* We finally have a few
survey results - please click
here to see them.
Because of the relative high price of gaffers tape as compared to other tapes, it is more important than ever to buy a gaffers tape that meets the requirements of your specific application, but doesn't exceed them at too great a cost. We currently stock gaffers tapes from the larger manufacturers (Shurtape/Permacel, Polyken/Berry Plastics, Scapa and North American Tapes), but there is currently a $260+ price difference for just one case of 2" tape when you compare the least expensive to the most expensive of the tapes.
And that is why we are offering our Gaffers Tape Challenge Pack which will allow you to test 9 different grades of gaffers tape from the manufacturers noted above, at an economical price (we are basically charging for the material, but not the cost of rewinding the rolls and putting them on new cores). We've labeled each roll with the product number for easy reference and also with the word 'SAMPLE' since these rolls are only available via this test sample pack and can not be purchased individually.
When your test pack is shipped your packing slip will also include a unique access code which will enable you to rank the 9 tapes you received in reference to how well they performed for your specific application. The purpose of the unique code is to ensure someone has tried all of the tapes recently before scoring them. Current survey rankings and comments left about the tapes can be viewed below.
The pack includes a
10 yard roll of 2" black for the following gaffers tapes:
* Multiple cases may be shipped per package in order to minimize the charge for shipping.
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FindTape GAFF-TEST-PACK Gaffers Tape Challenge Pack specifications:- Adhesive: rubber How are adhesives different?
- Carrier/Backing: vinyl coated cloth
- Thickness: 11 to 12 mils
- Adhesion: 28 to 80 ounces per inch
- Tensile Strength: 32 to 69 pounds per inch (longitudinal)
- Core: 3" diameter
* specifications are those given by manufacturers and are not tested for accuracy |
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| 9 10-yard rolls | GAFF-TEST-PACK/910 | $25.99 |
|---|
| Overall Gaffer Tape Rankings
(across all applications) |
| |
|---|
Excellent (10)
to
Poor (1) | 7.1
 | 7.6
| 7.2
| 8.3
| 8.1
| 9.0
| 8.5
| 8.0
| 8.3
|
|---|
| | Scapa
125 | Polyken
510 | Scapa
225 | Shurtape
PC-628 | NAT
616 | Pro Tapes
Pro-Gaff | Permacel
P-665 | Scapa
425 | Permacel
P-672 |
|---|
| | * based on 23 survey(s) |
|---|
|
| Application-Specific Rankings |
|
⇒ general-purpose cable hold down
| |
|---|
Excellent (10)
to
Poor (1) | 7.6
| 7.8
| 7.1
| 9.0
| 7.7
| 9.0
| 8.9
| 8.0
| 8.9
|
|---|
| | Scapa
125 | Polyken
510 | Scapa
225 | Shurtape
PC-628 | NAT
616 | Pro Tapes
Pro-Gaff | Permacel
P-665 | Scapa
425 | Permacel
P-672 |
|---|
| | * based on 8 survey(s) |
|---|
⇒ lighting crew/sound crew
| |
|---|
Excellent (10)
to
Poor (1) | 7.9
| 7.9
| 7.4
| 7.8
| 8.5
| * no responses
| 8.4
| * no responses
| 8.4
|
|---|
| | Scapa
125 | Polyken
510 | Scapa
225 | Shurtape
PC-628 | NAT
616 | Pro Tapes
Pro-Gaff | Permacel
P-665 | Scapa
425 | Permacel
P-672 |
|---|
| | * based on 9 survey(s) |
|---|
⇒ other (please describe in comments)
| |
|---|
Excellent (10)
to
Poor (1) | 7.5
| 9.0
| 8.3
| 8.5
| 8.0
| * no responses
| 9.0
| * no responses
| 8.5
|
|---|
| | Scapa
125 | Polyken
510 | Scapa
225 | Shurtape
PC-628 | NAT
616 | Pro Tapes
Pro-Gaff | Permacel
P-665 | Scapa
425 | Permacel
P-672 |
|---|
| | * based on 3 survey(s) |
|---|
⇒ packaging/sealing (e.g. film cans)
| |
|---|
Excellent (10)
to
Poor (1) | 5.0
| 7.0
| 8.0
| 6.0
| * no responses
| * no responses
| 4.0
| * no responses
| 9.0
|
|---|
| | Scapa
125 | Polyken
510 | Scapa
225 | Shurtape
PC-628 | NAT
616 | Pro Tapes
Pro-Gaff | Permacel
P-665 | Scapa
425 | Permacel
P-672 |
|---|
| | * based on 1 survey(s) |
|---|
⇒ set construction/wardrobe
| |
|---|
Excellent (10)
to
Poor (1) | 2.0
| 5.0
| 5.0
| 9.0
| * no responses
| * no responses
| 10.0
| * no responses
| 2.0
|
|---|
| | Scapa
125 | Polyken
510 | Scapa
225 | Shurtape
PC-628 | NAT
616 | Pro Tapes
Pro-Gaff | Permacel
P-665 | Scapa
425 | Permacel
P-672 |
|---|
| | * based on 1 survey(s) |
|---|
⇒ staging marks/floor marking
| |
|---|
Excellent (10)
to
Poor (1) | 5.0
| 5.0
| 6.0
| 8.5
| 9.0
| 9.0
| 8.0
| 8.0
| 7.5
