Grippers And Frugality

[Obscenic]

Hello,

As a disclaimer I would like to say that I've browsed the gripboard, read most all of the stickies, lots of diesel crew articles and other good stuff. I've taken advice and have been doing what I can cheaply. Pinching big rocks, pushing heavy wheelbarrows, sledgehammer, farmers walk, things like that. But it is about time that I get some grippers, and having read a lot about what people think, I'm having a rather hard time deciding. I'm not talking about the strength of the grippers (I can find that out for myself), but rather the brand of grippers.

Rick Walker's article at Diesel Crew suggested to just get the Heavy Grips, which I am very inclined to believe, but at the same time Ironmind makes themselves out to be the most prestigious, gold standard of Gripperdom, and getting anything else would be sacrificing quality. They also said only Chinese grippers are ranked 150, 200, 250, etc. HG does this, but then again I've read that people like their HGs very much.

I suppose what I'm saying is, I can't see through any hype or make good decisions because I have no experience with grippers. Ironmind's certification seems prestigious and glorious, but tbh its not really what I'm after. I just wanna get....stronger and see myself progress. So, with frugality in mind, the HG seem just fine for this purpose...but having never used them, I'm not sure how much quality I'll be sacrificing for the money.

In the end, I'll probably end up buying all the grippers. But...I want to start with something rugged, reliable, and cheap.

Thanks in advance -

Obscenic.

[Magnus]

I've got CoC, HG, and BB. I don't think the HG's are that bad. There are stories of extensive seasoning, handles breaking off, etc etc, but I've never experienced any of that with any of them (although my 100 did season down about 3/8")...that's not to say it won't happen, but it didn't to me. My biggest gripe with the HG's is the inconsistent knurling. Some are sharp, some feel like it was filed off, and some have it sharp on one handle and smooth on the other. Also, the mounting on some of them was pretty crappy, but then again, we're talking about a $10 gripper with a lifetime warranty (and I've heard the customer service is great). If I had it to do over again, I'd still buy the HG's. Sure, they're not in the same league as the others, but realistically, they'll serve the purpose for now, and when you get more advanced later on, you can get yourself a set of Bbs or CoCs (or both ). Not to mention HG's are nice for modifying.

Edited October 2, 2008 by Magnus

[acorn]

Get some IM or BB grippers. The HG grippers longevity and quality is aweful IMHO. I have seriously considered just removing the handles from my HG300 and putting them on one of my own springs.

- Aaron

[Obscenic]

I've got CoC, HG, and BB. I don't think the HG's are that bad. There are stories of extensive seasoning, handles breaking off, etc etc, but I've never experienced any of that with any of them (although my 100 did season down about 3/8")...that's not to say it won't happen, but it didn't to me. My biggest gripe with the HG's is the inconsistent knurling. Some are sharp, some feel like it was filed off, and some have it sharp on one handle and smooth on the other. Also, the mounting on some of them was pretty crappy, but then again, we're talking about a $10 gripper with a lifetime warranty (and I've heard the customer service is great). If I had it to do over again, I'd still buy the HG's. Sure, they're not in the same league as the others, but realistically, they'll serve the purpose for now, and when you get more advanced later on, you can get yourself a set of Bbs or CoCs (or both ). Not to mention HG's are nice for modifying.

Many thanks. I'm seeing things like " they'll serve the purpose", "If I had it to do over again, I'd still buy the HG's" "good customer service" "lifetime warranty" and that you didn't personally experience excessive seasoning or handles breaking. Excellent feedback =D

- Obscenic

Edit:

Get some IM or BB grippers. The HG grippers longevity and quality is aweful IMHO. I have seriously considered just removing the handles from my HG300 and putting them on one of my own springs.

So then the lower price is definitely not worth the difference in quality...oy.

Thanks

Oh...decisions decisions

Edited October 2, 2008 by Obscenic

[tight five]

Depends what your goals are. If you are after certification then clearly CoC is the way to go but if you are introducing yourself to the world of grippers I don't thing HG's will hurt. I only own 2 grippers at the point, a HG200 and a 250. Once I have dominated the 250 I'll probably move onto a CoC #2. I think HG's are a cheaper way of getting into it, deciding if its what you want and progressing. Once you're happy with what you're doing you could probably move onto something of a higher quality.

If you're not interested in certification, just building your hand strength, I can't see any reason why you couldn't just stick to HG's

Good luck

[Magnus]

To sum it up, if you want something cheap to get started with for now, the HG's will do alright. If you want something high quality, get one of the others.

