Bates Choice Gaffer Tape, Black, 2 Inch x 23 Yards

I have used gaffer tape for many years, older material made in the USA. I also read the various reviews of the gaffer tape for sale on Amazon. Old gaffer tape would adhere -- long term -- to most surfaces, and be removable without damage to the substrate nor leaving any significant residue (unlike Gorilla "fabric" tape, etc.). This tape only well adheres to smooth clean non-absorbent surfaces, such as clean smooth plastic (most, not polyethylene, teflon, etc. -- nothing adheres well to many of these without a "promoter"), glass, or metal surfaces (e.g., not an oxidized metal window frame that has a less than smooth surface). I often have to tape to surfaces other than these ideal situations, such as the rubber surfaces on a camera lens. Due to the presence of finger oil and contamination, I clean such surfaces with an isopropanol disposable wipe, and allow the surface to dry. No improvement -- no long term adhesion for a lightweight small outside jacket diameter cable. The tape does not mechanically fail and does "rip" or cut well to dispense, but it lacks adhesion to many substrates -- but I return to the taped item a few hours after placement and the tape is dangling loose, and not under direct sun, temperature in normal human household range.

This tape is VERY hit or miss when it comes to adhesion. Either it doesn't stick at all ot it sticks so completely that it can't be removed without damaging the surface.The entire point of gaffers tape is that it sticks better than duct tape with a lower risk of damaging the surface. This tape does the exact opposite, it doesn't stick as well as duct tape and in my experience it's VASTLY more prone to damaging surfaces.Pay a buck or two more for a different brand, this brand isn't worth the headache when there's multiple competitors at around the same price

We use a lot of gaff tape on our church platform for cable management and set build. Picked up two rolls of this because the cost was lower than our usual brand and it also shipped quicker. Will not purchase again. Used it on some light towers we built from furnace filters and it started peeling off from the paper/cardboard within a day. It also won't stick to the other tape on set. We use gaff because of its low reflection, which this tape meets... but as to adhesion, it fails miserably. I realize gaff tape is meant to remove easier, but I should still be the one removing it... not random peeling away like this is doing. I added a couple pictures, but not sure if they show the peeling very well.

I wish I had glowing news to report about this tape, but I found it was not as sticky as some borrowed tape. I was on location with a new, untested roll and I had to borrow someone else's gaffer tape that stuck much better, ripped better but still came up easily. It depends a lot on what you are sticking to, but I would call this light-duty despite its size. I should have tested it before the job so that is on me. This product will become my B-Roll (haha)... and be used only if I have to.

Have always heard that gaffers tape is the best for non-destructive taping. This was expensive, but sadly it did not work. It is so sticky (sticks to itself wonderfully when you are trying to apply it) that you would never guess it will not stay stuck. I was running a black cord around the edge of a black aluminum framed window and hoped this tape would work where others I tried did not. It seemed so good when I stuck it on, but after a day or two it had lifted up and the only thing it remained stuck to was the cord itself. I tried it on other things including unfinished wood and vinyl wallpaper - no luck... It simply won't stay stuck for more than a day or so.