|
|---|
| | Scapa
125 | Polyken
510 | Scapa
225 | Shurtape
PC-628 | NAT
616 | Pro Tapes
Pro-Gaff | Permacel
P-665 | Scapa
425 | Permacel
P-672 |
|---|
| | * based on 2 survey(s) |
|---|
|
| General Comments |
"Surprised at how well the Scapa 125 adhered to a wet floor! Found the Scapa 225 and the Shurtape PC 628 to require more force to tear off the roll. Polyken 510 and Permacel P 665 were both good tapes, but I had to give the nod to the Permacel P 672 for overall nicest tape to work with. Looks like I've got to have 2 kinds of tape to work with!!" - John DeAngelis, Owner, Operator, Chief Cook and Bottlewasher, Copperhead Sound
"All of the tapes performed exceptionally well for us!" - Charles B Hellige, Owner, St. Louis Time & Signal
"all of these were great! - would be hard to chose just one as most fit the bill ... love the no glue left behind like "duct" tape .. thanks again for the sample pack .. about to run out of some ...
Freddie" - Freddie C. Ross, Range Data Manager, USAF/Luke AFB
"Two rolls (510 & 225) got away from us before we could rate them. I think another department grabbed them before we could test it. The 665 was good but too sticky for our needs and therefore was not liked by our Techs. Of the four tested, the 672 was the favorite, and most expensive." - David Samuel, Manager, AV Services, Focus on the Family
"Polyken was very sticky and hard to get off the roll, however it did stick well.
All the tapes worked well.
" - Lynn McClenaghan, office assistant, Roush Racing
"I cannot rate each tape yet as I have not finished my evaluation process. I currently have all six samples plus a target sample of Sekisui brand tape on a high speed vehicle (250+ kph), a heat monitored area, and in a weathering test situation to gauge which tape will best fit my companies needs. When I have finished my testing I will write a full technical report at which time I will ask if this report can be released to your company. So far the Polyken 510 looks to be superior." - Kelly Banks, Technician Vehicle Performance Development, Toyota Technical Center
"i haven't had time to use each different type of tape - i've only used the P672 and it worked well - remind me in 5 months and i can complete another survey" - Carl Sylvester, Programmer, CWT
"We use gaffe tape in a corporate meeting room environment. The tape is generally applied to Berber office carpet. It is typically in place for 3-24 hours. In our tests we found that the Permacel tapes far outperformed the competition. The P-665 rated the highest at a perfect 10. The adhesive was very strong with no residue. It tore straight with no strings. Many of the other brands tear at weird angels, sometimes at a 30 degree angle, and many had issues with strings; the P-665 was perfect in this regard. The P-672 did have some strings and a minimal amount of residue. One advantage that the P-672 had was the firmness of the tape. All of the other tapes were very thin. In the end, I would first buy the Permacel P-665, followed by the Permacel P-672. I highly recommend this test to anybody who uses gaffe tape frequently, and wants to discover the best." - Kevin Tolman, Audio Visual Technician, ProLogis
"We are a Latin jazz musical ensemble playing 175-200 performances a year, providing our own sound system for most of these events. We were delighted to find that the least expensive tape you provided in your pack of seven is strong enough for our main purpose, which is securing cables to the ground so people can safely walk over them." - Susie Hansen, band leader, violinist and vocalist, The Susie Hansen Latin Band, Los Angeles CA
"A full test was carried on a variety of surfaces as well as self adhesion and cable removal tests" - David Leonard, MCC2-206, The World Bank Group
"The 510, 225 and 616 worked Great. We use the gaffer tape for our Black cars for the front end and fenders to prevent chips during trips and for track use. The gaffer holds up well and the tape tears easy and sticks very well to the paint and comes off easy without any residue. We will for sure buy more. Thanks for the great product." - Larry Vasquez
"Unfortunately I didn't get to test any of the tape, the tape was used by our church VBS director to decorate our auditorium in black plastic for a "space" theme. She didn't know to pay attention to the different roll numbers for the test.
