Tools:
Gaffer’s Choice, https://amzn.to/2EurDww
Tape Ninja, https://amzn.to/2BUmT1F
XFasten, https://amzn.to/2H2ziEf
Gaffer Power, https://amzn.to/2Ex4DNB
Gaffer Power, https://amzn.to/2TbA4VX
Silver Sharpie, https://amzn.to/2tD4uli

Transcript:
... First, we have a brand called Gaffer’s Choice. It’s around $14 a roll on Amazon, and the roll includes an extra 5 yards of tape. It gets a lot of reviews, the company has been around for a long time, and there’s a satisfaction guarantee. Next, a brand called Tape Ninja. Not a ton of reviews but one of the few gaffer tapes on Amazon that have overwhelmingly positive reviews. This goes for $17 a roll and also has a satisfaction guarantee. Then we have a roll from Xfasten. This is the lowest price gaffer tape on Amazon at $9 a roll. Over 1,000 reviews, mostly positive and a satisfaction guarantee. Finally, we’ll take a look at two rolls from Gaffer Power. This is the most reviewed and highest rated gaffer tape brand on Amazon. Their 2-inch roll goes for around $17, but we’ll also look at their 3-inch roll which sells for around $22. Satisfaction guarantee on these too. Now before I get into evaluating these, I want to head off the comments real quick. There are a lot of different uses for gaffer tape, and what I might see as a shortcoming on one brand may be an upside for other people. Just as an example, you can find tan versions of gaffer tape that people buy to hold up their boobs. They probably value different qualities than someone using this to tape down extension cords. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the rolls from Gaffer Power. I bought these over a year ago, and because they’re my first experience with gaffer tape, they’ve set the bar for what I expect it to be. I have a 2-inch wide roll in yellow, and a 3-inch roll in basic black. A lot of manufacturers offer their tape in different colors. The reason I chose to have a roll in yellow is that it makes for a great labeling tape. The matte surface takes permanent marker really well. 3-inch rolls are ideal for taping down cables to the floor because you get more tape on each side of the cable to help make contact with the floor. It’s harder to do that with 2-inch tape. But the other reason to pick up a wider roll is that the 3-inch strips you get by tearing off little bits are often enough to tackle small jobs or make labels. And here’s a tip for labelling on any brand of black gaffer tape -- get some silver tip Sharpies. These aren’t the messy paint pen type. Sharpie makes a silver ink type you can get for just a few bucks and I’ll link to them in the description. Now, looking at the quality of the tape, it’s thick enough that you can find and peel the end from the roll with no effort. The fabric backing has a tight weave that you can see. And when you tear off a piece, it tears in straight lines across the grain of the fabric in either direction. And because it’s easy to tear, you don’t leave a crumpled mess behind on the roll, which for me means less wasted tape. For the adhesive, it’s strong enough to hold an extension cord to a wall and it will stay put. If you ever need to dial it down, you can stick it to your shirt or pants first and pick up a little lint. Now let’s look at a different roll. This one is from Gaffer’s Choice, right off the bat I can tell it’s different because it’s noticeably lighter. I weighed each roll, and this is the lightest of them all, even with the extra 5 yards of tape they give you. You can also see a difference looking at the texture of the tape. This has a flatter more paper-like appearance. You don’t really see the weave of the fabric backing. What’s cool though, is that it’s even less reflective than the Gaffer Power roll. If the goal is to have a tape for photography and video that doesn’t reflect light, this seems like a good fit. The trouble though, is how it tears. It takes a little more effort to tear a piece off by hand, and when you do, you get these jagged tears where bright white bits of the backing show through. So if you want to make the most of that ultra matte black look, you need to cut this with a blade or you’ll see all these white flecks at the ends. As far as the adhesive goes, this feels like the lowest tack of the bunch -- almost like a Post-It note. And like I said, for some applications that might be ideal. But if you’re looking for something that will stay in place or keep a cord on the ground, there are better options in my opinion. Now let’s take a look at this roll from Tape Ninja. Now we’re back with a tape that feels virtually identical to the Gaffer Power roll, and sells for around the same price at $17. You can feel the extra heft. You can see the weave on the back of the tape. And you can see that it’s a little shinier than the Gaffer’s Choice, and maybe even shinier than the Gaffer Power. ...