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Best Camouflage Hunting Tape

Updated June 2022
Bottom line
Pros
Cons
Best of the Best
GEAR AID Camo Self-Cling & Reusable Wrap
GEAR AID
Camo Self-Cling & Reusable Wrap
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Trusted Brand
Bottom Line

Stretchy fabric that protects objects and can be reused multiple times.

Pros

Single roll, heavy-duty, self-adhering camouflage wrap that helps improve grip on many objects. Is made in the USA and can mold to any shape.

Cons

Leaves sticky residue behind if left on for a long time.

Best Bang for the Buck
Juvale 12 Pack Self-Adhesive Bandage Wrap
Juvale
12 Pack Self-Adhesive Bandage Wrap
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Most Versatile
Bottom Line

Self-sticking product that serves as a multipurpose tape for grip and injury management.

Pros

Includes 12 self-adherent rolls. Is available in 6 colors and can be put on various equipment for extra grip or wrapped as a bandage for support against injuries in animals or humans.

Cons

Camouflage isn’t as realistic-looking as others.

RISEN Self-Adherent Breathable Medical Tape
RISEN
Self-Adherent Breathable Medical Tape
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Medical Option
Bottom Line

Breathable self-adhesive tape that gives high elasticity and support.

Pros

Tape that adheres to itself, making it great for medical uses. Is expandable and is able to give comfort and adequate air support.

Cons

Doesn’t hold very long and needs to be changed frequently.

AIRSSON Camouflage Tape
AIRSSON
Camouflage Tape
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Residue-free
Bottom Line

Camouflage tape is great for temporary use without leaving a mark.

Pros

Sections tear off easily so you can apply the tape in a hurry. Could be reused if desired. Conforms to almost any shape and will stretch nicely to give you the coverage you need.

Cons

May not remain in place if you use the object regularly.

Healthcom Camouflage Tape
Healthcom
Camouflage Tape
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Traditional Look
Bottom Line

Versatile material, allowing it to work great for many uses out in the field.

Pros

Fabric stretches significantly more than others, so you can use it in situations where others will not work. Easy to cut or tear for quick tape jobs. Conforms nicely to oddly shaped objects.

Cons

Only one style and color combination of camouflage.

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BestReviews spends thousands of hours researching, analyzing, and testing products to recommend the best picks for most consumers. We only make money if you purchase a product through our links, and all opinions about the products are our own. About BestReviews  
BestReviews spends thousands of hours researching, analyzing, and testing products to recommend the best picks for most consumers. We buy all products with our own funds, and we never accept free products from manufacturers.About BestReviews 
HOW WE TESTED

We recommend these products based on an intensive research process that's designed to cut through the noise and find the top products in this space. Guided by experts, we spend hours looking into the factors that matter, to bring you these selections.

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Consumers
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Buying guide for Best camouflage hunting tape

You can dress yourself from head to foot in the best camo gear on the market, but if a flash of light reflects off your binoculars, rifle, knife handle, or canteen, it can ruin hours of patient waiting or stalking. The solution is camouflage hunting tape (also called stealth tape or camouflage wrap).

Camouflage hunting tape is quick and easy to use and versatile enough to cover all kinds of different objects. Once taped, they blend in with the environment just as well as the rest of your body and won’t alert your target to your position. As you might expect, there are any number of different types of camouflage tape on the market with varying degrees of quality and usefulness.

Here at BestReviews, we’ve been taking a close look at what’s available, so you have the information you need to make an informed choice. We’ve also looked at camouflage hunting tape versus gun wraps. The latter is an increasingly popular alternative, but is it the right option for your hunting equipment or just a decorative gimmick? Take a look at our buying guide and recommendations to find some answers.

I1 
Camouflage hunting tape can be a big help in disguising your equipment, but you still need to practice stealth and quiet, so you don’t alert your prey.

Key considerations

Why use camouflage?

Game animals don’t see color as vividly as humans do. Deer, for example, can’t tell the difference between red, orange, and green. So why don’t hunters wear red? Actually, it’s traditional for fox hunters (though they’re not being very stealthy about it), and blaze orange vests and caps are widely used. (Interestingly, deer are good at telling blue from green, so to them, your jeans are more of a giveaway than your high-visibility jacket!)

Where game animal vision excels is in field of view — they see farther than we do — and in low light — they see as well at dawn and dusk as we do in broad daylight. Their depth perception is poor, however — they’re very good at spotting movement but not necessarily at judging how far away it is.

So, your blaze orange jacket looks kind of gray to them, which you would think would be good. The trouble is it’s a big expanse of gray, which is unnatural from the get-go, and then it moves, which to animals is really spooky!

The purpose of camouflage is not to make you look like a tree or a bush per se; it’s to break up your outline, to change your shape, to make you look like lots of separate small things and not one big, scary hunter. That’s why camouflage jackets work. Even when you have to wear blaze orange, a camo version hides you from your prey better even if your buddy can see you a mile away.

Movement and noise are also your enemy, and no amount of camouflage will help if you can’t stay still at key moments. As always, the answer here is practice. The more you hunt, the better you’ll get

Material

Most camouflage hunting tape is made of cotton or a nonwoven synthetic fabric, which tends to give excellent grip as well. No more slippery gunstock when it gets wet.

Width: It’s a good idea to check the tape width. The wide stuff — generally 2 inches — is great for quickly wrapping a rifle or shotgun, but for binoculars, scopes, and smaller items, the 1-inch version is easier.

