I freed myself from my organizational sins by simply sticking my desk clutter where I don't have to see it, and you can do the same with this $9 Black Friday deal on nano tape
Rather than using chemical adhesives, nano tape sticks things together using the physics of its microscopically-textured surface. Snip off a piece or two, and you've got a great non-permanent mounting solution for whatever cabling sins you might want to hide beneath your desktop.
Key specs: Double-sided | 2 rolls | 0.94 in. x 10 ftView Deal
In its natural state, my desk is a disaster. It's a roiling mass of cabling and peripherals, only brought into temporary presentability during the rare windows when my attention, free time, and motivation align to permit a reorganization effort.
After buying a roll of nano tape, however, I've adopted a revolutionary philosophy: My many organizational sins can't hurt me if I simply stick them to the bottom of my desk where I can't see them. Is it a form of voluntary self-delusion? Maybe. But nano tape is the only thing granting my workspace some semblance of order.
I know, I know—tape isn't everyone's idea of an exciting PC gaming deal, but what's a better gift to buy yourself than peace? Especially when peace is just $9?
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Unlike your traditional, run-of-the-mill, loserly tapes, nano tape doesn't rely on chemical adhesives. Instead, it works through the magic of biomimicry: Its surface is microscopically textured to emulate the skin of a gecko's feet, which can adhere to other material thanks to minuscule hair-like structures that exaggerate the Van der Waals forces—the distance-dependent attraction between atoms or molecules—between the gecko's skin and the surface it's climbing on.
By mimicking those structures, nano tape can adhere to surfaces without chemical adhesives that leave residues when removed. As a double-sided tape, it's a relatively strong, non-permanent solution if you need to stick something somewhere, but not so badly that you want to drill it in place.
In my case, it's been particularly useful as a way to cut down on visible cable-and-peripheral clutter by slapping stuff beneath my desk. My power strip's been nano taped to one of my desk legs for months. My USB hub, meanwhile, has been nano taped beneath my desktop itself. It's been nice when I have needed to do some drilling, too—while mounting a keyboard tray, a quick nano taping made it simple to mark where I'd be putting my holes when I might have otherwise needed to remove the whole desktop.
It's not suitable for holding heavier objects, but it's surprisingly sticky: I've seen some testimonials complaining about struggles with removing applied nano tape, but I've been able to peel without problems by working a flat prying tool between the tape and the object it's stuck to. And it's reusable after a rinse to remove dust.
It won't do much for you on porous surfaces, but it's a great way to do some quick mounting on anything with a smooth finish. And at $9 for 20 feet, you'll have plenty to work with—even if your desk needs as much work as mine did.
Heck, you could stick a whole mini PC under your desk. Dream bigger than just cables.