| Heavy Grips Hand Grippers |
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T-Jack Admin
Moderator
Join date: May 2004
Location:
Posts: 118
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Heavy Grips are hand grippers on steroids! They have aluminum handles and are made in 50lb increments from 100 to 300lbs. To learn more about them, visit heavygrips.com.
The reviews are in! See below!
Try It - Review It - Keep it!
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Harley695
Level 4
Join date: Oct 2002
Location: Ohio, USA
Posts: 28
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| Pro's: | After going www.heavygrips.com and doing some looking around, I have some general pros about the Heavy Grips Grippers.
-Each gripper is tested to be within a tolerance of +/- 5 lbs before being package.
-Heavy Sports offers a No Hassle Return Policy on the Heavy Grips. You can return your gripper within two weeks for a full refund minus shipping. You need to save the gripper's packaging, no packaging no refund.
-If you over or under estimated your grip strength, you can return your gripper for another model for a $6.00 restocking and shipping fee.
-The Heavy Grips Grippers have a Lifetime Warranty. The company will replace free of charge any gripper that broke during normal usage or because of a manufacturer defect.
-The price of the grippers. Though Heavy Grips are about the same price as comparable grippers, Heavy Sports offers package deals on "Two Gripper Combos" and all five grippers. Giving you a $5.00 or $30.00 savings.
Now the Pros for the Heavy Grips 100 and 200.
-COMFORTABLE HANDLES: The knurling on the handles of the Heavy Grips is not overly sharp. This initially was going to be a con, but after four days of use my hands are tired, not torn up. I would suggest using a little chalk if you have sweaty plams.
-NARROWER HANDLE STANCE: The new narrower handle stance allowed me to start gripping with more of my fingers on the handle. This made closing the grippers one smooth motion. I have used grippers with a wider stance that require me to squeeze a little to adjust my grip and then close the gripper. Also, my wife was able to use the HG 100 because of the narrower handles.
-GRADUAL STRENGTH LEVELS: The Heavy Grips start at 100 lbs to close the gripper and go up to 300 lbs in 50 lbs increments, offering you more grip work options. | | Con's: | | For myself, there are no cons for the Heavy Grips Grippers. You get exactly what you paid for if you purchase one of these grippers. You get a piece of equipment that allows you to effectively train your crushing/gripping strength. | | Which two grippers did you get (what resistance levels?) | Heavy Grips 100
Heavy Grips 200 | | How was the workmanship and overall quality? | The quality was good. There was nothing that would hamper the use of the grippers.
There was one cosmetic problem I had. At the top of the handles the adhesive holding in the springs has come out and dried around the springs. Perhaps I'm obsessive compulsive, but I keep scratching at the adhesive trying to get it off. | | How did you test/use the grippers? | | I used the grippers everyday since I received them. I did high rep sets with the HG100, max rep sets with the HG200, closed holds for time with both, and incorporated both into a grip/forearm workout. | | Would you recommend T-Nation citizens pick up some Heavy Hands grippers? | | Yes | Overall rating:  | | Comments: | I had a lot of fun reviewing these grippers. Out of the box I was able to close the HG200 four times and with a warm up on the HG100 I could close it eight times. Though I could close the HG200 it was still tough. Therefore, I took the grippers to my office the next day and challenged people to close the HG200. By the end of the day only the 6'8" Czech in my office could close the gripper.
As for which gripper to start with, I think you can gauge your grip strength by how many pull-ups you can do. I weigh 260 lbs and can do 8 pull-ups without straps, and I am able to close the HG200 eight times (for now).
Perhaps the amount of body weight or weighted pull ups you can do is related to which gripper you can close. I think everyone should have an HG100 or HG150 for warm ups.
I really like the Heavy Grips Hand Grippers. They definitely have found a home in my gym bag and will be used during my grip workouts. I'm planning on buying the rest of the grippers unless T-Mag or T-Jack see fit to have me review them. | |
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rredburn
Level 4
Join date: Oct 2002
Location: District of Columbia, USA
Posts: 3
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| Pro's: | -Easy to hold and "grip", don't easily slip out of your hand like other models.
-Durable. Strong aluminum handles with a hard covered material over the springs. They seem impossible to damage.
-Comes in 50lb pressure increments which makes it easy to work up to the next level.
-Makes it much easier to increase grip strength than trying to workout without straps. By using these, the rest of your workout doesn't have to suffer.
-Easy to store and travel. | | Con's: | | -There aren't really any cons for this product if you are looking for something that will increase your grip strength. | | How did you test/use the grippers? | | Used method recommended on the package, several sets of low reps 2-3 times per week. | | How was the workmanship and overall quality? | | Excellent. | | Which two grippers did you get (what resistance levels?) | | 200lb and 300lb | | Would you recommend T-Nation citizens pick up some Heavy Hands grippers? | | Yes | | Overall rating: | | Comments: | While I personally do not have a crazy need to increase my grip strength, the overall feel of this product peaked my interest in doing so.
I only had a few days to test the product, so I cannot say that the product will definitely help you increase your grip strength, but I can say that by following the recommended workout provided on the packaging, I got my hand and forearm fairly sore.