Thickness: You’ll find that thinner camo tape is easier to wrap around complex shapes, but it isn’t as durable. If you’re thinking of semi-permanent uses, heavy-duty camouflage hunting tape will not only last longer but also add a layer of protection so your gear won’t get scratched as easily.

Qualities

Stickiness: Proper camouflage hunting tape isn’t like ordinary gaffer tape or duct tape in that it isn’t loaded with adhesives designed to stick it to a surface as permanently as possible. In fact, in some ways it’s more like sticky notes: it’s intended to be removable.

It’s quite low tack on most surfaces, but the tape sticks to itself very well. When you wrap something, it stays wrapped for as long as you want. When it comes time to remove the tape, your rifle or bow isn’t covered in a sticky residue. The tape behaves a lot like a bandage — and it could even be used for first aid if you’re miles from anywhere and don’t have a kit with you.

The one area where camouflage hunting tape isn’t so good is repairing blinds or tents. It’s great at sticking to itself and wrapping objects, but it’s not intended to adhere to other surfaces. You can get duct tape or an equivalent with a camouflage pattern to do that, but in general those are vinyl-based products. There are fabric alternatives, but they’re not cheap.

Flexibility: Camouflage hunting tape is also very flexible. It’s elasticized so it stretches and can wrap all kinds of irregular shapes. When you’re comparing tape from different manufacturers, it’s worth checking just how much it will stretch: two rolls 5 yards long can give quite different lengths when in use. The tape can also be torn or cut easily, so you can trim any overlaps.

Waterproof: Depending on your needs, you may want to consider whether the tape is waterproof or not. The different tapes vary considerably, and a lot of times it’s not something you need to worry about. However, if you need to protect your gear from the worst of the weather, there are versions that can do that.
 

Before you place that order, check the tape dimensions and the number of rolls provided. Don’t be swayed by product images, which can sometimes be very misleading.

Staff
BestReviews

What about gun wraps?

The technology behind gun wraps first appeared on vehicles as a way of advertising businesses and services. A photograph or drawing is transferred to vinyl, then wrapped around the car, truck, or bus. It can follow the contours of the object it’s applied to very closely, so there’s almost nothing it can’t be used on.

As a result, wraps started to be used as a skin on rifles, mags, and scopes, and to be fair, the results can be stunning. If you’re looking to wrap your weapon in the stars and stripes or snakeskin or the logo of your favorite football team, there’s really nothing quite like it.

However, there are a few downsides. For one, while you can apply it yourself, you need plenty of patience. It’s doable, but it’s not easy. It’s also pretty much permanent. Removing it would almost certainly result in damage to the surface underneath. Kits are also quite specific. You need one for your rifle, another for your mag, another for your scope. By the time you’ve done that, you’ve probably spent close to a hundred bucks. Finally, from a hunting point of view, they may not provide the antireflective surface a good camouflage hunting tape does.

The upshot is if you want to impress your buddies, wraps are fabulous. If you want to hide from deer, maybe not so much.

Dyk1 
Did You Know 
In an emergency, camouflage hunting tape can be used to create an effective sling for an injured arm or tourniquet to stop bleeding. Most are also flammable in case you can’t find kindling to build a fire.
Staff
BestReviews

Camouflage hunting tape prices

We usually like to show a range of prices, from least to most expensive, for comparison purposes. With all the variations in camo tape, it’s not really practical to go into detail here, but we can still give you some rough guidance.

Though there’s always a chance you’ll see a deal at a local store, the cheapest camouflage hunting tapes we’ve come across come in multipacks and work out to $1.50 per roll. At the other end of the scale, you could pay as much as $20 for a single roll.

What makes the difference? Usually length, strength, and type of adhesive. The expensive stuff will undoubtedly last longer and do a better job of securing material, but if you’re just camouflaging binoculars, bows, or firearms, do you really need it?

Of course, the great thing about it being so affordable is that you can try several different types. If a few don’t live up to expectations, you’re not too much out of pocket.

I2 
It’s always possible to get your gear caught on branches or other snags. Add a roll of camouflage tape to your pack and you can make quick and effective field repairs.

FAQ

Q. Is there a difference between camouflage hunting tape and camo duct tape?

A. The names can be confusing and are often interchangeable. If we were being picky, we’d say that camouflage hunting tape is usually fabric, low tack, nonreflective, and frequently reusable. Any form of duct tape (or duck tape, if you prefer) is usually coated in nylon or plastic, very sticky, and used for semi-permanent purposes. While not always true, the latter can also be reflective, which isn’t what you want in hunting situations.

Q. How weatherproof is camo hunting tape?

A. It varies a lot from one product to another. Some give very little protection while others are waterproof. Those that have minimal adhesion and are easiest to remove probably offer lower protection than those with more adhesive, although proper application plays a part. Manufacturer claims don’t always prove to be true, so if it’s important to you, we suggest checking owner feedback, which is usually a good indication of real-world performance. If you're going to be in a particularly rainy environment, you can protect your equipment (and yourself) with a treestand umbrella.

Q. How important is the camouflage tape pattern?

A. At the risk of inviting heated debate, we’d say hardly at all. As we said, the main purpose is to break up the outline of an object and prevent reflection. Obviously, an arctic terrain camo will stick out like a sore thumb in the forest, and vice versa, but as long as you’ve got roughly similar patterning to your surroundings, it should do the job you need.
 

Don’t discard used tape in the field. It might be harmless to you, but it could trap or choke birds and small animals. Take it home and put it in the trash.

Staff
BestReviews