Best Skateboard Grip Tape of 2023

JUMP TO: MOB GRIP TAPE / JESSUP GRIP TAPE / MOB CLEAR GRIP TAPE / JESSUP ULTRA GRIP TAPE / SPITFIRE SWIRL CLEAR GRIP TAPE / GLOBE SLANT EXTRA RUGGED / MOB 11” x 33” GRIP TAPE / MOB CLEAR STRIPS GRIP TAPE / BUYING ADVICE

Author: Brent Herman

The Short Version

The Long Version

Grip tape is among the most overlooked components of a skateboard. However, without it, many things that we love about skateboarding would be far more challenging, if not impossible.

Beyond the function of helping a skater better control their skateboard, grip tape is another way in which riders can express themselves. There are a plethora of colors and designs available for purchase, but simple black grip tape also acts as a blank canvas for the artistically inclined. 

Even if there are no visually unique factors about your grip tape, there are several other aspects to consider when choosing what kind of grip to put on your deck.

There are varying degrees of coarseness and durability, as well as features that make grip tape application easier or more difficult.

This article will highlight some of the best grip tapes in the industry and explain what makes them unique and optimal for different functions in the world of skateboarding.

If you love reading this review of the best skateboard grip tape, then you'll likely love reading some of our other skateboarding pages:

Need To Know What To Look Out For?

Unsure whether you need smooth or coarse? … Unsure about the application process? … Be sure to check out our buying advice at the bottom of the article.

Best Overall: MOB GRIP TAPE

GRIT: Medium-Coarse

SIZE: 9” x 33”

COLOR: Black 

STYLE: Street/Park/Vert

Mob Grip is a very popular grip tape brand, positioned under the historic parent company NHS. NHS is responsible for legendary skateboarding brands like Santa Cruz, Independent, and Creature.

And Mob Grip has been making quality grip tape since 2000 — so by now they know exactly what they are up to!

Mob Grip Tape is one of the go-to grip tapes chosen by many skateboarding veterans and beginners alike, and for several good reasons! Mob Grip Tape is affordable, widely available, and has a grit level that feels just right. It’s grippy enough for carving around vert walls and pool hips while still being forgiving enough to allow for precise flicking on flip tricks like kickflips and heelflips.

The tape features hundreds of tiny holes that allow air to escape during the application process. This makes air bubbles far less likely than with some other grip tapes. This makes applying grip tape easier and far less stressful. Mob Grip Tape also uses an exclusive carbide grip-binding process for lasting grip and features a waterproof backing.

Best Value: JESSUP GRIP TAPE

GRIT: Medium

SIZE: 9” x 33” 

COLOR: Black 

STYLE: Street/Park/Vert

Most grip tapes are relatively inexpensive, but that doesn’t always mean you are getting a good product. Jessup however, is the preferred grip tape brand of many pros and amateurs alike, and yet it is super affordable.

Jessup has been making grip tape since 1975 and they claim to have gripped over 25 million boards over the years. Jessup Grip Tape is a widely available grip tape option and Jessup have a huge pool of high-level pros that ride for their team.

Jessup Grip Tape is known to be less grippy than Mob, but many skaters prefer it that way. Grip tape that is less grippy to begin with takes less time to break in and is less destructive to a skater’s shoes.

This tape is versatile and can be used for most skateboarding applications. However, downhill longboarders might want to choose a coarser-grit version in order to have maximum control at high speeds.

Best Clear Grip Tape: MOB CLEAR GRIP TAPE

GRIT: Coarse

SIZE: 10” x 33”

COLOR: Clear 

STYLE: Street/Park/Vert

Like the traditional black Mob Grip Tape, this clear version offers a great level of grippiness that allows skaters to skate a wide array of styles.

Mob Clear Grip Tape is not absolutely transparent, but you can still clearly see the top graphic of your board or any stickers you placed under the grip tape.

The clear grip tape is coarser at first than the classic black grip tape from Mob, but the abrasiveness wears down much more quickly. This is especially true if you perform a lot of flip tricks. The area of your deck that you flick your tricks off of will become smooth over time.

However, if you are mainly using your skateboard for transportation or cruising around the park in style, you shouldn’t have nearly as many issues with losing grip.

Best for Speed: JESSUP ULTRA GRIP TAPE

GRIT: Very Coarse

SIZE: 9” x 33”

COLOR: Black

STYLE: Park/Vert

Jessup Ultra Grip Tape is some serious tape — designed for speed demons and steep vert skaters. The extra coarse nature of this grip tape should make carving vert walls and skating transition a more sure-footed endeavor. This grip tape is just shy of gluing yourself to the deck.

Another benefit of Jessup Ultra Grip Tape is that it is longer lasting than their traditional grip tape. So, if you are the type that usually skates the same deck for a long time, this might be a good option to make sure that you aren’t losing grip before you want to replace your deck.

The downside of this extra-grippy tape is that it may make flip tricks harder to perform. Not to mention, the abundance of silicon carbide particles is also more damaging to your shoes.

GRIT: Coarse

SIZE: 9” x 33”

COLOR: Black and Clear

STYLE: Street/Park/Vert

Can’t decide between black or clear grip tape? Well with the Spitfire Swirl Clear Grip Tape, you don’t have to. Featuring a psychedelic swirl design, this grip tape offers the best of both worlds.

The wavy lines alternate black and clear so it will show off the color of the top deck of your board. If the top ply of your deck is a darker color, the design may not be as eye-catching due to the lack of contrast, but if you have a brightly-colored top ply this grip tape will accentuate it nicely!

As for performance, this grip tape is on the coarser side. It should be able to handle the streets, parks, and even some vert skating.