Compared to the other grippers that I have seen, this product has a better feel and seems much more durable.
Heavygrips.com states that the average person should be able to close the 100lb gripper easily, but have difficulty closing the 200lb one for reps. I've been working out for over 10 years and could not close the 200lb gripper more than 1 time, and barely could move the 300lb one. The same results were achieved with several others that I had try the product.
They do mention that training with partial reps is fine and will still help, and if purchased online you can exchange the gripper for $6, which covers shipping.
My rating of 5 for this product is based on my belief that it is top quality and will do what it is designed to do.
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ChrisPowers
Level 4
Join date: Apr 2003
Location: New Jersey, USA
Posts: 446
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| Pro's: | 1. Serious resistance for grip training.
2. Variety of models available to accommodate most training levels.
3. Sturdy construction.
4. Chromed handles with appropriate knurling.
5. Rust-resistant springs.
6. Lifetime warranty (unless you felt the need to replace your car's suspension with them, in which case you're $#!+ out of luck [on top of being a moron]).
7. Low price (especially considering you really only need two or so for a good workout). | | Con's: | 1. Recent re-sizing of grippers to accommodate small hands makes them slightly weaker for big-handed dudes. Why not offer both sizes, fellas?
2. Grippers appear to gradually weaken over time with use (although I would have liked some more time with them to verify that this is true, and to what extent). | | Which two grippers did you get (what resistance levels?) | HG-150
HG-300 | | How was the workmanship and overall quality? | | These aren't your granny's hand grippers. They're solid and rigid to the point of feeling like they were chiseled out of a solid piece of metal. The springs are coated to resist rusting, the handles are adequately knurled, built from hard aluminum, and chrome finished for a nice feel and shine. The model number (and hence strength) of each gripper if printed on the inside of each handle for easy identification. | | How did you test/use the grippers? | | To test the grippers, I basically just worked them into my training routine, trying my best to perform five sets of five reps on the HG-150. I also showed them to a few friends, including a barrel-chested co-worker who's notorious for crushing the hands of lesser men until they've fallen to their knees in submission. No one was able to close the HG-300, but my co-worker probably came the closest, doing so to within about 1/4th of an inch. We did notice that both models seemed to get slightly easier to close as more and more people gave them a go. I can't say for sure whether there is simply an initial tightness that needs to be overcome before the grippers settle into their permanent resistance, or if they will continue to gradually weaken the more they are used. Only time will tell. | | Would you recommend T-Nation citizens pick up some Heavy Hands grippers? | | Yes | | Overall rating: | | Comments: | Quoth the heavygrips.com FAQ:
"The HeavyGrip(HG)100 is mostly used as a warm-up gripper or for grip beginners. We recommend this gripper for females, young athletes and people with a weak grip."
If ever a statement were more capable of so severely bruising the male ego (specifically MY ego), I've yet to see it.
Courtesy of the generous crew over at T-Nation, I was sent an HG-150 (150lbs of pressure to close) and an HG-300 (300lbs of pressure to close), and if it takes someone with merely an above-average grip to train with the 150lb model, I'd hate to cross the Popeye-forearmed freak who uses the 300-pounder for reps.
Yeah, sure, I could squeeze out maybe FIVE on the HG-150 before my forearms cramp, knuckles explode, and blood spews from my eyes in a fine mist. Not since that infomercial for the automatic citrus fruit slicer where a woman is actually physically bested by a juicy vengeful grapefruit, her dress torn and hair knotted, has a person been so thoroughly put into his place by an inanimate object. I did note, however, that the boys over at heavygrips.com state that as of February 2004, they've "narrowed the gripper stance of each gripper which makes the gripper easier to grip for users with smaller hands, but at the same time, the grippers don't seem quite as tough for users with a larger hand." And since my HG-150 does possess a much larger width than its 300lb counterpart, I'm going to go ahead and assume, for the sake of my ego, that I was sent a pre-February version of this gripper.
My laughable weakness aside, the bottom line is this: if a strong grip is what you're after, then there's probably no better way to train it than by actually gripping against resistance. And if 100 reps on the 40lb plastic "fitness gripper" you picked up at Modell's isn't quite cutting it anymore, then there's no good reason not to graduate to the next level of grippers and start training with some real resistance. If you're of the school that heavy, low rep training is the best way to gain strength, then it should simply be a matter of doing the math. Forty pounds of resistance ain't heavy; three-hundred pounds of resistance is.
I was impressed by the quality and workmanship of the Heavy Grips Hand Grippers, and I recommend them without reservation. For the budget conscious, I would suggest picking up a 150lb model if you can find it, then deciding on either the 100lb or 200lb model depending on how easily you're able to close the 150. Otherwise, go pick up the whole set of five (100lbs - 300lbs in 50lb increments) for just $70 and you should be crushing walnuts into powder in no time.
