Pull Day

The erg doesn't lie. That's what rowers say about the indoor rowing machine — the Concept2 ergometer that has become the sport's universal measuring stick. Every stroke is recorded. Every split is visible. There's no hiding from the numbers, and there's no hiding from what the repetitive grip does to your hands.

Megan Chen learned this during her first week of collegiate rowing at the University of Washington. "I'd rowed in high school, but nothing prepares you for the volume at the D1 level," she says. "We were doing double sessions — water in the morning, erg in the afternoon. By day three, my hands were raw."

The problem with rowing isn't a single moment of trauma. It's accumulation. Each stroke requires a firm grip on the oar handle or erg handle. Each grip creates friction. Over thousands of strokes — a typical practice might include 10,000 or more — that friction breaks down skin faster than it can recover.

"Blisters become calluses become tears. It's the rowing cycle. Everyone goes through it."

The Tape Search

Megan tried everything. Standard athletic tape stuck to her blisters and ripped them open on removal. Weightlifting gloves reduced her feel on the handle and weren't allowed in competition. Rowing gloves existed but carried a stigma — "real" rowers don't use them. She needed something that would protect without adding bulk, stay in place through thousands of strokes, and come off clean when practice ended.

Her coxswain introduced her to Guard-Tex.

"She'd gotten it from her mom, who was a nurse," Megan recalls. "Said it was what they used in hospitals for exactly this kind of thing — protecting damaged skin without the tape tearing it up worse when you remove it."

The Feel Factor

What surprised Megan wasn't that the tape stayed on — it was that she could still feel the handle. "With athletic tape, you lose sensitivity. You're gripping through a layer of cotton and adhesive. With Guard-Tex, it's like... the tape is there, but it's not blocking the connection."

This matters in rowing. The catch — the moment the blade enters the water — requires precise timing. The pressure through the drive comes through the handle. Experienced rowers develop a feel for their oar that's almost unconscious. Anything that interferes with that feel affects performance.

• Thin profile — Guard-Tex adds minimal bulk to the grip
• Cohesive bond — stays in place without slipping under friction
• Breathable — sweat doesn't build up underneath
• Clean removal — no residue on handles or skin

Megan started wrapping before every erg session. Her hands still developed calluses — that's inevitable with the volume — but the tears stopped. More importantly, she could train through recovery. "Before, a bad tear meant three or four days off the erg. Now I wrap it and keep going. The tape protects while it heals."

Competition Day

Guard-Tex isn't just a training tool. Megan uses it in races. "Some tapes aren't allowed — anything that could transfer to the oar handle and affect grip for the next crew. Guard-Tex is clean. It leaves nothing behind."

She wraps before the start, the familiar routine calming pre-race nerves. The tape goes on the same way every time: base of the fingers where the handle sits, anchored at the palm. Two layers. Not too tight. Secure but flexible.

"There's something about having a ritual," she says. "You do the same thing every time, and it puts you in the right headspace. The tape is part of that now."

Beyond the Boathouse

What started as a solution for rowing has spread through Megan's life. She wraps her hands for deadlifts. She keeps a roll in her climbing bag. Her roommate — a cellist — borrowed some for a performance when she'd practiced so hard her fingers were raw.

"It's just tape," Megan laughs. "But it's really good tape. The kind that does exactly what you need it to do and nothing else."

Guard-Tex has been doing exactly that since 1935. Different hands, different sports, same simple solution. The tape that works.