Greetings all! I'm a new member (long time lurker) and I love the info on this forum! Anybody have a recommendation for a top-quality brand (and product #) of heavy-duty duct tape? I currently have light-duty 3M 3903 "easy tear" tape, but I also want a heavier version. Also, how about the new "clear" duct tapes? Any thoughts? Many thanks!

Welcome, AJ.

I love the new clear 3M duct tape - good stuff! Have some in my kit right now. It seems to have different properties than conventional duct tape (maybe my over active imagination), so I don't lump it in with the others.

My #1 favorite - because it works the best - is military duct tape. I have no idea who actually makes it and no incentive to find out, because I can still scrounge a roll of the real stuff.

My second choice is not the best of the commercial-off-the-shelf, but I can find it anywhere - it's the best 3M stuff. There is a better brand (google duct tape - a couple of informative sites), but I don't even recall what it is, because I rarely find it on the shelf.

Everything else is third choice. Even cheap duct tape gets most jobs accomplished (it might take more and/or more layers). And the cheap stuff is great to give kids who are playing with large cardboard boxes, scrap lumber, etc on a rainy day... it keeps them from using your good duct tape <img src="/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

Tom

Go to a HVAC supply house. They always have good duct tape. After all, they tape ducts with it.

Here's link to Backpacker magazine article that compares couple of different duct tapes based on thread count, sun resistance, and stickiness. The article's four years old, so newer products aren't covered.

Tom,
I have been looking forthe military duck tape for iover a year and cant seem to find a source.
Please pm me any possible leads.
Many thanks
Oliver

http://www.uscav.com/productinfo.aspx?productid=7148&tabID=1

http://www.uscav.com/productinfo.aspx?productid=5543&tabID=1

I'll check the pack when I get home, but I carry a small amount flourescent orange duct tape in my pack. Not sure of the quality, but in a survival situation, if you need tape, the orange is just a bonus. If anyone has an interest in that, just PM me and I'll get you that info.

Here are my favorite duct tape:
REI
http://www.rei.com/online/store/ProductD...vcat=REI_SEARCH

Survival and Outdoor Safety – Gaffers tape
http://www.survivalandoutdoorsafety.com/tape.htm

Thanks for the input, everyone. That'll give me a few new ones to try!

Nice article.

I used to be a buyer for an artists supply concern, so I'm very familiar with tapes, in general. When you want a tape you can rely on, always go with the top of the line product from 3M. This is usually labelled "Scotch", but there can be several different quality levels in any particular product line. 3M also has a couple of cheaper brands, "Highland", and "Tartan".

The trouble with real gaffer's tape is that it uses a natural latex-based adhesive that doesn't last very long in storage or usage. The cool thing about real gaffer's tape is that it's very strong, but leaves no residue behind when you peel it up. Being trained in Theatrical Technical Production, I've used real gaffer's tape in it's intended purposes, and it performs like a champ. Beware of cheap imitations. If you want the real thing, you'll probably have to source it from a reputable theatrical supply house.

I'm quite fond of the 3M/Scotch Extreme Application Packaging Tape (#8959), which is a packaging tape with a woven fiberglass layer. This stuff is practically impossible to break, but breaks down fairly quickly in UV light (sunlight). Of course, this isn't really "duct tape", per se, but it's quite useful when you really need extreme strength in a tape. I've used it to attach 4 mil plastic to my car to cover a couple of broken windows, and a year later, I still have residue on my car. It's getting harder to find, and it's quite expensive, but I usually get mine at Staples in a 50mmx20m roll on a one-hand dispenser (with an incredibly sharp and dangerous cutter). #8959 has a tensile strength of "150 lb/inch longitudinal and 50 lb/inch width in cross direction" (translation not included). If your needs are more unidirectional, #898 Filament Tape has a 380 lb/in width strength.

If you can find it, try 3M's 130-series Professional HVAC Duct Tape (#131, 132, 133 in 10, 20, 50 yd rolls, resepctively), or #138 All-Weather Duct Tape.

God Bless the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company!

Amper I to have been involved in theatrics. I am very familiar with gaffers tape. For tempory uses like in the theater it works well and as you say leaves no residue. But when it comes to real holding power it doesn't hold a candle to duct tape.

While the use of duct tape is suppost to be for tempory repairs. I have seen some duct tape repairs that have been in place for years. That is why when I ordered supposed Mil Spec duct tape fro Cheaper than Dirt and recieved gaffers tape I immediatly called to complain. Their basic response was you got what you got. I no longer deal with them.

The best brand that I have run into is the Nashua brand. It was the brand we used in the navy years ago. After years of searching I finally found some again at a HVAC store. I've seen this stuff use for most anything. Very strong and sticky.

So now we have Recommendations for and against Gaffer tape and for Nashua Duct Tape
both kinds can be found at:

http://www.thetapeworks.com/

I may get some of each, there appear to be positives for both

Second the recomendation on Nashua. What i use is Nashua 557,

http://www.tycoadhesives.com/SearchProductsDetails.aspx?ID=218

Lowes or Home Desprite has it in stock. But to give you an idea how sticky it is, where i work i bundle very well oiled steel rods together with duct tape so that i can cut the rods into shorter lengths. Don't want to cut just one rod at a time with the band saw. The next day the tape is difficult to pull off of the oily steel. Very sticky and stays stuck.

Question (kinda): How do you carry your duct tape?

I've found that using one of those fake credit cards that we all get in the mail with the "0% on all balance transfers" credit card deals in them.

The OGRE

I wrap 5-6 feet around a drinking straw that I trim to length after I have wrapped the tape around it. This makes a compact roll 2” wide and about as big around as a nickel. I carry one of these rolls in each of my FAKs & PSKs

I make similar packs like the ones you can buy. But I make them in sizes to fit my needs. One size in particular is about the length of a dollar bill to fit in a wallet kit.

Take a strip of waxed paper a little shorter that the desired finished size. the same width as the tape. I then wrap to the desired thickness. If you get it to thick the wallet won't fold. The waxed paper allows you to use all the tape instead of haveing the 2 inner most layers sticking together.