To Tape or Not to Tape?

[shaoleung]

I have been in an ongoing debate with a friend about taping vs. not taping your hands for crack climbing. I'd like some more input from CC dirt bags. Here's the gist of the two sides...

 

Not Taping: Taping leads to sloppy crack technique. A good crack climber should not need to tape up their hands. Generally speaking, tape should be avoided to allow a climber to fine tune their crack technique.

 

Taping: Why not? When you're climbing at your limit, technique is hampered more by skin loss and pain than having skin-saving tape on your hands. No matter how good your technique is, a long hard crack is going to tear up your skin without tape.

 

 

[G-spotter]

Tape is aid and chicks dig scars.

 

I've seen Washington climbers walking up the trail to Slesse NEB and to Diedre with full on to-the-elbow tape jobs. Neither route has an abundance of hand or fist jamming or abrasive rock. It's just like having a big neon GUMBY sign flashing over your head.

[hamballs]

Why not do away with sticky rubber and boots for the approach? After all, isn't going it barefoot the only true form of climbing or hiking?

 

I occasionally dabble with tape on my hands and shoes on my feet.

 

I agree though, Diedre is not the place for tape.

[mhux]

I was wondering this the other day too...for me, taping helps my shitty crack technique, but its a pain once your hands are sweaty and the tape starts getting loose.

On the other hand, though, I once scraped my skin down just enough to make a scabby pussy lesion on my hand, crack climbing sucked after that and it took forever (!) to heal. Probably shitty technique though, again...

[telemarker]

No to tape. More often than not, it ends up tossed in the bushes at the crag at the end of the day.

 

Crack climbing is lame anyways.

 

 

[rob]

On the other hand, though, I once scraped my skin down just enough to make a scabby pussy lesion on my hand, crack climbing sucked after that and it took forever (!) to heal. Probably shitty technique though, again...

 

http://www.katyshandjam.com/index.html

[ajpederson]

No tape. I tend to get more cut up doing finger cracks than hands, so tape gloves don't do much for me.

[selkirk]

I don't tape, not that that means much. Of course I also climb intermittently enough that my hands have time to heal between crack climbing days.

 

That said I was able to sit in on a nice seminar from Steph Davis, and she tapes for both hand and finger cracks (though using slightly different taping techniques). I'm pretty sure she knows more about crack climbing than I do Her approach was just enough to tape to stay stuck in place and to protect her skin. Usually 1 to 2 layers and at most 3 over the back of the knuckles, leaving the palm almost entirely bare and the wrist loose.

 

Those "re-usable" tape gloves are stupid though.

 

[Crillz]

Tape if you want to, don't tape if you don't want to. Don't leave trash at the base of the route.

 

More importantly is, what color should your pants and shirt be.

[shaoleung]

More importantly is, what color should your pants and shirt be.

 

That really depends on how you've coordinated your rope color, anodized biners, and the color of the rock.

[boadman]

I don't tape, not that that means much. Of course I also climb intermittently enough that my hands have time to heal between crack climbing days.

 

That said I was able to sit in on a nice seminar from Steph Davis, and she tapes for both hand and finger cracks (though using slightly different taping techniques). I'm pretty sure she knows more about crack climbing than I do Her approach was just enough to tape to stay stuck in place and to protect her skin. Usually 1 to 2 layers and at most 3 over the back of the knuckles, leaving the palm almost entirely bare and the wrist loose.

 

Those "re-usable" tape gloves are stupid though.

 

She mainly climbs in the desert though. She wouldn't tape up for Index or Squamish. The granite is fine enough grained that tape is unnecessary.

[selkirk]

Maybe not for Index or Squamish, but I've pulled some painful jams and finger locks at Tieton, Smith, and other local areas. Even around here it's not always about the granite

 

[G-spotter]

The granite is fine enough grained that tape is unnecessary.

