What's the Best Skateboard Grip Tape? | Tactics

What's your favorite grip tape any why? Sometimes our skate nerd curiosities get the better of us and we do something silly like compare tractions of different griptape brands! 😆
Watch the video to see the results of our tests to find the best grip tape.
Check Out Our Selection of Grip Tape: www.tactics.com/grip-tape?cp=ytd
If you need any other Skate Goods: www.tactics.com/skate?cp=ytd
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#tacticsskate #skateboarding #griptape #review
Intro: 00:00
What Makes a Good Sheet of Grip?: 00:31
Test #1 Pull Test: 1:09
Test #2 Wet Pull Test: 2:04
Test #3 Slant Test: 2:30
Test #4 Abrasion Test: 3:04
Test #5 Durability Test: 4:49
Final Results: 5:56

[@tacticsboardshop]

What's your favorite grip? Also what other brands should we test? 🧪🤓🛹 Check out the selection of grip on our site! www.tactics.com/grip-tape?cp=ytc

[@dklskateboarding]

Thanks for including DKL Griptape and really cool to see this! We’re skate nerds too, so we just had a few notes to consider if you ever decide to repeat. Regarding the eraser test, we think what might be happening is the weight needs to keep the already bouncy eraser from bouncing up and down which translates a lot of the force upwards and reduces the amount of time in contact. For a simple comparison, if you take an apple and rub it on different griptapes you would see pretty definitively which is abrasive or not. Lastly, the pull tests can be tricky because there are a lot of variables to consider like shoe soles, weight distribution, or static VS kinetic friction etc. Regarding your static friction test, rubber griptape provides friction in a different way, so it might need a heavier weight to mimic the real world application of engaging the deformation of the pips and ensuring solid surface contact. It would also be interesting to see this with different shoe soles since some are much grippier than others. In our ideal world, we’d love to see shoe companies invest in new technology like they do with basketball shoes and their soles. By having non-abrasive griptape, it opens up the door to new materials and shoe technologies that otherwise would be destroyed instantaneously with sandpaper. Since friction is a 2-way street, you could choose the friction of your board just by changing your shoes like most sports do. For a simple rule of thumb, the grippier a shoe is on an indoor basketball court, the grippier it will be on DKL Griptape. Anyway, keep up the good work!

Black diamond grip. Don’t know how you missed it out. It grips great.

[@aqueeda8763]

The video we didn't know we needed. Thanks Tactics!

[@meenism]

Still dont need it. EVERYONE who skates knows MOB is the best

[@hydroplainsdrifter]

I sort of landed with Jessup and Grizzly depending on what came free or was cheap because they stayed more consistent in an area where your grip gets dusty constantly. Seems to match up with the durability results.

[@fernandoreyes680]

They should do that test. Drop a bunch of dust into the grip and pull test. More accurate in terms of use

[@WyteNikesNLazerLitez]

Mob f's your shoes up quick and doesn't give consisten flicks. Jessup takes the W for me!

[@bobisadrummer]

Pepper is my favorite, specially the galaxy glitter one. Love it. It almost as grippy as MOB, but doesn't chew up my shoes and fingers as much. Mad props on your testing methods. Fairly practical.

[@ambientrealms_]

Same. I've had standard pepper in the past and this stuff is cool. Just adds a little hype looking down at it, without being over the top like having some graphic on there. Pepper slices like butter, too.

[@Lightspeedloser_]

I’ve tried mob, Jessup and pepper and pepper definitely gave me the worst grip thumb

[@VicturRivera]

I love when science and skateboarding meets 🔥

[@Justgoneforsometime]

Genius, keep all these test coming!! We need it as a skate community!

[@REPTILE.FOREVER]

Amazing vid. Really love the motion graphics, great ideas all around.

[@jinju3785]

this is like a shopping guide, thank you so much❣️

[@AdriStouse]

Very well put together. Very scientific also, without the need for any math!! Great job!

[@Parkour8]

Out here doin the lord's work. Need more vids like this

[@diplenski]

i like that jessup doesn't peel up, doesn't destroy shoes as quickly, not too grippy. it just works as advertised, tried and true. mob m-80 i guess if jessup not available

[@michaelgoldberg7018]

This was an amazing test! Please do more of these with Board durability showcasing wood MFG's, Trucks, and wheels. Although, that might not be a great idea. hahah!

