With all this hand jamming, your poor skin might get a little torn up. This is where climbing tape gloves come in handy. Tape gloves protect the outside of your hands and fingers while keeping your palms and fingertips free to grip rock.
To make your own tape gloves for rock climbing, all you'll need is some medical or athletic tape.
Step 1
Run a piece of tape down each of your fingers from just below your knuckle to just above your wrist. The tape should stay on without being too tight; you should be able to easily make a fist while wearing the tape.
Step 2
Wrap one piece of tape around each finger. The tape should stay under your knuckle to give your fingers a free range of motion. These loops ensure that the tape you placed in step one doesn't peel off.
Step 3
Starting on the outside of your hand, loosely wrap the tape two or three times around your wrist. Be sure not to wrap this tape too tightly; if you're working on a difficult route, your wrists and forearms might get overworked and swell due to a lack of blood flow (in climber speak, they'll get pumped). Having tape gloves that are too tight will cause you to get pumped quickly, which will make it harder to climb.
That's it! Now you have a set of hand-made tape gloves for rock climbing. These tape gloves will keep the backs of your hands from getting scraped up on sharp rock or in cracks. Your palms and fingers stay relatively tape-free for grip and flexibility.
Get a better visual on how to make tape gloves in this video:
Want more rock climbing know-how? Check out these blog posts:
Rock Climbing Shoes: How to Choose the Right Pair
How to Choose a Rock Climbing Harness
DIY Climbing Chalk Ball
6 Simple Ways to Improve Your Climbing
