Adhesive Tapes: The Top Picks for Every Job

There are so many different types of adhesive tapes that it can be hard to figure out which type will be best suited for your needs. You may have an idea about the tape you want, but you need to know if it’s suitable for your specific project. To help you figure out which tape to choose, we’ve collected together the top picks from three different categories of adhesive tapes. We’ll start with the highest quality tape available and work our way down from there, until we get to some tapes that are perfect for budget-minded buyers. Here are the top picks in each category

We all know how frustrating it is when you tear open a package, only to have it collapse because of weak tape. If you’re tired of wasting money on flimsy packaging, try using reinforced packing tape. It’s an industrial-strength solution that can hold just about anything together—but don’t worry, it’s easy to remove without residue or sticky messes. Just be sure to avoid double-sided tapes; they may seem like a good idea at first, but they often end up sticking things together in ways you don’t want them stuck. Plus, they leave behind adhesive residue that’s hard to clean off surfaces like glass and mirrors.

Duct tape is famous because it’s so versatile, but it’s probably not what you should use to keep together that stack of company manuals. For an office environment, scotch tape offers a medium-stick adhesive and comes in a variety of colors (so you can match your decor). If you have a lot of paper to stick together, clear OPP tape has strong adhesive power without being too sticky. It’s also transparent, which means it won’t distract from whatever you need to attach.

You can repair a split in a piece of wood by covering it with epoxy glue and then sliding a shim or wedge into place. To hold everything in place, you’ll need to use something sticky and durable. We recommend using duct tape. It’s been around for ages, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a good product. Duct tape is versatile, tough and easy to apply over wood surfaces that may be rough and uneven. And since it’s so sticky, you won’t have to worry about your repairs coming undone. Plus, if you ever want to remove your repair job down the road, all you have to do is peel off your duct tape.

There are a number of options to keep your place in a book, ranging from sticky notes to paperclips. But we’ve found that clear, sticky tape is by far one of my favorites—and it’s very easy to use! All you have to do is cut off a small piece and stick it on top of where you left off reading. This method allows you to quickly see what page you’re on at all times.

Masking tape is one of our favorite adhesive tapes, especially when it comes to mounting things on walls. This adhesive tape does a great job of adhering to many different surfaces, including wood, metal and glass; its high tackiness also helps it hold onto heavy objects well. In fact, you may have seen masking tape in action at work when your landlord has taped together broken pieces of furniture or appliances that need to be loaded up into a truck for disposal.

When packing fragile items to ship or store, it’s best to use a tape designed specifically for those situations. Generally speaking, masking tape and OPP tape are better used on boxes that will be handled frequently (for example, in an office where heavy objects are constantly moved from one location to another), whereas double-sided tapes are more often suited for more permanent jobs, and fragile tapes for items that can break or shatter easily.