[@jamieertley310]

science bearing out conclusions that align with my experience! insane!

[@ibookboyuk]

This is a great video. Very thorough. 6:26 Tactics, Jessup and Grizzly are what im interested in because I like grip to be consistent for as long ss possible.

[@termikes174]

I ordered pepper based solely on the look of the galaxy tape. Should be getting the new Anderson flight and galaxy tape tomorrow. Can’t wait!

[@cheesefries7436]

This is probably more testing than the grip tape makers do, awesome work

[@Robebabu]

@tacticsboarsshop Should have included Iron Horse. Also, you could do a blind study where you give skaters boards with different grip to try and rate. Although, for more experienced skaters it might be easy to guess which brand they are trying, thereby invalidating some of the results. You could also poll them to see if they have ridden all the other brands, or are exhibiting some kind of bias in the form of brand loyalty.

[@deadbeat-vc9kg]

Tell them they are testing some new grip formulas. Don't use grip with signature graphics or cutouts. Boom. Bias gone.

[@HarMegiddo]

Wow! Truly scientific and I love every minute of this!

[@TheReal_DeanD]

This was great. I’m hoping this can be done again with the suede pieces and grip tape from the smaller lesser known brands like Switch Supply, Paradox, Tomo, Black Widow.

[@nenemydog]

Hey Tactics team! Thanks so much for this video. As somehone who works in the metal industry I love the tendency of trying to look at skateboard gear more scientifically. For a long while it was just all subjective opinion with no real evidence for anything being superior to the same product from a different manufacturer. The result is that basically anyone can put anything on the market without any baseline quality standards. I would love this to change. Also the information that is out there. Heck skateboards have long stopped being little kids toys. I feel like there should be industry standards that make it easier to compare products.

[@ejlopez6637]

This was surprisingly scientific! Really cool!

[@yes11889]

This was awesome please do more videos like this also confirmed some of suspicions about Jessup heard people say it stays gripper for longer guess it's somewhat true would still feel weird not getting mob though lol

[@deadbeat-vc9kg]

This was great. Reminds me of the show Sports Science. Thank you.

[@RubyRoks]

Great video. It'd be interesting to run a few of these grips on boards as a "real world" test

[@DarkoNomad]

I choose pure black MOB because you can sand it down to get as grippy as Jessup easily, even change the amount of grippiness in specific areas. It peels of easily without leaving the residue, which is good if you are re-gripping your deck regularly. Anyway I apply my the griptape in 3 sections so that I can re-grip my nose and tail more frequently and the section in between when it gets really dirty or very damaged.

[@thundernixon]

This was nice! I would love to see a scientific test if bearings. Which ones stay fast longest? Which resist clogging up with dirt, or binding up from rust? What about raw vs lubed, and covered vs open, and with spacers or not? Do they have different impact resistance? For this video, I am a little skeptical of the DKL abrasion result, but I can’t say if you did anything wrong. What would the result be if you did like 250 kickflip attempts with it, vs other brands? Maybe the constant friction and heat from it melted the eraser, and made it wear faster. The DKL rubber perhaps retained heat in a way that traditional grip didn’t, and in a way that wouldn’t accurately reflect normal skating wear.

[@DeadFlorist55]

I love you so much for this . Thank you thank yoouuu

[@brucebruno842]

I'm 90's old-school, mid to low grit, but big bits of grit, Black Diamond - black or preferably clear.

[@daisyshinyweather]

I have been using rubber griptape for years now. For me, it is the fact that my shoes look decent for their ENTIRE lifespan (which btw is - thanks to the rubber - several months). That alone makes be tolerate the fact that grip is just a little less than regular griptape (yet I would never be able to blame that when not being able to land a trick, is always my technique not being what it takes) and the fact that the rubber griptape itself wears out quicker (because the rubber takes a lot of the abrasion your shoes get with regular griptape). Having said that, I loved to see how rubber griptape performed under those tests, thanks for the inclusion of it! It was a really nice video, definitely looking forward to a follow up video.