She said all the tapes worked well but there were some that tore better than others.
I'll order another pack and test in the near future."
"The tapes were a gift to my husband who was told that gaffer tape was better than duct tape for doing repairs to his bicycle. It will be a long time before he tries them all.
I did recieve them the day after I placed the order! Impressive!" - Elizabeth Zakowicz, supportive wife
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| Product-Specific Feedback |
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Scapa 125 "Outstanding product! We use it for all our events and it's always reliable." Joey D Gonzaga Express Unlimited
Scapa 125 "We use tape extensively for our church's Sunday services, since we use a school facility every week and set up our own sound equipment. This tape worked very well on carpet and hard surfaces, left no residue, and was great for our application. It would be nice to have a little firmer tape, or more specifically, for it to feel a little thicker, but this is just personal preference and has nothing to do with the performance of the tape itself." - Joshua Yang
Polyken 510 "I was able to find the tape that I wanted quickly and for a reasonable price, too." - Michoel Burger
Permacel P-665 "I'm a freelance photographer and this stuff is GREAT. Use it to hold up backgrounds to stands, cover wires so models wont pull down your lights, tape clear plastic to your lens to keep them dry at sporting events. Easy to use and tear, never leaves glue residue--GREAT stuff. I cut some 1" PVC in 2" lengths to use as cores....and re-wrapped this stuff into 10yd mini-rolls. Small roll fits in your pocket and wont 'disappear' when your back is turned! :)" - patrick otoole
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hot melt rubber (synthetic)
Offers the widest range of application flexibility available. Exhibits excellent processing performance whether manually or automatically applied. Has superior tensile strength, adhesion properties and holding force which ensures consistent, reliable seals. Hot melt adhesive will bond faster to a surface which is referred to as quick-grab or quick-stick. It typically has higher tack (will feel stickier to the touch), but is also softer. It has lower heat resistance, shear resistance, and sometimes UV resistance than an acrylic adhesive. NOTE: it is called hot melt because the adhesive is applied hot by the manufacturer and then hardens as it cools (you do not need to apply heat to the tape yourself).
natural rubber
Properties are similar to that of hot melt rubber, but natural rubber often holds where other adhesives won't (recycled fibers, dust, cold, heat and heavy loads). It provides good overall adhesion and moisture resistance.
acrylic
Offer excellent performance, especially for applications in temperatures less than 40°F and greater then 120°F. It provides excellent clarity, has high shear strength, is usually more permanent/durable even when exposed to moisture, and it ages well over extended periods in fluorescent and sunlight. Since it remains clear for the life of the application and does not yellow over time it is ideal for applications such as sealing white cartons. While it has good initial adhesion it does take 24-48 hours to cure and to achieve its maximum bond strength (has gradual adhesion buildup). Another difference between hot melt rubber and acrylic adhesive is if you fold tape over making the two adhesive sides touch the acrylic adhesive will remain attached to the carrier (e.g. paper, film) while a hot melt adhesive will stick to itself and pull off of the carrier. It is the best choice for clarity, UV resistance and aging characteristics.
silicone
Is great for extreme temperature applications since silicone adhesive can work in continuous operating temperatures from -100°F to 500°F. They also exhibit good chemical resistance, retain electrical properties, and remove cleanly with little or no residue.
zinc oxide
Zinc oxide based adhesive formula is a skin-friendly adhesive which is commonly used on sports medicine tapes.
1 mil = 1/1000 of an inchExamples: 1/16 inch = 62.5 mils; 1/32 inch = 31.25 mils
