Whether reinforcing a pulley injury, protecting against flappers, or bracing your wrists, bouldering tape helps keep you climbing longer and safer. Ignore it, and you’ll learn why seasoned climbers always have a roll in their gear.
Taping fingers, hands, or wrists is a common practice among climbers to protect against injuries, support healing, and safeguard the skin. Some climbers, like Alex Megos, use so much tape to protect their skin that people joke they’ve never seen him climb without it. Whether that’s an exaggeration or not, it does highlight the role tape plays in climbing.
Warning If you suffer an injury, please consider this article as an introduction, not a substitute for professional advice. Consult a physiotherapist specializing in climbing injuries or read Climb Injury-Free by Dr. Jared Vagy for a more in-depth understanding of injury prevention and rehabilitation.
Kind of bouldering tapes
There are two main types of tape: rigid and stretchy. Both serve different purposes, so don’t just grab whatever looks cool in the gym shop.
- Leukotape (Rigid) Most often red or orange.
- Athletic Tape (Rigid) Most often white.
- Kinesiology Tape (Stretchy) Most often bleu. This tape is more about supporting.
When to Use Tape
- Unloading: After an injury—particularly a pulley strain or tear—taping can help unload the affected area during recovery. It won’t heal your injury, but it can reduce strain. If you’re constantly crimping like Adam Ondra screaming his way up a project, you might want to give those pulleys a break.
- Skin Protection: Crack climbing eats hands for breakfast. If you don’t want to donate your knuckles to the rock, taping up before a session is a smart move. Same goes for flappers—those annoying chunks of torn skin that make you regret skipping skincare.
- Preventive Support: Some climbers swear by taping as a preventive measure, but there’s debate about its effectiveness. Dr. Jared Vagy warns against over-reliance on bouldering tape, as it can limit natural tendon adaptation. Other sources argue that taping fingers too much may reduce the stress needed for tendons to strengthen alongside muscles, creating a potential weak link.
Taping fingers
Taping the fingers is mostly done for either protection of the skin or to recover from pulley injuries.
Pulley injuries
Pulley injuries occur when the pulleys in your fingers—responsible for holding tendons close to the bone—get overloaded, usually from intense crimping. The A2 pulley is the usual victim, and if you hear a pop mid-climb, congratulations, you’ve joined an exclusive club of climbers who will now spend weeks avoiding crimps.
For a proper recovery, read Climbing Injury-Free by Dr. Jared Vagy, which provides a structured rehab plan. Initially, use rigid tape for support. As recovery progresses, transition to stretchy tape to allow more movement.
How to Apply Finger bouldering Tape for pulley injuries
- H-Taping Method:
Cut a 10 cm length of rigid athletic tape, 1.5 cm wide.Split both ends lengthwise, leaving a 1 cm bridge in the center. Place the bridge over the injured pulley on the inner side of the finger.Flex the finger at 60°, wrap the split ends around the finger, and secure them. - X-Taping Method:
Also known as the Schoffl method. Wrap tape around the finger below the joint. Cross over the joint to form an ‘X’ on the front. Wrap around above the joint and cross back over, repeating as needed. - Ring Method:
Wrap tape around the finger, covering the area prone to injury.Ensure it’s snug but not too tight to maintain circulation.
To protect the skinn
The places that have most contact with the hold will wear off the fastest. For more experienced climbers this would be the finger pads/tips. If you are working on dynamic moves or if you start out climbing flappers would be more common. Flappers are part of the skin torn of by the friction with holds. Taping the fingers flappers can be pretty easy, on hands a little more difficult.
When Not to Use Finger Taping
- Healthy Fingers: Taping uninjured fingers may not provide significant benefits and could impede natural strengthening.
- Over-Reliance: Dependence on bouldering tape can prevent your skin from toughening naturally, which is essential for climbing.
Taping wrists
Same as with finger taping, taping wrists will not make them stronger and might make them more prone to injury. It can help reducing some discomfort when applying force on with underclings, gastons and or slopers.
Instruction: Use rigid tape as high as possible on your wrists. Tape it as tight as you can possibly bare without cutting down the bloodflow.
Taping hands
This technic is mostly used for crack climbing. You will not see this often at gyms. A more user friendly version are crack gloves. Yet crack gloves do not give the tight comfort of taping the hand.
Tips:
- Avoid taping too tightly to prevent circulation issues.
- Retape between climbs, as bouldering tape can loosen with use.
- Remember, while taping can aid recovery, it doesn’t replace the need for rest and proper technique.
For more detailed information, consider reading the full articles linked below.
Sources
Book: Climb injury-free by Dr Jared Vagy, DPT
Sources on taping fingers and hands:
Wandering Climber
Boulderflash.com
Frictionlab.com
Mountainknowhow.com
Reseach papers
research by Doctor Isabelle Schöffl and colleagues (2007)