Which Electrical Tape Brand Wins?
In our test we compared 7 electrical tape options head to head. Scotch/3M Super 88 came out on top. See the measured results, the runner-up, the budget pick, and a link to the full test video. Shoppers cross-shopping insulation tape, liquid electrical tape and vinyl electrical tape land here for the head to head that settles it.
Some figures on this page were transcribed from the test video and have not been independently re-verified. Treat the numbers as a close guide and watch the full video for the exact readings.
Scotch/3M Super 88
Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Power Gear (Premium)
Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
StikTek (Harbor Freight)
Price shown in test: less than $1 per roll (next-cheapest product in the video was about $4 a roll)
Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
The quick take
The short version of why each pick lands where it does, built straight from the measured results.
“my personal favorite was Scotch Super 88. It seemed to provide the best performance regarding elasticity, strength, as well as fire resistance. Not far behind it, though, is Power Gear.”
The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Products are listed in the order they finished.
Heat/metal adhesion test
- 2Power Gear Premium
'did pretty good', one of the two best early-mentioned results along with Duck Economy
- 3StikTek (Harbor Freight)
'did pretty well, also'
- 4Duck Economy
'did pretty good', one of the two best early-mentioned results along with Power Gear
- 5Duck Professional
worst result of the video: 'definitely came in last, left the most product behind'
- 6Mighty Gadget
'left a lot behind as well', second-worst result after Duck Professional
- 7Scotch/3M Super 33+
'did great', grouped with Super 88 as one of the best results
- 1Scotch/3M Super 88not tested
Flame retardancy
- 1Scotch/3M Super 88
claims to be flame retardant (one of 4 brands making this claim); no test result for the flame test itself is narrated in the transcript
- 2Power Gear Premium
claims to be flame retardant (one of 4 brands making this claim); no test result for the flame test itself is narrated
- 5Duck Professional
claims to be flame retardant (one of 4 brands making this claim); no test result for the flame test itself is narrated
- 7Scotch/3M Super 33+
claims to be flame retardant (one of 4 brands making this claim); no test result for the flame test itself is narrated
- 3StikTek (Harbor Freight)not tested
- 4Duck Economynot tested
- 6Mighty Gadgetnot tested
Elasticity, tensile strength, cold-weather/freezer tests
- 1Scotch/3M Super 88
test setups are described in the transcript but no per-brand results are ever narrated for any brand on these three tests (see videoNotes)
- 2Power Gear Premium
no per-brand results narrated (see videoNotes)
- 5Duck Professional
no per-brand results narrated (see videoNotes)
- 7Scotch/3M Super 33+
no per-brand results narrated (see videoNotes)
- 3StikTek (Harbor Freight)not tested
- 4Duck Economynot tested
- 6Mighty Gadgetnot tested
Elasticity, tensile strength, cold-weather/freezer, flame retardancy tests
- 3StikTek (Harbor Freight)
no per-brand results narrated (see videoNotes)
- 4Duck Economy
no per-brand results narrated (see videoNotes)
- 6Mighty Gadget
no per-brand results narrated (see videoNotes)
- 1Scotch/3M Super 88not tested
- 2Power Gear Premiumnot tested
- 5Duck Professionalnot tested
- 7Scotch/3M Super 33+not tested
All measurements (1 more)+
Heat/metal adhesion test (175F oven, 1 hour, force to remove + adhesive left behind)
- 1Scotch/3M Super 88
'did great', one of the best/cleanest results, little adhesive left behind
- 2Power Gear Premiumnot tested
- 3StikTek (Harbor Freight)not tested
- 4Duck Economynot tested
- 5Duck Professionalnot tested
- 6Mighty Gadgetnot tested
- 7Scotch/3M Super 33+not tested
How it was tested
- elasticity test: stretching each tape between a fixed bar and a rotating bar until it snaps (setup described, no per-brand results narrated)
- tensile strength test: measuring force required to snap each tape (setup described, no per-brand results narrated)
- cold weather test: taping each product to a plate, cooling to about -15F in a freezer for 2 hours, then measuring pull-off force (setup described, no per-brand results narrated)
- heat/metal adhesion test: applying each tape to sheet metal (equalized with a weighted roller), baking at 175F for 1 hour, then measuring force to remove and visually assessing adhesive residue left behind
- flame retardancy test: assessed only for the 4 brands claiming flame retardancy (Super 88, Super 33, Duck Professional, Power Gear); no results narrated
“my personal favorite was Scotch Super 88. It seemed to provide the best performance regarding elasticity, strength, as well as fire resistance. Not far behind it, though, is Power Gear.”
Data notes and caveats
This transcript is notably incomplete relative to what the video promises: elasticity, tensile strength, cold-weather/freezer, and flame-retardancy tests are all described in detail as being performed for all 7 brands (matching the chapters: 'Elasticity Test', 'tensile strength test', 'cold weather test', 'freezer test', 'Flame retardant test'), but NOT ONE per-brand result (numeric or even qualitative) is ever spoken in the transcript for any of these four tests. Only the heat/metal adhesion test has narrated qualitative results for all 7 brands. The closing summary explicitly credits Scotch Super 88's win to 'elasticity, strength, as well as fire resistance' performance, meaning the video clearly DID show these results (most likely as on-screen text/graphics without narration, consistent with this channel's earlier, less narration-heavy 2018-era style), but they are not recoverable from this transcript. Logged to data/onscreen-only.txt for video-frame recovery. Confidence is low because the vast majority of the video's actual test data (4 of 5 announced tests) could not be extracted from the transcript at all; only the heat-adhesion test results and the narrator's closing brand-level verdict are usable. Chapters exist and are well-structured, but they organize by TEST TYPE rather than by product/brand, so chapterMap is false.
