Tape and technique advice

Eric Craigwrote:

I am interested in what others have to say here, but my personal primary reason for no gloves or tape is: the most difficult width of crack for using your hands is too big for knuckle locks and too small for real hand jambs. This used to be called "off fingers " or "off hands" in some circles. Finger free gloves will widen this range for a given person. Tape does also, but to a lesser extent. Early on I tried taping. For quite a while, mostly because a couple of my mentors (very accomplished Valley crack climbers), frequently or usually taped. I did better with out. 

You glove people, I understand it, except for how you deal with "off fingers " or whatever you want to call it? 

Sensitivity is an issue too. Both ways. 

You can take gloves off if your hands don't fit a section; you can even do it mid-pitch if you find a stance. And if there's another stance, you can even put them back on. Or, on a long route, you can wear gloves for all the pitches but the thin-hands crux.

You can't take off tape mid-pitch or mid-route nearly as easily.

And you can't re-grow skin mid-route either. Once you've drawn blood, you're going to keep bleeding all day. And taping over the wound is less fun than not cutting yourself in the first place.

Nkane 1wrote:

You can take gloves off if your hands don't fit a section; you can even do it mid-pitch if you find a stance. And if there's another stance, you can even put them back on. Or, on a long route, you can wear gloves for all the pitches but the thin-hands crux.

You can't take off tape mid-pitch or mid-route nearly as easily.

This is a really good point. I'm only just starting to encounter situations where this situation is becoming more of a need (high 10s/low 11) but yeah, I hadn't considered this angle. The other week I was doing a route that went from fists to thin hands so you can imagine that's exactly the type of situation where you'd want gloves at the start and then want them off for the thin hands