Edited October 2, 2008 by Magnus

[Obscenic]

If you're not interested in certification, just building your hand strength, I can't see any reason why you couldn't just stick to HG's

Yar, certification is a long-term goal. At the moment building hand strength is priority number one. Most everything I read is pointing to just get the HGs, but I don't want to leave any stones unturned. Looks like they have a package of 6 grippers 100-350 for 70$. Doesn't seem like a bad deal at all. But again, I like to compare pros and cons of anything before I go all out

[Magnus]

If you're not interested in certification, just building your hand strength, I can't see any reason why you couldn't just stick to HG's

Yar, certification is a long-term goal. At the moment building hand strength is priority number one. Most everything I read is pointing to just get the HGs, but I don't want to leave any stones unturned. Looks like they have a package of 6 grippers 100-350 for 70$. Doesn't seem like a bad deal at all. But again, I like to compare pros and cons of anything before I go all out

From armwrestlingtables from ebay, and you can get the 6 for $60 w/ free shipping. That's where I got them.

Although, I assumed you were only gonna get 1 or 2. If you're willing to spend that much, you might as well just get some (albeit fewer) CoC's or Tettings. For that much, you can get about 3 CoCs or Bbs. For instance, if you go to nutritiongeeks.com, you can get three T-series grippers (same exact thing as Beefbuilders) for under $70 including shipping, and you'll get some pay-it-forward credit from that as well.

Edited October 2, 2008 by Magnus

[abagh89]

If you're not interested in certification, just building your hand strength, I can't see any reason why you couldn't just stick to HG's

Yar, certification is a long-term goal. At the moment building hand strength is priority number one. Most everything I read is pointing to just get the HGs, but I don't want to leave any stones unturned. Looks like they have a package of 6 grippers 100-350 for 70$. Doesn't seem like a bad deal at all. But again, I like to compare pros and cons of anything before I go all out

if certification is your long-term goal then get the coc's. you cant compare your hg 200 as equaling a coc number 2. the Hgs vary all over the place. Buy the cocs first then (since you said you might get them all eventually) later buy the other company's grippers as stepping stones. have fun with your training. Dont get to hung up on this kind of stuff. any gripper you buy, it will serve its purpose for building hand strength and it will become your new addiction

[endymion88]

do it right the first time and get coc's spend an extra 10 dollars per gripper and get something that will last i did have hg's and just upgraded to a vulcan and cocs and i'll tell u the feel of the coc is night and day from a hg. spend the extra money and do it right the first time because there is no point in coming back to buy coc's later on and spending even more money when you could do it the first time because you will come back to get them...grippers are addicting.

[Magnus]

do it right the first time and get coc's spend an extra 10 dollars per gripper and get something that will last i did have hg's and just upgraded to a vulcan and cocs and i'll tell u the feel of the coc is night and day from a hg. spend the extra money and do it right the first time because there is no point in coming back to buy coc's later on and spending even more money when you could do it the first time because you will come back to get them...grippers are addicting.

He's right. I assumed he was going way on the cheap, but since he's willing to pay for a full set of HG's, he's way better off going with CoCs or Bbs right from the get-go.

[foxyj75]

I agree with everybody's points about the HG's, and in my 100-350 set I experienced a little of it all; different knurling, crazy wide spreads, unevenly set handles, and one of the biggest things is that the heavier(300/350) HG's are crazy hard to set because unlike a quality gripper, which gets progressively harder the closer the handles get, the HG's are the same strength throughout the whole range of travel. Couple that with a WIDE spread, and it's just no fun. Because of this, I rarely ever use mine. Get the IM's, BB, or something else quality; you won't regret it, and it'll be much more enjoyable.

[Bob Lipinski]

I have had different experiences, and I know some of the above guys to be reliable sources.

If you aren't sure you'll be into this whole grip thing, maybe the heavygrips would be the best buy. If you go nutty for the grippers, it won't be money wasted.

I've used a few of the heavygrips in my training regularly for the last 5+ years, just because they happen to fit certain holes in my collection. They have held up.

[Obscenic]

Well, it may definitely seem like I'm being cheap. But allow me to explain. It was the very act of saving money that got me into grip strength in the first place.

Ya see, Hurricane Ike hit. No damage to the house, but it did take down four trees on the property. 2 were completely uprooted, and the other 2 snapped off around 15 feet up or so. Oak trees, by the way. Big ones. Soon after, all of these tree removal crews were cruising around, offering to take away the trees and limbs for insane prices. I'm talkin' the best offer I got was around $1800. Well, I've always been a believer that hard work and effort = results, so I figured I could just do it my self to save money and get some exercise in the process. And I did.