 

Any yet the grain size in Squamish granite is coarser than the size of the sand grains in IC sandstone

[boadman]

The granite is fine enough grained that tape is unnecessary.

 

Any yet the grain size in Squamish granite is coarser than the size of the sand grains in IC sandstone

 

Fine grained granite doesn't seem to have the same "sand"paper effect that the IC sandstone does though. You wear holes in your skin one layer at a time if you climb there multiple days.

[mmeyers]

I taped when I was first starting to learn crack technique. I'm happy I did, b/c of the times I slid down and/or out of a crack with my hand still in it.

 

Once I got some of the very basics down, I generally stopped taping. I still get plenty scraped up, though. I will tape up if I expect to be crack climbing a lot over consecutive days - if I don't the sores from the first day hurt like hell on the following days.

 

related: as for the scratches and scrapes, I still like to use benzoin. It's the best antibiotic for hands b/c it stays in place so the sores heal up faster, and it isn't greasy.

 

[jon_masaya]

I think its a matter of preference, and skin resilience. I almost never tape, but many of my friends do. I like to think its because I'm a better climber, but then I see their hands after climbing without tape I see why. They bleed and scar and generally f*** their hands up without tape. Maybe its technique, but I think its just thin skin (or lack of Iron or Vitamin E? lol).

[ivan]

is it possible to climb at trout creek w/o taping and not come away looking like you fisted the virgin mary?

[Off_White]

Yeah, only wussies like Jim Donini use tape.

[Jens]

If Jim Bridwell is tough enough to use tape, I'm with him.

This is a dumb thread.

[kroc]

I say tape if your job puts you in contact with infected wounds and worse!

[Buckaroo]

If you have callouses already from your profession you can get by without taping. If you have big hands then tape just makes them bigger and thin hands cracks will be hard.

 

I've also seen people that just climb cracks all the time build up callouses. If you don't have callouses the pain will make it hard to stay in a steep crack and you'll need to tape.

 

There's also spider mitts, which are a C4 rubber pad back of the hand glove type of thing if you don't want to mess with tape. This also has the problem of making the hand bigger, which is sometimes a benefit if you have small hands.

[OlympicMtnBoy]

Yep, I tape if I'm expecting hand or fist jamming and it's steep enough that I'll be really weighting my jams. Maybe I just have soft skin and it takes forever to heal or gets bloodied up when I climb next. I'm sure we could all use better technique but I've certainly seen friends who would climb better if they were willing to tape because they always get bloody or are in pain. Then again, plenty of people climb hard without it too.

 

Always pack it out! I normally just leave mine on till I get back to the car anyways, also protects your hands if the descent is crappy.

[DPS]

I was bouldering at the UW wall and 'The Coach' who uses about a roll per hand was telling me about his latest plan to bike to the Sierras and climb this and that when a young woman came up and asked if we had any tape to spare. I had just run out that day and I apologized and said as much. Without skipping a beat the coach turned his head and barked 'NO!' The poor girl slinked away probably thinking we were both assholes.

[Checat]

No to tape. More often than not, it ends up tossed in the bushes at the crag at the end of the day.

 

Crack climbing is lame anyways.

 

 

Clean up the tape! Boo to crack climbing being lame

 

[Rafael_H]

Quite a good question. From climbing perspective do what you must. I did not use to tape when younger, now there is less meat, and the wounds heal slower and pussed hands look bad in the office - non-climbers are squeamish - so I tape sometimes, and not others, depending on what I am trying to accomplish: climb up, or redpoint.

 

As far as grades go though, it is important to note that taping makes climbing easier, whenever a hand jam is involved it makes a h u g e difference, I can personally attest to that: sweaty hands, smoother/flaring crack, over a pitch up, he-he, tape is easily all the difference between a hang and a flash. There is a (much) smaller price to pay when the hand does not fit in a crack completely because of the tape. So, when claiming some victories... you get the picture

 

Pros tape because their grades are moving the issue into the moot zone, plus they climb far more so it is almost necessary.