Best for Longboards: GLOBE SLANT EXTRA RUGGED

GRIT: Very Coarse

SIZE: 11” x 42”

COLOR: Black

STYLE: Longboard/Downhill

Globe has teamed up with Slant to produce their Extra Rugged grip tape — delivering it in a size conducive to gripping long boards.

Other grip tapes on this list could be used for long boards as well, but are not cut to the specific size of most longboards. Whereas Globe and Slant both make several other longboard products, so they should know what is needed for high quality longboard grip tape.

The fact that the Globe Slant Extra Rugged is also on the coarser side makes it an excellent option when it comes to gripping your longboard. The coarser grip should have you feeling confident that you will stay firmly on the board as you bomb hills and lean into sliding turns.

Best for Cruisers: MOB 11” x 33” GRIP TAPE

GRIT: Medium-Coarse

SIZE: 11” x 33”

COLOR: Black 

STYLE: Cruiser

This one is fairly self-explanatory… the classic high-performing Mob Grip Tape, only now in a wider cut!

This makes it the ideal grip tape for extra-wide decks like cruiser boards and some shaped pro decks.

Mob’s level of grip is trusted by skaters that skate everything from handrails to halfpipes, so this grip tape will easily handle any of your cruising needs.

Best for Customization: MOB CLEAR STRIPS GRIP TAPE

GRIT: Coarse

SIZE: 9” x 3.25” (Pack of 5)

COLOR: Black and Clear

STYLE: Cruising/Longboard

One of the coolest things about grip tape is the ability to customize exactly how your board looks and feels when you are riding it. Many people cut their grip tape in order to expose graphics on the top ply or to create a design of their own.

With these Clear Strips from Mob, there are even more possibilities as to how to grip your board.

One pack comes with five 9” wide, 3.25” long strips of clear grip tape that you can apply to any location on your board. Maybe you want stripes of grip running diagonally down your deck, or perhaps you just want grip on the places that you usually place your feet. These strips offer Mob Clear Tape grip quality wherever you may want it.

These strips are ideal for longboards or cruisers, but if you want to try it out on your pro deck, go for it! There are no rules to how you have to put together your skateboard, so feel free to experiment with this interesting product from Mob!

BUYING ADVICE FOR SKATEBOARD GRIP TAPE

Grip Tape Basics

Grip tape is essentially a sheet of sandpaper with a sticky back that is applied to the top of skateboard decks.

As the name suggests, skateboarders use grip tape to prevent unwanted slippage when riding their boards. Most skateboarding shoes have a rubberized sole that the grit of the grip tape grabs on to.

If you’ve ever tried to ride a skateboard without grip tape, you will know it is much more difficult to push around on, let alone perform technical tricks.

Colors & Designs

While black is the standard, grip tape comes in all sorts of colors and designs. Many skaters design their own grip tape by using markers, paint, or by cutting designs out of the grip tape itself.

Clear grip tape can be used to show the natural wood grain on top of the deck, or the top graphic if the deck has one. Another popular use for clear grip is to display drawings, stickers, or other forms of artwork that the skater can place between the deck and the clear grip tape.

Coarseness

For longboards and vert skateboards, it is important to have fairly coarse grip tape in order to keep solid footing while skating at high speeds.

Street skaters usually opt for grip tape that is slightly less coarse, due to the fact that many tricks that they perform involve sliding their feet on the board in order to make the board spin or flip.

Grip Tape Application

Grip tape is applied to the top of the deck with the built-in adhesive on the back of the grip tape. Most sheets of grip tape are rectangular, so some cutting is needed to fit the grip tape precisely to the board without any pieces hanging over the edges.

REMOVE THE TRUCKS: You should apply grip tape to the deck without the wheels and trucks attached, or else you will cover the tops of the bolts and it will be difficult to remove the deck later.

APPLY THE TAPE: The first step is to slowly and evenly place the grip tape on the top of the deck, making sure to not trap any pockets of air between the sheet of grip tape and the board. Air bubbles can cause the grip tape to rip if the bubble is popped and are just not very aesthetically pleasing.

PRESS THE EDGES: The next step is to use a hard surface, or a file, to rub around the edge of the deck pressing down against the grip tape. This ensures that the grip tape is securely stuck down at the edges of the deck, thereby making it easier to get clean, crisp edges when you cut it out.

CUT THE TAPE: Next, carefully use a sharp tool like a razor blade or sharpened knife to cut the excess grip tape away from the deck. It is important to use extreme caution during this step. Children should ask an adult to help them with this step.

A key to getting a clean cut is to angle your blade and press it right against the filed edge of the deck and cut with a long steady steady motion. It also helps if you have a workbench or table to set the board on.

SMOOTH THE EDGES: The final step is an optional one, but it is a trick used by many seasoned riders. Take the scraps of grip tape that you have cut off and rub down the outside edges of the freshly-gripped deck. This is especially useful for skaters that perform a lot of flip tricks. Rubbing away some of the grit on the edges of the board and on the sides of the nose and tail make it easier to flick your tricks and also reduces the damage to your shoes that new grip tape is notorious for.

Grip Tape Care

After you have applied your grip tape, keeping it clean is a whole new adventure. Some skaters do not care if they have dirty grip or not, but others are very particular about keeping their grip tape clean. Clear grip tape can show more dirt than black grip tape, but there are products available to remove unwanted dirt and grime.

Grip tape cleaner is available from several companies, but rubber erasers and belt sander cleaners are also acceptable means of keeping your grip looking fresh.

MORE INFORMATION

If you loved this gear review article, then you'll likely love reading our other gear-fiend related articles: