Anyone will benefit from keeping a roll of duct tape around the house. From DIY enthusiasts to homeowners to professional tradespeople, duct tape should be part of your essential tool kit. But don’t just buy any brand of duct tape. Certain brands are stronger, more reliable, and easier to use than others. T-Rex Tape and Gorilla Tape are two of these brands. But which one is best? Our thorough duct tape comparison answers that question in detail. Here’s the lowdown on T-Rex Tape vs Gorilla Tape.
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Quick Look: Duct Tape
Duct tape is an incredibly versatile product. It’s a very strong type of tape with a cloth-backing for increased strength. A powerful adhesive is used so that the tape will stick to wood, plastic, glass, and most other materials. Here’s what you need to know about duct tape.
What Is Duct Tape?
According to Forbes, duct tape is one of the greatest tools ever invented. The organization makes this claim because of duct tape’s incredible versatility as well as its ease of use and low price. Most of the time, duct tape isn’t a permanent fix. Instead, it’s a temporary solution that gives you more time to device a permanent solution. So, what exactly is duct tape?
Simply put, it’s any pressure-sensitive tape with a cloth back. Most brands are also coated in polyethylene for increased strength. Although most types of duct tape are relatively similar, there is some brand to brand variety in terms of backing and adhesive materials. Furthermore, some types of duct tape are created for general use while others have more specific purposes (heat-resistant duct tape, for example).
Duct Tape Benefits
Duct tape has a long list of benefits. The most important include:
- Tape Strength – The strength of the tape itself.
- Adhesive Strength – The sticking strength of the adhesive material.
- Water Resistance – The resistance to water.
- Durability – How long the tape will last (including length of sticking strength).
- Flexibility – The ease of bending and twisting the tape to stick.
- Versatility – The number of uses the tape can be easily used.
- Ease of Use – How easy the tape is to tear and apply to objects.
The only real drawback to general purpose duct tape is lack of heat resistance. Most duct tape doesn’t do well in extreme heat, such as conditions over 140°F (such as is experienced in a heating supply air system, for example). For applications where extreme heat is present, special heat-resistant duct tape should be used to prevent failure. Check out these top 15 duct tape hacks compiled by Greatest.
How to Buy Duct Tape
There are a few main factors to keep in mind when buying duct tape for home DIY projects and other applications. First up is thickness. Thickness is measured in millimeters. Most duct tape ranges from 3-mil to 17-mil (both T-Rex Tape and Gorilla Tape are 17-mil). Although thicker duct tape is undoubtedly stronger, it’s also far less flexible, more difficult to tear, and slightly less versatile.
In addition to thickness, it’s important to consider strength. Duct tape strength depends on two factors: the cloth grid layer and the adhesive layer. The adhesive layer dictates adhesive strength. This varies greatly between brands depending on the adhesive material used. The cloth grid dictates durability strength. The lengthwise threads directly influence strength (the more vertical threads, the stronger the tape). The crosswise threads in the cloth grid dictate ease of use. The more threads, the easier the tape is to tear for applications.
Finally, the best duct tape has a polyethylene coat for increased strength and durability as well as waterproofing. This video by Sensible Prepper shows you 44 uses of duct tape.
Duct Tape Showdown
There are a lot of duct tape brands on the market today, but T-Rex Tape and Gorilla Tape are two of the very best. Not only are both of these products very popular among homeowners and professionals alike, but both are widely noted for their strength, durability, and each of use. Let’s see how T-Rex Tape versus Gorilla Tape stack up against each other.
T-Rex Tape
T-Rex Tape is well known for its incredibly sticking power. Not only is the tape itself strong and durable, but the adhesive material is notably one of the strongest on the market. A high-tensile construction adds increased strength. This 17-mil duct tape is thick, strong, and durable.
T-Rex Tape includes an extra application of weather-resistant layers to protect the tape from the sun, rain, snow, and more. Note that this tape is excellent for high temperatures (up to 200°F) but doesn’t do well in colder temperatures (only works well down to 50°F).
What We Like:
- Strong
- Durable
- Long-lasting
What We Don’t Like:
- Not good in cold temperatures
Gorilla Tape
Gorilla Tape is another high-quality duct tape in the 17-mil class.
As another 17-mil duct tape, it’s roughly on par with T-Rex Tape. But Gorilla Tape kicks things up another few notches with even more strength and durability. In fact, this is one of the strongest, stickiest tapes on the market. It seems like it will stick – and hold – to just about anything.
The double-thick adhesive is particularly important. It enables the duct tape to stick to both smooth and rough surface without breaking a sweat. Although Gorilla Tape is water resistant, it’s not the best bet for use in very wet conditions (like for repairing a pair of rainboots).
What We Like:
- Thick
- Strong adhesive
- Easy to use
What We Don’t Like:
- Not good in the rain
Wrap Up
T-Rex Tape and Gorilla Tape are remarkably similar. In fact, these two duct tape brands were created as direct competitors to each other (they’re both 17-mil tapes). Both products are easy to use, especially in the sense that they tear clean and straight every time you need them.
In addition, both of these brands of duct tape are strong and versatile. They work well for any number of applications, even those that will expose the duct tape to wet conditions. That said, Gorilla Tape stands out as the overall winner.
Not only is it noticeably stronger, but it’s also more durable, water resistant, and easier to tear as well. In fact, in a duct tape strength test by Wirecutter, Gorilla Tape ranks as the strongest consumer duct tape on the market with 101 lbs material strength. Although Gorilla Tape is, in our opinion, a slightly better choice than T-Rex Tape, there’s no denying you’ll be happy with either one of these two top duct tape brands. Who won this showdown in your book? Tell us in the comments.
T-Rex Tape is FAR SUPERIOR to Gorilla Tape. It’s stronger, sticks better and to more things. It withstands water, wind, extreme heat & extreme cold. Tears just as easily, if not a little easier than Gorilla Tape. The ONLY time I will buy Gorilla Tape is if the store is out of T-Rex Tape. To me, there really is no comparison.