Backcountry.com copywriter Andy Anderson stoked to have a good tape job on the 155-foot-long Lite Not Solid (5.10d)
The difference between a good tape glove for crack climbing and a bad one can be fairly minor … or it can cost you a send. Good tape gloves save your hands and let you get away with a bit of thrutching when things get desperate. Bad tape gloves can be worse than wearing nothing at all. I’ve had tape gloves ball up and keep me from putting my hands in a crack, I’ve had them come off on the fifth pitch of an 18-pitch route, and I’ve even seen a friend who went with the old-school full-wrap method accidentally clip his tape glove (with his hand in it) to a piece of gear. Needless to say, that one took some doing to get out of.
A good tape glove should be thin enough that it doesn’t really change your hand size, it should be durable enough to last 20+ pitches, and it should leave your palm completely clear of any tape. There are several “perfect” tape gloves out there, but this one is my favorite.