P Sports Tape

Long-distance hikers switched to Leukotape for one reason: the zinc-oxide adhesive stays put. Applied to a hot spot before it becomes a blister, it survives days of sweat, dirt, and creek crossings, where moleskin and fabric bandages roll off in an afternoon. For the price of a 15-yard roll, it is also the cheapest blister insurance you can carry. The catch is that same adhesive. It is aggressive enough that removal can take skin with it, especially off feet that have been wet all day, and some people develop contact irritation after several days under tape. The tape is rigid rather than stretchy, so it conforms badly to toes and the Achilles. And the full 68-gram roll is a plastic-cored brick nobody carries intact; you will wind a few yards onto a card or a pole, and those exposed sticky edges then collect grit in your pack. If you rarely blister, a short strip is all you need.