Battle of the Tapes


The Story:
About a month ago my cousin injured his shoulder. When I first saw the bright pink tape on his arm I had to ask what that was. He explained to me that his physical therapist put something called Kinesio Tape on his shoulder. It was there to aid in the recovery. He told me that the way they taped his shoulder also was to help isolate certain muscles of his shoulder so that the other tendons could recover. Seemed pretty cool. I later researched different tapes and came across Rock Tape and KT Tape. There are more but these two companies seemed to be the best. Rock Tape caters towards CrossFitters and has a section on their site about CrossFit, with a photo of Jason Khalipa rocking some Rock Tape. So they do have some reputability with many athletes that support their product. Although KT Tape is endorsed by Kerri Walsh, Olympic Gold Medalist. So they had some pretty legit athletes too.

I am not an elite athlete so I want to know how this will work for me. What works for one does not work for another.

I am going to try out both of the products to determine which one works best for me. Since summer time is here I will be using these both during CrossFit WODs as well as at the beach and freediving. So I will be able to get a very good idea about both products. I have seen videos of KT Tape used in a pool but a pool isn't close to the ocean. I feel that is a truer test or longevity. 

Rock Tape has Three different tapes a 2" and a 4" and Rock Tape H20, made for use in the water. I have both the Rock Tape 2" and Rock Tape H20 on the way as well as some of their Rock Sauce, a topical pain reviler similar to Bio Freeze.

Kinesiology tapes to be reviewed:
KT Tape Pro 

Rock Tape

Rock Tape H20




The Conclusion

After many different tests with both of these tapes I have finally come to a conclusion.

I found that KT Tape PRO has a much better stretch than the Rock Tape. KT Tape PRO. Both KT Tape PRO and Rock Tape handles well no my hamstring, although when it came to my back The Rock Tape seems to come off a lot more. Rock Tape did not stick to itself very well and would start to come off from those points. While the KT Tape PRO did a pretty good job on my lower back to stick to itself. The other thing that I noticed was that since KT Tape PRO had a better stretch when you apply the tape to a high moment area like your shoulders, it tends to work better.

Both of these tapes however would be susceptible to rolling when I slept. Not all the time but it has happened.

Both of these tapes seem to have an issue with adhesion to themselves. They hold tight to skin but in taping applications that require you to overlap the tape on itself both tapes have started to come off. Although from my tests the KT Tape Pro held up the best with only a small portion coming off.

My conclusion is that for me KT Tape PRO is the right choice and holds up to my activities. Diving in the ocean, CrossFit WODs, sitting around the house and sleeping. I would recommend KT Tape Pro and do  recommend this to my family and friends for the reasons described.

KT Tape Pro 
Pros:
Customer Service
Good stretch on tape
Comes in an uncut version
Sticks well to itself for taping applications that require that
Works well on flat areas like hamstrings
Comes in a cool plastic case

Cons:
Slight issues adhering to itself for taping applications that require you to do so
Have to look for uncut version. Not widely advertised.
Slight odor because it is synthetic. (not enough to bother me, come might be sensitive to the smell)


Links to thoughts day by day:

Rock Tape
Pros:
Customer Service
Low Odor
Single Roll of Tape
Works well on flat areas like hamstrings

Cons:
Frays easily
Hurts a bit when pulling tape off
Not as much stretch (need to use longer stripes of tape)
Did not  adhere well to itself for taping applications that require that

Links to thoughts day by day:


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