Tape Mod – Tape Tier List for Glass Pads
You might have seen the initial article about using tape on mouse feet and thought that this is just a meme, and while the ghetto mod is quite meme-worthy the overall utility offered by tape on mouse skates is undoubtedly there.
Clearing Things Up
Before I go any further, it is important to clear up why this mod makes sense, who should use it, and when you should use it. The tape mod on mouse skates is not supposed to replace good PTFE skates for your glass mousepad.
This mod is supposed to be used when your glass pad has already destroyed your current skates, and you can’t be bothered to polish them. You have ordered your new skates and you have no spare ones but you still want to grind your games – that is when the tape mod should be used.
In short, the tape mod is a very good short-term fix for bad/scratchy skates while you are waiting for a new pair of skates that can last longer. If you are short on money then using the tape mod also makes a lot of sense since tape is considerably cheaper than 10$ PTFE skates.
Tier List
S-Tier: Construction tape/Packing tape
Anything made with polypropylene film (PP). The glide is fast, smooth, and feels like most premium fresh skates. Polypropylene is lighter and more resistant than polyethylene (PE) based tape. With wear the tape slows down a bit while still being very smooth.
A-Tier: Clear tape/Scotch tape
Decently smooth and fast, not quite PP tape level since most of these are polyethylene-based. Extremely cheap and easy to find – any office/crafts tape will work. If your skates are dead this will keep you sane until your new pair arrives or until you get some money.
B-Tier: PTFE/Plumbers tape
Smooth but slow, with high initial friction. I had to use double-sided tape to fix it onto the mouse skates. This might be useful if you play tac-shooters and want insane levels of control while being on a consistent surface like a glass pad. If possible just use polyethylene or polypropylene tape.
Weirdo-Tier: Masking tape/Electrical tape/Cloth tape/Baking paper
Avoid as the basic tape is easier to find in most cases and produces much better glide and smoothness.
- Painters tape is scratchy, and the glide is bad.
- Electrical tape is scratchy and the glide is slow/impossible to micro because of initial friction.
- Cloth tape has an okay glide but it is scratchy and will make your ears bleed on glass pads.
- Baking paper is fast but noisy. This is the fastest out of all the tapes I have tried so far but also the coating wears out quickly from the paper and you are left with an extremely scratchy and loud skate feel.
