diff --git a/simdnbt/src/borrow/tape.rs b/simdnbt/src/borrow/tape.rs
index b9d5ce7..f47c6a1 100644
--- a/simdnbt/src/borrow/tape.rs
+++ b/simdnbt/src/borrow/tape.rs
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 use std::{
+    alloc::{self, Allocator, Layout},
     fmt::{self, Debug},
     mem,
+    ptr::NonNull,
 };
 
 use crate::common::{
@@ -8,38 +10,103 @@ use crate::common::{
     LONG_ID, SHORT_ID, STRING_ID,
 };
 
+const DEFAULT_CAPACITY: usize = 1024;
+
+// this is faster than a Vec mainly because we store a `cur` pointer which
+// allows us to avoid having to add the start+length when pushing
 #[derive(Debug)]
-pub struct MainTape {
-    elements: Vec<TapeElement>,
+pub struct MainTape<A: Allocator = alloc::Global> {
+    /// The next address we'll be writing to.
+    cur: NonNull<TapeElement>,
+    /// The last (probably uninitialized) element in the tape.
+    end: NonNull<TapeElement>,
+    /// The start of the tape.
+    ptr: NonNull<u8>,
+
+    alloc: A,
 }
-impl MainTape {
+impl<A: Allocator> MainTape<A> {
     #[inline]
     pub fn push(&mut self, element: TapeElement) {
-        self.elements.push(element);
+        if self.cur == self.end {
+            let old_cap = self.len();
+            let extending_by = old_cap;
+            let new_cap = old_cap + extending_by;
+
+            let element_size = mem::size_of::<TapeElement>();
+            let old_cap_bytes = old_cap * element_size;
+            let new_cap_bytes = new_cap * element_size;
+            let new_ptr = unsafe {
+                self.alloc.grow(
+                    self.ptr,
+                    Layout::from_size_align_unchecked(old_cap_bytes, element_size),
+                    Layout::from_size_align_unchecked(new_cap_bytes, element_size),
+                )
+            };
+            let new_ptr = new_ptr.expect("allocation failed");
+
+            self.ptr = new_ptr.cast();
+            // update cur in case the ptr changed
+            self.cur = NonNull::new(self.ptr.as_ptr() as *mut TapeElement).unwrap();
+            self.cur = unsafe { self.cur.add(old_cap) };
+            // and end has to be updated anyways since we're updating the capacity
+            self.end = unsafe { self.cur.add(extending_by) };
+        }
+
+        unsafe { self.cur.write(element) };
+        self.cur = unsafe { self.cur.add(1) };
     }
 
     #[inline]
     pub fn len(&self) -> usize {
-        self.elements.len()
+        unsafe { self.cur.offset_from(self.ptr.cast()) as usize }
+    }
+    #[inline]
+    fn capacity(&self) -> usize {
+        unsafe { self.end.offset_from(self.ptr.cast()) as usize }
     }
 
     #[inline]
     pub unsafe fn get_unchecked_mut(&mut self, index: usize) -> &mut TapeElement {
-        self.elements.get_unchecked_mut(index)
+        debug_assert!(index < self.len());
+        self.ptr.cast::<TapeElement>().add(index).as_mut()
     }
 
     #[inline]
     pub fn as_ptr(&self) -> *const TapeElement {
-        self.elements.as_ptr()
+        self.ptr.cast().as_ptr()
     }
 }
 impl Default for MainTape {
     fn default() -> Self {
+        let element_size = mem::size_of::<TapeElement>();
+        let ptr = unsafe {
+            // this is faster than Layout::array
+            alloc::alloc(Layout::from_size_align_unchecked(
+                DEFAULT_CAPACITY * element_size,
+                element_size,
+            ))
+        };
+        let ptr = NonNull::new(ptr as *mut TapeElement).expect("allocation failed");
+        let end = unsafe { ptr.add(DEFAULT_CAPACITY) };
         Self {
-            elements: Vec::with_capacity(1024),
+            cur: ptr,
+            end,
+            ptr: ptr.cast(),
+            alloc: alloc::Global,
         }
     }
 }
+impl<A: Allocator> Drop for MainTape<A> {
+    fn drop(&mut self) {
+        unsafe {
+            self.alloc.deallocate(
+                self.ptr.cast(),
+                Layout::array::<TapeElement>(self.capacity()).unwrap(),
+            )
+        };
+    }
+}
 
 #[derive(Clone, Copy)]
 pub struct TapeElement(u64);
diff --git a/simdnbt/src/lib.rs b/simdnbt/src/lib.rs
index 1d02392..f237e95 100644
--- a/simdnbt/src/lib.rs
+++ b/simdnbt/src/lib.rs
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 #![feature(array_chunks)]
 #![allow(internal_features)]
 #![feature(core_intrinsics)]
+#![feature(allocator_api)]
 
 #[cfg(not(target_pointer_width = "64"))]
 compile_error!("simdnbt only supports 64-bit platforms");