Originally Posted by LóFarkas
At least we Europeans keep together
Let the Americans fumble with their heavy sticky velox thing.
I've used a lot of different kinds of rim tape, and they all work. I've used strapping tape too, and that actually works really well, and is probably lighter than any other solution (not that I care a bit about so little weight).
Anyway, back to the width question, you want to cover more than just the spoke holes. The tape needs some material to grab on to at the sides of the spoke holes. Otherwise, it gets pushed into the hole, exposing the hole's edge and cutting the tube.