consisting of a styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) adhesive and an acrylate adhesive.

10. The athletic tape product of claim 1 , wherein the coating material is a cohesive material.

11. The athletic tape product of claim 10 , wherein the cohesive material comprises a material selected from the group consisting of polychloroprene, polyester polyurethane, and polycaprolactone polyurethane.

12. The athletic tape product of claim 1 , wherein the polymer material is a water-dispersible polymer.

13. The athletic tape product of claim 12 , wherein the substrate is impregnated with the water-dispersible polymer.

14. The athletic tape product of claim 12 , wherein the substrate is coated with the water-dispersible polymer.

15. The athletic tape product of claim 12 , wherein the water-dispersible polymer is disposed on the first and second major surfaces at a coating density of from about 10 g/m 2 to about 40 g/m 2 , on a dried weight basis.

16. The athletic tape product of claim 12 , wherein the water-dispersible polymer is ethylene vinyl acetate.

17. The athletic tape product of claim 1 , wherein the longitudinal length of the substrate in the stretched state is at least 0.5% greater than the longitudinal length of the substrate in the relaxed state.

18. The athletic tape product of claim 1 , wherein the substrate is impregnated with the coating material.