Seeking opinions.. on where is the best place to buy rail tape? Last time I got some through a shop in Qld...and was supposed to be a Naish RT Kit, but turned out to be just their own two lengths of 3M tape... The lengths were a bit daggy and heat affected and did not include the advertised length for the paddle! The stuff is dear as poison, so I want to get the best for my money. Thanks in advance.

I remember someone mentioning using Bear all weather tape from Bunnings.Clear 48mm wide 25m roll was under $15.Not tried it myself ,but for that money worth a try,handy for the toolbox anyway.I scrounged some scrap vinyl sticker from a sign place cut into strips and used that ,works ok. maybe be a bit careful when time to remove it,some of that stuff needs gentle heating (hair dryer) or it takes paint etc off

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LordKuz said..
Seeking opinions.. on where is the best place to buy rail tape? Last time I got some through a shop in Qld...and was supposed to be a Naish RT Kit, but turned out to be just their own two lengths of 3M tape... The lengths were a bit daggy and heat affected and did not include the advertised length for the paddle! The stuff is dear as poison, so I want to get the best for my money. Thanks in advance.

There are a few options these days but IMO the best stuff is still the clear 3M tape, that stuff from bunnings is siht and not worth putting it on your board as it does nothing. Railsaver pro is ok as well but i found it very rough if you ever fall on it!! below is the Clear 3M that we use on all our boards and it works well.

http://goldcoastsup.com.au/product/rail-tape-2/

You could always have a go at the DJ tried and tested method of wrapping a couple of layers of Nitto Electrical Tape around the blade of your paddle. Cheap solution, lasts for ages and does a reasonable job of protecting the paddle and board...IMHO.

I have used helicopter tape on all my boards.....best going. Lots of people in UK use it for SUPs.

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supgman said..
You could always have a go at the DJ tried and tested method of wrapping a couple of layers of Nitto Electrical Tape around the blade of your paddle. Cheap solution, lasts for ages and does a reasonable job of protecting the paddle and board...IMHO.

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paul.j said..

LordKuz said..
Seeking opinions.. on where is the best place to buy rail tape? Last time I got some through a shop in Qld...and was supposed to be a Naish RT Kit, but turned out to be just their own two lengths of 3M tape... The lengths were a bit daggy and heat affected and did not include the advertised length for the paddle! The stuff is dear as poison, so I want to get the best for my money. Thanks in advance.

There are a few options these days but IMO the best stuff is still the clear 3M tape, that stuff from bunnings is siht and not worth putting it on your board as it does nothing. Railsaver pro is ok as well but i found it very rough if you ever fall on it!! below is the Clear 3M that we use on all our boards and it works well.

http://goldcoastsup.com.au/product/rail-tape-2/

Yep I think I would go with the DJ method before I'd spend $25 a metre on tape

Another vote for paddle edge protection using electrical tape. I have exxy rail edge tape on one of my boards but it has a couple of chunks out of it and the board paint from poorly executed technique with a sharp edged paddle. You're best to fix the item that causes the damage.

3M helicopter tape works well on the paddle, it can be cut lengthwise into narrow strips. 1 metre is enough to protect at least 2 paddles.

Its thicker and more flexible than electrical tape and very easy to wrap the edge with no bubbles. Lasts for more than 12 months.

Great protection for surf paddle over shallow reefs.

^^^^^^




Very tough.

Just invested in a new board, and really want to keep it looking as good as I can. I've used rail tape in the past but it ends up looking pretty crappy after a few knocks. I tried the DJ eleccy tape method on my paddle for the first time on the weekend and rate it. Any black marks easily rub off, no chips or scrapes on my board, and the tape easily lasted a tough 2 hour session. My choice for sure, and cheap too!

A tip to avoid black marks: use a tape close to the color of your rails for the last layer.

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LordKuz said..
Seeking opinions.. on where is the best place to buy rail tape? Last time I got some through a shop in Qld...and was supposed to be a Naish RT Kit, but turned out to be just their own two lengths of 3M tape... The lengths were a bit daggy and heat affected and did not include the advertised length for the paddle! The stuff is dear as poison, so I want to get the best for my money. Thanks in advance.

Hi LK,
Where are you located so I can direct you to a store if still required ?

