This is the best cotton tape I have found for dressing trapeze and aerial hoops.

The cotton surface has a soft handle to it, and the glue is firm but does not have such a tendency found in other tapes to make the outer surface sticky. This means that this tape gives a good grip when needed, but also allows freedom to slide on its soft surface when needed in performance.

Another valuable feature is that, unlike other tapes I have tried, this tape has enough elasticity in it to make it easily conform to the complex curvatures encountered when dressing hoops or the splices on trapeze ropes. This means that it is easy to dress with a smooth surface without forming folds in the tape as it is wound round the complex curves.

To get the best from this tape, it is necessary to dress the hoop or trapeze in the right way.

When dressing an aerial hoop, start applying the tape from the bottom of the hoop, and winding the tape in a spiral up one side, whilst pulling the tape tight so it stretches round the curve and makes a completely smooth surface. Then start again at the bottom and wind up the other side. This will result in all the exposed tape edges facing downwards. This prevents the problem with upward facing edges forming slight projections which impede sliding of hands and bodies, and cause the edges to roll over and form larger projections. By only winding the tape upwards, no projections are formed and the tape will remain smooth all over.

Similarly; when dressing the rope splices on trapeze, always start at the bottom and work upwards for the same reason.