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Best Climbing Tape

Original Post
coop Best · · Glenwood Springs, CO · Joined Jan 2005 · Points: 485

I have tried several over the years, but interested in other opinions.

Opinions?
Website?
Best Price/Value?

Monomaniac · · Morrison, CO · Joined Oct 2006 · Points: 17,295

Depends on the application. For orthopedic taping, I prefer Johnson & Johnson. But its probably not the best for crack climbing.

Wiled Horse · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Dec 2002 · Points: 3,669

ditto what mono said.

kendall curity is great for fingers.

however i think jo&jo is good for the cracks.

metolius is ok, but pricey.

mschlocker · · San Diego, CA · Joined Apr 2006 · Points: 3,195

Metolius is the only way to go. Best compromise between durability, ease of tearing by hand, and stickiness. If you make tape gloves and re-use them it lasts a long time. Orthopedic stuff gets ripped to shreds.

SCherry · · Boulder, CO · Joined Jan 2006 · Points: 647

Kendall Curity is by far the stickiest and best tape for climbing applications. All other tape sucks IMO. Neptunes has it back on the shelf now for under $3 a roll

James Beissel · · Boulder, CO · Joined Aug 2004 · Points: 905

+1 Kendall

Taylor Krosbakken · · Duluth, MN · Joined Nov 2008 · Points: 1,086

using tape is cheating but...
allmed.net/catalog/item/2531

Wiled Horse · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Dec 2002 · Points: 3,669

tape is aid.

Kevin Craig · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Mar 2002 · Points: 325

+1 Kendall

Nothing else sticks to my hands.

Rockwood · · West Jordan · Joined Jun 2009 · Points: 325

I've been trying all kinds of stuff and my latest success is putting Johnson and Johnson all over first. it's cheep and feels good on my hands. Then a top layer of the Metolious stuff from REI around my knuckles and anywhere else I need it tuff depending on the climb. It's sticky and doesn't rip and keeps everything in place but it's pricier. Those two together seems to bond into cardboard on top of my hands and I love it. They roll less together then when used on their own. My partner tried my method on our last trip to Indian Creek last month and it was the only thing that she didn't shred on one climb.
We ran into one lady who had some Australian stuff that was insanely sticky...but she got it in Australia so who knows.

Sam Stephens · · PORTLAND, OR · Joined Jan 2010 · Points: 1,090

I've always just used Johnson and Johnson. I can't stand the Metolius stuff. Too hard to work with for me. My gloves usually last for a couple of days of climbing after I cut them off the first time. I'll have to try the Kendall stuff though.

DFrench · · Cape Ann · Joined Apr 2007 · Points: 465

Has anybody else tried the pre-tape spray?

They actually carried it at Neptunes for a while. I tend to sweat a lot from my hands and I found that there's almost no point in taping up unless I have that spray with me. Otherwise I swim around in my tape gloves like an oversized pair of wool socks.

Bryan Ferguson · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Apr 2008 · Points: 635

Mueller tape works great for tape gloves. We used to call it "Herr Mueller" out of respect. It stays put even when it's time to take it off...

Brian in SLC · · Sandy, Utah · Joined Oct 2003 · Points: 21,711
buttonheadspinner wrote:Mueller tape works great for tape gloves. We used to call it "Herr Mueller" out of respect. It stays put even when it's time to take it off...
That's not my experience with Mueller. Usually doesn't stick or stay stuck.

Prefer J&J and/or Metolius.
Tomaz · · Lakewood, Colorado · Joined Apr 2008 · Points: 5

In my experience, the kendall-curity seems to stick to my skin the best.

Anson Call · · Reno, NV · Joined Jan 2010 · Points: 45

Resurrecting an old thread, because I don't think this topic is sufficiently beat to death yet.

I've been using Mueller Eurotape Platinum. It's stickier than Mueller M tape, which kinda sucks. I wonder if the different opinions of Mueller tape are coming from the fact that there's more than one kind of Mueller athletic tape. The Eurotape is hard to find, but there's a few shops around Utah that carry it (Pagan in Moab, Mountainworks in Provo and maybe others).

However, I want something even stickier than Eurotape. I use the tape on cracks, but also on fingers when my skin goes to crap. I'm tired of the tape rolling up or sliding off my fingers!

Can anyone that's tried the Kendall tape and the Eurotape comment on which one is stickier? Also, I recently heard about a supposedly ultra-sticky athletic tape marketed for the CrossFit crowd... I think it's called Goat Tape. Has anyone tried using it for climbing?

Alexander Blum · · Livermore, CA · Joined Mar 2009 · Points: 143

I am curious, too. I currently use the Mueller Eurotape with Stickum spray, taping in this style:

Steph Davis Crack Gloves

When I do this patiently, with the spray, I can climb for a full day in hot weather and the tape will still be stuck firmly to the back of my hand! For reference, I do sweat a fair bit, more traditional taping methods usually leave me with a floppy piece of tape on the back of my hand after one or two routes. I think no matter what kind of tape you use, if you would like it to actually stick to the back of your hand the stickum is a MUST. I have found it at sporting goods stores and on Amazon.

All this being said, if Curity is stickier than the Eurotape I want some!

Dave L · · Unknown Hometown · Joined May 2012 · Points: 15

This stuff is a bit more expensive than normal athletic tape, but it's by far the best. It's way stickier than anything else on the market (Eurotape, Metolius, Curity, etc.) and more durable. If you want something that isn't quite as sticky, they make another style called Silly Soft which is more flexible than Scary Sticky tape and still more sticky than conventional tape. Check it out!
roguefitness.com/scarystick…

Petsfed 00 · · Snohomish, WA · Joined Mar 2002 · Points: 989
Alexander Blum wrote:I am curious, too. I currently use the Mueller Eurotape with Stickum spray, taping in this style: Steph Davis Crack Gloves When I do this patiently, with the spray, I can climb for a full day in hot weather and the tape will still be stuck firmly to the back of my hand! For reference, I do sweat a fair bit, more traditional taping methods usually leave me with a floppy piece of tape on the back of my hand after one or two routes. I think no matter what kind of tape you use, if you would like it to actually stick to the back of your hand the stickum is a MUST. I have found it at sporting goods stores and on Amazon. All this being said, if Curity is stickier than the Eurotape I want some!
Kendall switched tape formulations when they went over to the Covidien name. Now it sucks. Towards the end of the Kendall name, the tape business in Laramie, WY, was a lot like the cocaine business. Everybody was looking for a connection on the good stuff. Euromueller is the best that I can consistently find, but I'm sure there are others.
Alexander Blum · · Livermore, CA · Joined Mar 2009 · Points: 143

Thanks Brian. I was wondering why the "go-to" recommendation seemed to have changed from Kendall to Eurotape over the last few years.

reboot · · . · Joined Jul 2006 · Points: 125

Somebody recommended Leukotape at one point & I have to say it's the stickiest I've ever used, even the old Kendall Curity doesn't compare. It does cost ~$9/roll (but 15 yds instead of 10). I've used as a base layer for my hands climbing in the valley under really hot weather. I saw sweat seeping thru the tape but it just stuck to the skin.

The issue though is it's not stretchy at all. It'd be horrible to tape over a joint unless you're trying to immobilize it (great for sprained ankle). On the other hand, it's by far the best tape I've ever used for finger pulley/tendon support or over a split. I've gotten quite a few of my friends addicts to it for that purpose. The fact it doesn't stretch means there's no need to retape throughout the session, thus a roll lasts a really long time.

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

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