Hopefully, it's not actually friction tape we're talking about here, but instead, adhesive-free tape which self-adheres via static. It's sold for various purposes. The first individual to post about it here was Neal (npod) Osborne. He was using tape that was marketed for bondage play, but it was similar to duct tape in width, which was inconvenient. I subsequently found a product marketed for binding electrical wires together, like in cars, that's perhaps 3/4"-7/8" wide. Very cheap, too.
It does protect the stem pretty well and isn't very noticeable in your mouth because it's very thin. It seems to me to work better on pipes whose stems don't flare too much at the button. It's funny, sometimes it can want to unravel, but other times, it can stay fine for years. I am lucky that my teeth don't damage my stems much, so I primarily use it to add grip to stems which are hard to clench. Small stems seem to be where I use it the most. Since the pipe is more secure in my teeth, I don't have to clench so tightly, which is both more comfortable and better for the pipe.
I know some folks have moved to using parafilm, which I believe is used in surgery and for grafting plants. I haven't tried it myself, though.
I can't do the softy bits. My buddy uses softy bits in a way that I think makes sense, He uses the smallest size that will fit, slices off the "button" part of the rubber, then slides the remaining tubular portion of the softy bit until it's just past the stem's button.
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