Puka Patch Rail Tape all the way....either the pre cut packaged kits or rolls (so you can cut specific lengths) are available in most SUP stores or Schools nationwide.
Thinnest on the market & does a better job than everything that's thicker.....better than the thicker options as it's easier to apply, very flexible & durable, smooth with no hard edges to worry about etc.

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LordKuz said...
Seeking opinions.. on where is the best place to buy rail tape? Last time I got some through a shop in Qld...and was supposed to be a Naish RT Kit, but turned out to be just their own two lengths of 3M tape... The lengths were a bit daggy and heat affected and did not include the advertised length for the paddle! The stuff is dear as poison, so I want to get the best for my money. Thanks in advance.

Consider it an upgrade. 3M is the ONLY tape to use, so much more durable than the Naish stuff.

When I bought my last new SUP I asked how to protect the rails. Answer was to not hit them with your paddle!
Sage advice but not very practical.

+1 for Nitto tape on the paddle, DJ stlye. Easy to apply works a treat.

I do all my boards with Railsaverpro. I don,t hit that often my rails, but on a wave you never know what happens and i,m getting used to get a whack of a paddle in a race when the whole pack sits close together.
The stuff works great and proofed to be very strong as well.

I have the Ion rail tape on both my boards. The grey/white tape on my allwave and the black/grey tape on my glide. The rail tape is heavy duty and looks great!

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kiterdude said..

LordKuz said...
Seeking opinions.. on where is the best place to buy rail tape? Last time I got some through a shop in Qld...and was supposed to be a Naish RT Kit, but turned out to be just their own two lengths of 3M tape... The lengths were a bit daggy and heat affected and did not include the advertised length for the paddle! The stuff is dear as poison, so I want to get the best for my money. Thanks in advance.

Consider it an upgrade. 3M is the ONLY tape to use, so much more durable than the Naish stuff.

Naish tape is made by 3M.

Hi Australian SUP Community —

Seabreeze always has some interesting SUP stories I like to keep up to speed on. I came across this topic & just wanted to clarify on some confusion that seems to be going on in the Australian marketplace.

I founded both Puka Patch & Rail Saver Pro, a Puka Patch product.

Despite what some might hear, Puka Patch is Rail Saver Pro & is why we have kept the name whilst the other like-branded name has since been changed to RS Pro…I hope this helps with the confusion & integrity of the original Rail Saver Pro, a product that has been widely accepted through the Australian marketplace, launched many years ago by my Australian distributor Watershack Pty Ltd.

On the subject of Jimmy Lewis - Jimmy has been a supporter of our product since the beginning & still supports the Puka Patch Rail Saver Pro exclusively to this day. The pictures posted earlier stating Jimmy apparently switching to RSPro were from one of Jimmy’s international distributors without the support of Jimmy himself.

There’s a saying in the innovation world that the greatest form of flattery is when someone copies you, so I guess for many years now we’ve been doing something right by providing a quality product that continues to evolve.

Confusing a market by copying your name to build another product is not flattery & definitely not innovative.

If you have further questions, please do not hesitate to contact my Australian distributor : rob@watershack.com.au

Thanks,
Jon Mosher - Puka Patch & Rail Saver Pro

Copy or not, I really like the RSpro stuff, have it on all 3 carbon boards.They make exactly the same stuff under a different name as MTB frame protecting film as well, my fully has it on the downtube as well.

I use the 3M stuff myself - not just for protecting against paddle knocks (getting better at avoiding that anyway), but it just gives that protection to the rails also if I ever need to rest the board on the rail on cement or a rough surface ie. car park with stones etc.

On a race board with thick/flat rails, where do you place tape; top edge down, middle, bottom edge up or use wide tape and cover the full rail height? Thanks.

I put it in the middle of the rails. On the parts that might get hit when paddling, when docking a concrete wall and the board rests on when putting on a side.I havea small patch of the mtb stickers I have from them on my tail for when somebody is drafting and tries to come aboard.

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dingfix said..
On a race board with thick/flat rails, where do you place tape; top edge down, middle, bottom edge up or use wide tape and cover the full rail height? Thanks.

I agee with the middle.. You can see mine at the start of this vid..