[@BirthSurvivor22]

rubber "griptape" isnt even griptape its completely different

[@my2vwillgapyou]

Thanks for this. this is cool af

[@michaelcunningham7530]

That's actually really tight you guys did that. I don't Skate MOB cus it literally tears my thumbs up. Jessup n Shake Junt🔥

[@anotherdayinthedirt7548]

Love my cloud 9 griptape. Seems to be the perfect mix

[@dasdeck]

grippiness on "cloth" e.g. for flips and ollies would be interesting. Riding DKL, it always occurred to me that it stays as grippy as in the beginning. It basically is always as grippy as old regular grip tape 😬

[@Adam-wt5id]

I like mob but it shreds my fingers so bad. I might try a different grip next time i setup a board but I figure I’ll always get grip thumb regardless

[@K_spawn]

Actually yes can you do the test for rip n dip ? Specifically the one with the big white cat

[@hawaiiansrule]

Do you have any feed back on Pocha World Bubble Bath Glitter Grip tape? Does it suck or is it as good as Mob?

[@DDAWGslap]

Do more vids like this it very entertaining

[@adams.gestwicki5292]

Video was successful. Just ordered a couple boards from y'all, and I'm going to give Pepper grip a try based on your tests and some of the comments below. I've been skating Mob mostly the past year, so interested to see what the difference might be.

[@saberdoesgaming]

Can you give an update 2 months later on how pepper grip is?

[@laterjsn]

I'm trying out Pepper soon on my new setup but could you please let me know or give an update how you feel about the grip? If it does less damage than DKL then it's super worth it

[@DJG623]

So if I bought the Lithe Slate 3 (which lasts 8 times longer than a normal deck), which grip tape would both preform well enough but would also last the longest?

[@jayromemarzan7433]

Based on data nice! can you this kind of approach for wheels?

[@DirtyFury]

Just picked up a board for the first time in about 10 years. Grizzly went through a pair of janoskis in an hour it was rough 😢

[@kmrskates]

Adding Miles grip to the mix would have been cool!

[@robolinoschmidt8676]

But is it that much different or does it have a big marketing

[@joeymili5135]

I hear a cracking noise when I steer my deck any ideas what that could mean

[@royodeboer]

I really just wonder how it's made and what its made of. Completely keeps me up at night like, what is it?!

[@hmurph34]

Make this a series!

[@ZRuns94]

I'd like to see a bearing test. Stoked to find out that Mini Logo bearings are scientifically proven to be as good as G3s or Super Reds (or even Swiss).

[@dethgripco4669]

new in skating here and is also on the hunt for an alternative to mob (my first grip tape on my board.) curious if anyone rides 2 (or multiple) grip tapes in one board set-up. like the board is gripped with specific sections for specific abrasion. i'm thinking grippy on the bolts area but less grippy on the nose tail and the middle section. i do need the grip but i also care for my shoes lasting longer.

[@BirthSurvivor22]

that's just doing too much

[@BabaYaga0451]

Please do more videos like this.

[@william8853]

grizzly. i just love the bear cutout.

[@61936]

I like Jessup and black diamond there both the same they’re both grippy enough for me but also don’t chew up my fingers completely

[@DrexAW]

Looks like were trying out Pepper after i used the grip i still have laying around

[@Jackie_kitty763]

That’s why my local Skateshop recommended mob grip tape for me as a beginner

[@jamespalmer7998]

This was a high idea no doubt

[@jaankungrockman1633]

Best content !!

[@laterjsn]

Could you do SYS grip for next test? ❤

[@drewphifer4684]

Please more videos like this

[@n_a_t_e_y9805]

Fuck yeah Tim ! Love the video ❤️

[@Reddyeforty]

Would I, a consumer like more scientific type product tests? Hell yes i would.

[@xcharlesbronsonx]

What about black diamond grip?

[@Dan_Hazard]

Id love to see Flik grip tested

[@burneraccount9829]

damn maybe pepper is the one for me....feels like jessup but grippier i guess...

[@joe.nail1]

More experiments please!

[@joewalker7958]

For the durability test, I think more cycles are required, 5 times it's just too little. Make it at least 100 times, many videos show that after 100 Kickflips shoes show damage. Nevertheless, the approach is interesting. Thank you for sharing.

[@davidleeashkenazi8992]

I like Mob Graphic, Grizzly and Jessup

[@poopydonkey]

I thought I read on the Tactics website that Jessup made Tactics grip?!?

