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Taping a lav mic to skin or fabric is a different job than sticking a poster to a wall — it has to hold through a day of movement, come off without pulling hair or leaving residue, and not rustle against clothing while it’s rolling. Production audio has settled on a small set of purpose-built stickies and mounting pads instead of ordinary tape, and here’s what’s actually on a sound recordist’s cart.
| # | Product | Price | Where to buy |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | URSA Sticky Circles (90-pack) | $10-$20 | Amazon |
| 2 | URSA Very Sticky Circles | $12-$22 | Amazon |
| 3 | URSA Foamies (12-pack) | $10-$18 | Amazon · eBay |
| 4 | URSA Foamie Pads | $10-$16 | Amazon · eBay |
| 5 | URSA Soft Cover Circles (15-pack) | $12-$20 | Amazon · eBay |
| 6 | CineBuff Stickies (30-pack, Saramonic) | $10-$18 | Amazon |
| 7 | CineBuff Concealer Tape (40-pack, Saramonic) | $10-$18 | Amazon |
| 8 | CineBuff Tape Soft Strip (20-pack, Saramonic) | $10-$18 | Amazon |
| 9 | Bubblebee Industries The Invisible Tape | $12-$22 | Amazon |
| 10 | Bubblebee Industries The Lav Concealer | $15-$30 | Amazon · eBay |
The picks, in detail
URSA Sticky Circles (90-pack)
The default lav sticky on most sound carts: a transparent, ultra-thin double-sided circle for mounting a capsule to skin or fabric.
- 90 circles per pack
- 24mm diameter
- Hypoallergenic adhesive
- Fits Rode, Sennheiser, Tascam, Zoom and similar capsules
- Sticks securely but peels off cleanly with no residue
- Thin enough to be invisible under clothing
- The most widely stocked option, so easy to resupply
- Single use
- Standard adhesive can struggle on a heavily sweating subject
URSA Very Sticky Circles
URSA’s higher-tack version of the same circle, for sweat, long days and difficult mounting surfaces.
- Stronger adhesive than standard Sticky Circles
- Same 24mm format
- Holds where the standard circles let go
- Drop-in replacement, same workflow
- More aggressive on skin, so a poorer choice for sensitive talent
- Costs more than the standard pack
URSA Foamies (12-pack)
Soft foam mounts that stick directly to skin or costume and hold the capsule off the fabric.
- 12 per pack
- Cut to fit Sanken COS-11, Sennheiser MKE2, Rode Lav and DPA 4060/4070
- Capsule-specific cutouts hold the mic properly rather than squashing it
- Foam layer is the single biggest fix for clothing rustle
- Bulkier than a plain circle, so harder to hide under thin fabric
- Sized per capsule, so you need the right version
URSA Foamie Pads
The universal-fit version of the Foamies – a plain foam pad used as a concealer or as a spacer between mic and fabric.
- Universal fit
- Available in black, white and caramel
- Colour options make it easier to hide against costume or skin
- Works with any capsule, unlike the cut Foamies
- No capsule cutout, so it holds the mic less precisely
URSA Soft Cover Circles (15-pack)
A soft cover that goes over the mounted capsule to kill fabric noise from the outside.
- 15 per pack
- Available in black
- Addresses rustle from clothing moving across the mic, which under-mounting alone does not fix
- An addition to a mount, not a replacement for one
- Small pack size
CineBuff Stickies (30-pack, Saramonic)
Foam-cored round stickies: two adhesive faces with a 1mm foam layer between, so the mic never sits hard against fabric.
- 30 per pack
- 1mm foam core between two sticky sides
- Hypoallergenic adhesive
- Combines mounting and rustle isolation in one part
- Peels off cleanly without residue
- Thicker than a plain circle
- Newer line, so less widely stocked than URSA
CineBuff Concealer Tape (40-pack, Saramonic)
Square double-sided concealer tape for mounting a capsule behind a costume rather than against skin.
- 40 per pack
- Square format
- Double-sided, hypoallergenic
- The square shape covers more area than a circle for concealment work
- Good pack economics for multi-person days
- Square edges are more visible under thin or stretched fabric
CineBuff Tape Soft Strip (20-pack, Saramonic)
Single-sided hypoallergenic moleskin strip for taping down cable runs and stopping cable rub against skin.
- 20 per pack
- Single-sided moleskin
- Hypoallergenic
- Solves cable noise, which stickies do not address
- Moleskin is far quieter against skin than plastic tape
- Single-sided, so it cannot mount a capsule on its own
Bubblebee Industries The Invisible Tape
Transparent double-sided tape that holds the mic on one face and sticks to skin or clothing on the other.
- Transparent double-sided
- Mounts to skin or fabric
- Bubblebee’s production-audio range
- Very low visibility under light or sheer costume
- Bubblebee is a long-established production-sound brand
- Premium pricing against URSA circles
- Plain tape, so no foam isolation
Bubblebee Industries The Lav Concealer
A fabric concealer rather than a tape – it wraps the capsule to hide it and cut rustle, for when adhesive alone will not do.
- Fabric concealer for the capsule
- Made in capsule-specific versions, including for the Rode lavalier
- Reusable, unlike every sticky here
- Best option when talent cannot tolerate more adhesive
- Not a tape – you still need something to attach it
- Sold per capsule type, and usually singly
Buying tips
- Skip office and craft tape entirely – the adhesives are too aggressive for skin and far noisier against fabric than purpose-made lav stickies.
- A thin foam layer under the capsule (CineBuff Stickies, URSA Foamies or Foamie Pads) is the single biggest fix for clothing rustle on a body mic.
- For sensitive or repeat-day talent, start with standard URSA Sticky Circles and only step up to Very Sticky Circles when sweat or a long day actually demands it.
- Cable noise is a separate problem from capsule noise – a single-sided moleskin strip along the cable run fixes rub that no amount of capsule mounting will.
- Buy in bulk packs if you mike several people a day. These are single-use, and running out mid-shoot is a real production problem.
- Bubblebee’s Lav Concealer is reusable fabric rather than tape – the fallback when talent cannot tolerate any more adhesive on skin.
As an Amazon Associate and eBay Partner, toptenpick.com earns from qualifying purchases. Prices and availability are subject to change.