This Great Gadget Lets You Tape Down Cables Faster Than Ever

Wires are everywhere nowadays—and one proof of them is the dozens of hack videos offering quick and easy ways to tuck away, hide, or even conceal the piles of wires that can clutter our daily space with some crafty invention. 

[see-also] 

They do, however, serve an important purpose: from theatre and concert venues and movie sets to home offices, they are proof of the behind-the-scenes transmission of electricity or data, safely and securely, from one point to another.

An even more common sight is the gaffer, or head electrician, along with his or her team, on a television or movie set. The term “backbreaking work” was invented to describe professions like theirs: hours spent bent over seemingly endless lines of cables and wires, securing them in position and then taping them down. It’s no doubt one of the less glamorous roles on the set.

However, Seattle-based company GaffTech is delivering a solution: the GaffGun G20NN0 Tape Applicator. Think of an oversized office tape dispenser being combined with an electric broom (perhaps it’s better to just picture the tape gun instead).

The patent-pending tool is revolutionizing the industry, creating an option for avoiding the wire-gathering/tape laying assembly line operation that has been used for decades now.

Inside the multipurpose applicator is the company’s patent-pending CorelLock tape. The large bundle is attached to a plastic core and locked in place, which helps to ensure that it stays centered and supports the movement of the tensioning knob. With only a smooth movement across a group of wires, the tape gun’s funneling system gathers them together seamlessly and then tapes them down. The company developed the Tape Applicator for use with cables, extension cords, ropes and even air hoses.

Another plus is that though the GaffGun is made with tough industrial-grade materials, it weighs only 5 kg, which makes it a more practical solution. Also true to its description as being a multipurpose tool, it was also designed for non-cable use: marking floors in construction and industrial work sites, or even marking gymnasium floors easily. A floor guide is also included with the product for this separate purpose.

The gun starts at 220 USD for the single-size cable guides—in S, M, and L ranging in sizes from 5-7.5cm tape and 1-6 XLR cables)—but for an option that combines all three, the price goes up only 40 USD. For the added versatility, unless the user is working in a pre-defined space, the bundle with all guides seems to be a much better value. Of course, to get the most out of the product, it does mean purchasing gaffer’s tape, which can be quite pricey. Also, some users have commented that the tool is best suited for larger jobs covering distances of 3 meters or more.

The company did refer to the gun as “the single greatest advancement in floor tape since gaffer's tape was invented,” and given the obvious practical benefits, it’s a statement which we agree with in all honesty.