[@incsk8]

Is Ashes still around?

[@jamesbelkin9204]

Hands down Flypaper grip!

[@yutakab8307]

dude thought of putting the erasers in water before weighing them. he built different

[@thedevilskind]

Pepper grip! Who would have thought?

[@apealeal3973]

I love nerdy skate videos

[@matthewmeredith297]

Pepper grip is so underrated

[@marvj8255]

I heard you can only use tomo grip if you have a yt channel

[@NobleReliance]

Oh I slammed that Like button the second you used water displacement for the eraser test. Science! Edit: Damn, it didn't work, but still a damn great way to think!

[@haydenv9611]

Mob on top🗣️🗣️

[@cornfarts]

Black magic was my go to

[@mrhogei]

They still sell them i go back and forth with grizzly and black magic all the time

[@robertbaker3620]

I just tried Miles for the first time on my last setup, out of curiosity, and I paid the $10 for it. It looks great, it really looks high quality, and the grip is amazing....at first. Fast forward two sessions later and it's lost nearly all of its aggressive grit. It was very disappointing to be honest. This sheet of grip died out way before the actual deck. Lesson learned, never again. Mob grip for life.

[@austinhrkid1]

Jess up by far skated black magic and grizzly abs mob hate mob will skate grizzly if I have ton

[@rodpops7175]

Do Cloud 9!! I Swear its the best grip!!!!

[@monatomic]

Do some more like this

[@franciscoramirez9867]

Shake junt black onyx #1

[@shawncornelius4738]

What about the old school black magic

[@prestong5869]

I skate pepper or jessup, or whatever is free

[@heymitsotaki9759]

This dude is mathematically proving which griptape is best

[@thargor6750]

Im going rubber.... destroying shoes used to pain me so much

[@all.things.fatherhood]

The Bill Nye intro 🤓

[@Paul-fw9kr]

yall shouldve added sys griptape

[@sidwellsk8er]

Mob grips the best but sticks to the board less. I went back to Jessup after the third time it came off one of my boards. I used to have a roll of Madrid Flypaper and it gripped like Mob but stayed on like Jessup. I used to put it on the tail and front foot area of my boards and Jessup on the middle and nose to make the roll last the longest. Which worked well because the nose and middle were the places I was more likely to touch my board with my hands. Grip for my feet, less wear on my skin.

[@joeypulsifer8568]

PEPPER GRIPTAPE 🔥🏁

[@pplolxd]

i like pepper. less grippy than mob and more grippy than jessup.

[@Dontbustthecrust]

I want to see them under a microscope

[@minseokchoi7857]

Wow.. i found tactics grip tape is good overall.

[@TaylorWilliams-ue5el]

Mob is the best griptape

[@RBFKProductions]

Sean is G

[@Big_Baby_Jesus22]

Pepper 🌶️

[@jasonb993]

Black Magic is underrated

[@wheresmydinner7248]

Now put it on a tri-fold poster and present it at a middle school science fair

[@Scaden124]

Yes sir 😎

[@diddymelone2265]

I favour SYS grip, its not without reason called save your shoes grip. Its made of synthetic fibers and works in my opinion much better than Rubber grip. I have not bought new shoes in 2 years, ever since I started skating this. Before it was like every 3 months.

[@Paul-fw9kr]

Yeah I like SYS too but its still abrasive to my shoes, just alittle bit less. but it wouldve been nice seeing it on here

[@diddymelone2265]

Are you Sure we Talk about the same grip? I even skate some cheap canvas shoes with that and nothing happens to them, after 3 Sessions. When I tried this with regular grip, the canvas was ripped along with my socks after Like 10 ollies. Wouldnt say there is no wear at all, but I never destroyed a shoe since I am on this grip

[@Paul-fw9kr]

@@diddymelone2265 im never having issues with the upper shoe material anyways, for me its just the sole that grinds away

[@_depRaven]

Might I ask, how long a sheet of SYS tape lasts for you? I am curious if I have to change it very often.

[@BirthSurvivor22]

if you skating 2 year old shoes they busted af

[@AlexaOoley]

Pepper all day every day

[@legobobafett5045]

Jessup.

[@chickensnatch]

Iron horse would've won all of the tests