I completely delimbed and bucked the entire trees with a chainsaw, but that was only the beginning. I drug the limbs to the front, as many as I could at a time. After that came the logs, getting increasingly bigger towards the base of the tree. I loaded all of them by hand and hauled them with a wheelbarrow. When they got to big to fit in the wheelbarrow (a lot were bigger than the wheelbarrow lol), I rolled them. Some were to awkward to roll (oddly shaped, where the tree forked, etc), so I flipped them. The big ones I rolled up a ramp onto a platform for future firewood, and then stacked all the medium and smaller ones on top.

So after days of loading, hauling, dragging, rolling, and flipping I finally got to rest. Afterwards I felt a strength in my hands I never felt before. It was totally awesome. Like I had superpowers or something (cheesy I know). So I figured why stop there, I really like it. A lot.

Bottom line is, maybe I'm taking the whole "frugal" thing to far. I guess just because I discovered grip strength by saving money, doesn't mean I should save money to improve my grip. At this point I'll probably go with the CoCs, if anything to see where I fall in the "gold standard" as Dr. Strossen calls it. Not to mention the quality you all say they have. Thanks for all the advice.

- Obscenic

[lloyd80s]

IMHO you can't beat COCs or BBs. Both are great. HG's are cheap but quality isn't anywhere near that of COCs or BBs. Many like RB's but I don't, they feel to spongy to me.

Get cocs or BBs and you will be happy.

[aquilonian]

Well, it may definitely seem like I'm being cheap. But allow me to explain. It was the very act of saving money that got me into grip strength in the first place.

Ya see, Hurricane Ike hit. No damage to the house, but it did take down four trees on the property. 2 were completely uprooted, and the other 2 snapped off around 15 feet up or so. Oak trees, by the way. Big ones. Soon after, all of these tree removal crews were cruising around, offering to take away the trees and limbs for insane prices. I'm talkin' the best offer I got was around $1800. Well, I've always been a believer that hard work and effort = results, so I figured I could just do it my self to save money and get some exercise in the process. And I did.

I completely delimbed and bucked the entire trees with a chainsaw, but that was only the beginning. I drug the limbs to the front, as many as I could at a time. After that came the logs, getting increasingly bigger towards the base of the tree. I loaded all of them by hand and hauled them with a wheelbarrow. When they got to big to fit in the wheelbarrow (a lot were bigger than the wheelbarrow lol), I rolled them. Some were to awkward to roll (oddly shaped, where the tree forked, etc), so I flipped them. The big ones I rolled up a ramp onto a platform for future firewood, and then stacked all the medium and smaller ones on top.

So after days of loading, hauling, dragging, rolling, and flipping I finally got to rest. Afterwards I felt a strength in my hands I never felt before. It was totally awesome. Like I had superpowers or something (cheesy I know). So I figured why stop there, I really like it. A lot.

Bottom line is, maybe I'm taking the whole "frugal" thing to far. I guess just because I discovered grip strength by saving money, doesn't mean I should save money to improve my grip. At this point I'll probably go with the CoCs, if anything to see where I fall in the "gold standard" as Dr. Strossen calls it. Not to mention the quality you all say they have. Thanks for all the advice.

- Obscenic

I can appreciate yankee frugality.

You want a gripper on the cheap then what are you waiting for? THIS BOARD has a for sale section. Those are the best deals on grippers. You can find coc for $18 shipped often. Give the guys on the board a try they are great.

[blueviper42]

Just something else to address, but is $10 more really going to make that much of a difference on something you will be using longterm? Lets just say you grip train for a year (low estimate). Is $10 more really going to add that much of a burden on you? That is less than 2 hours more work on minimum wage. Your decision, but still. It's kind of ridiculous to sacrifice that much quality for $10 when you are talking about a one time investment (most likely) on something to last several years.

[Obscenic]

It's kind of ridiculous to sacrifice that much quality for $10 when you are talking about a one time investment (most likely) on something to last several years.

In my defense, I came here not knowing how much quality I would be sacrificing for the lower price. I do now, though. In light of that, I've decided on CoC, so thanks everyone for the input.

-Obscenic

[blueviper42]

I wasn't meaning to come off negative, sorry if it came across like that. Personally, I've never even used a HG, so I don't know personally how much different they would be, that's just coming from others responses.