These types of pasters work best in the applicator device that looks like a stapler. Not *much* faster or better than keeping tape on the pants and creating patches on the fly, but better enough that it's worth it - cleaner and always ready. Besides the obvious use for patching hard cover, the black ones are perfect as aiming points during some drills as they create great contrast on the standard targets. Quite useful for sighting in or for fine tuning of the aim, grip and recoil control.