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Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Profiles In Usefulness: Duct Tape

You have all heard of "Profiles In Courage"? Well I have a new series here on Be A Survivor I am calling "Profiles In Usefulness".

Each installment will cover and item that is extremely useful so much so that no person should be without.

This installment will cover the grand-daddy of usefulness DUCT TAPE

It goes by many names HVAC Tape, Duct Tape, Duck Tape, 100 mph Tape, and the list goes on...they vary in name as they do in quality. MAKE sure you buy GOOD quality duct tape not the cheap crap which only pretends to be duct tape.

Duct tape has been used to hold vehicles together, patch pipes, patch hoses, patch BODIES, etc. It has a multitude of uses due to its stickiness and its strength both of which are legendary.

According to Wikipedia "Duct tape (sometimes called duck tape; see under Etymology) is a vinyl, fabric-reinforced, multi-purpose pressure sensitive tape with a soft and tacky pressure sensitive adhesive. It is generally silver or black in color but many other colors and transparent tapes have recently become available. With a standard width of 17⁄8 inches (48 mm), duct tape was originally developed during World War II in 1942 as a water resistant sealing tape for ammunition cases.[1][2] Permacel, then a division of Johnson & Johnson, used a rubber-based adhesive to help the tape resist water and a fabric backing to add strength. It was also used to repair military equipment quickly, including jeeps, firearms, and aircraft because of these properties. In Canadian military circles, this variant is known as "gun-tape", typically olive-green, and also known for its resistance to oils and greases. Duct tape is also called "100-MPH tape" or 'Hurricane Tape' in the military [3] - a name that comes from the use of a specific variety of duct-tape that was supposedly supposed to hold up to 100mph winds. Another version attributes this to the fact that soldiers often refer to something that exceeds expectations as "High Speed."

(end of Wikipedia reference)


Duct tape has so many uses that everyone should have at least a roll or two laying around somewhere. I have a few rolls in the garage and I keep a roll in my truck box as well. When I used to play roller hockey I would reinforce the knees on my skate pants with duct tape to keep them from shredding when I would drop to my knees to block shots (I was a defenseman). It worked great.

Most recently I needed to patch my Pop-up campers awning after I carelessly put a tear in it. The awning has withstood multiple rain storms and the tape is still holding rock solid.

There are several great sites on the internet dedicated to duct tape and here is a sampling:
The Duct Tape Guys
The Duct Tape Club

Popular Mechanics, one of my favorite magazines by the way, did a great test pitting duct tape against some other types of tape and although Gorilla Tape was the winner (more expensive), duct tape performed very well. You can read the article and see the results here.

Some things you can do with duct tape:
1.) Repair your fender or even reattach it to your car.
2.) Make a wallet
3.) Patch a rubber dingy.
4.) Hem your pants
5.) Repair your tent.
6.) Patch ripped clothing
7.) Fix a broken book binding.
8.) Use to keep a wound closed (temporarily)
9.) Fasten a limb to a splint.
10.) Use as a disguise when robbing a liquor store.
11.) Used as weather stripping around doors and windows.
12.) Tape an alligators mouth shut.
13.) Repair a garden hose.
14.) Seal duct work..yes believe it or not.
15.) Duct tape also has some wart eradicating qualities. The daily application of a patch of duct tape has an equally good chance of working as over the counter remedies.

...that is all.

Original:http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BeASurvivor/~3/RESiMwvd5iA/profile-in-usefulness-duct-tape.html

1 comment:

  1. Yes! Awesome blog post, I'm in total agreeance. I held on the bumper of my car with duct tape for a year till I could get a new one. It's incredible stuff. We store it by the box. http://tinyurl.com/dxzx7n

    ReplyDelete