General Purpose Tools

Stretch Wrap With Handle

$11 for 1000 feet of non-adhesive plastic film

Let’s talk about stretch wrap. $11 on Amazon got me 1,000 feet of this stuff — but what’s it good for? I’ll tell you what I use it for, and if you want to pick some up for yourself, using the link in the description helps support my videos and the Cool Tools blog.

Stretch wrap is a non-adhesive plastic film that under tension will stick to itself. It comes in all different sizes. This roll is 5-inches wide and clear and comes with this built in cardboard handle.

What’s great about it in general is that it’s non-destructive — you can use it like tape to wrap things up, but it won’t leave behind any residue or pull anything up when you take it off.

You’ll often see moving companies use this to bundle up loose things that won’t fit in boxes, or secure furniture or drawers so things stay together.

I stole this tip from Jimmy Diresta’s video on tape tips, he uses stretch wrap for securing ratchet straps in his truck into a nice bundle. He also recommends it as a way to secure things in bubble wrap without resorting to packing tape. This way, if you mark where to pull to unwrap it, people can undo the packaging without having to slice into it and possibly damage the contents.

I picked this up specifically to organize the t-shirts my band sells at shows. I’ll fold big stacks of shirts grouped by size and wrap them with this so I can still see the size on the tag. I used to use rubber bands but they would leave marks or wrinkle the fabric — but this doesn’t.

On that same note, I have things in my workshop like grillecloth or corkboard, that tape or rubber bands tend to damage. Stretch wrap is a great way to safely bundle it up.

-- Donald Bell 03/20/18

(Cool Tools has a YouTube channel with many more tool reviews — editors)

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