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Wondering if tako grip tape is still made or what similar products are being used

Thanks

You may have notice in the Rio Olympics that most of the men used gymnastics chalk.

Some had issues with their hands getting wet when they landed in the wet pit (after that downpour). Chalk + water = muck.

How well does Tako Grip tape work when your hands (or the pole) are wet?

Kirk

Tako is slippery when wet. The difference is that it is easier to dry than athletic tape. Drawback is how expensive it is. I had a problem with a vaulter not keeping his right arm straight so every time he jumped, he got to where he was sliding his hand down the tako tape and rolling it. You can only unroll it so many times before its useless. We ended up switching to friction tape(two-sided black tape). It gets your hands dirty but a fraction of the price. And if it gets wet, just take it off and re-tape. Something like $0.10 per foot, so who cares. Tako and ninja can be great for the right vaulter. Take s a little practice to wrap a pole in those tapes without overlapping and without leaving any gaps between winds of tape though.

prueitt_r wrote: ... he was sliding his hand down the tako tape and rolling it. You can only unroll it so many times before its useless.

With any tape (not just Tako Grip) if you apply it from top to bottom, then the tape edges will roll. Not so if you apply it from bottom to top (leaving a bit of an overlap which becomes a nice ridge).

prueitt_r wrote: Takes a little practice to wrap a pole in those tapes without overlapping and without leaving any gaps between winds of tape though.

Again, applying bottom to top might help. Even if perfectly applied (without overlapping), the edges might curl or roll over time. This is true of other types of tape - I haven't tried Tako Grip tape. It might be sturdier.

Kirk

I have applied it in both directions as well as carefully cleaning all foreign substances off the pole before applying.
I still had problems with that stuff rolling down.
It has a great feal to it but I can't get it to stay put on the pole and won't be buying more.