By the way, for you grip enthusiasts and phone-book-ripping monsters out there who scoff at the notion of a paltry 300lbs of resistance, heavysports.com will be producing 200 limited edition HG-500s later this year (that's right 500lbs of pressure to close), as well as a $500 "reward" for the first person to actually close one. If this sort of thing truly interests you, then I should probably shake your hand...but you'll have to settle for a slap on the back. | |
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Thad
Level 3
Join date: Sep 2003
Location: Arizona, USA
Posts: 258
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| Pro's: | -A very convenient way to train your grip just about anywhere.
-The ability to go up in increments of 50lb unlike others that go up by 100lb, which is a great benefit when it comes to moving to the next size up.
-A virtually injury free way to make something stronger.
-Making "Joe Cool" in the Gym look like a fool when the veins are popping out in his head and he still can't close that gripper and you can. | | Con's: | | -Hand size seems to make a difference; the people with larger hands did much better as a whole. | | How did you test/use the grippers? | I work in a gym and go to another more "hard core" gym so I decided to test these out by having a wide variety of people give them a try and out of 15 male gym-goers in the gym I work at, no one could even close the 150lb. At the more hardcore gym 3 could close the 150lb and there was only 1 person that could close the 250lb (A bodybuilder with very large hands).
As for me, I can close the 150lb with my right hand and come within a an inch on my left. The training program I used because of the short time for the review was 3 sets of 3 twice a day. From my experience, I would recommend to train with low reps and low sets because your grip will fail very fast. The interesting thing is that it recovers fast also. | | How was the workmanship and overall quality? | | Overall workmanships was great, on the 150lb gripper the spring was tarnished (not that anyone would care). On the companies web site they did say they now do a new coating system. | | Which two grippers did you get (what resistance levels?) | | 150lb and 250lb | | Would you recommend T-Nation citizens pick up some Heavy Hands grippers? | | Yes | | Overall rating: | | Comments: | I could have played with them a lot more but one of the things I noticed is that after a few good tries your grip just gets worse and your forearms are shot. I knew I had only a few days to review them so I wanted to pace myself. I also noticed that missing by an inch is a big deal because it is increasingly harder the closer you get to closing it. I also checked out the website at www.heavygrips.com and found a few things very interesting. First they say that most strong people can do reps with the HG 150-"Intermediate" and considering myself a strong person, these reps were not happening for me yet.
Second they have a prototype of a 500lb gripper that if anyone can close they will give you $500. What was surprising is that the closest person yet to accomplish this is a bodybuilder (Gunter Schlierkamp).
The phrase "You're only as strong as your weakest link" came to mind when I was training with these. For me as a bodybuilder I can use straps when the lifts get heavy. Is this a bad thing? That will always be a debate... For a Powerlifter or Strongman, grip strength is essential and these would definitely be something you would want to own. As for myself, I don't like the thought of anything being weak and with the convenience of these at my desk I can work on not having a weak link. | |
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Level 0
Join date: Jun 2004
Location: Nebraska, USA
Posts: 14
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| Pro's: | Let me start by letting everyone know that the two grippers that I recieved were the "100" and the "250". Now as you can see that is quite a jump but not all that bad. The 100 was very easy to close for reps. My wife was even almost able to close it. It will be a great warm-up and training tool. Now, the 250 is a different story. I jumped from the 100 feeling very strong and was then humbled by the 250. I have since gotten it closed but only barely. This one will be a good challange for some time to come. I took them both to a couple of friends of mine that compete in the Scottish Highland Games with me and also have done some USAWA odd lifting events. Between the three of us we have about 45 years of lifting/trainging experience. We all own or have tried the Captains of Crush grippers and as so have a good basis to compare the Heavy Grips. I hope that instills a little faith in this review. I won't have as many things to write on as the clubbell and Ironwoody bands guys, I'm sure, due to the fact that there is only one application for my T-Jack product but the three of us all gave them a good try and these are the pros as follows:
1) They go up by 50lbs increments, a plus over the COCs. The COCs seem to make very big jumps from one gripper to the next. It's obviously impossible to tell but we all thought that the 250 was between the #2 and #3 of the COCs. It seems that the Heavy Grips grippers would be worth getting for the in between weights at least.
2) They come in different sizes. For those of you with small hands, I'll fight off the urge to make jokes, this is very nice. One of the guys that tried these out can pinch grip the middle of an old York 45lbs plate, lift it and walk around with it but he has a hard time with all of the grippers due to the size of his hands. He was sold on Heavy Grips as soon as he heard they come is a smaller size.
3) Very well constructed. In the few days we had these we "mashed" them quite a few times. They looked no worse for the wear but, more importantly, even after being closed many times they didn't seem to get any easier. This way the 250 that you buy, stays 250. Not 220....ish.
4) Great costomer support. Everywhere I turned there was someone making sure that I was happy with this product. From the email I got from the makers of the grippers themselves, offering any help they could give, to the numbers and email address given for help in the future. Plus, listen to this. Say you order the 100 thinking that you have a girly grip like my wife's. After getting it, you open it up and crush it like a tin can. You can then contact them and let them know that it was easier than you had thought it would be and they will exchange it and send you a different one for only the cost of shipping. Now, if you are new to grip training (or you think you're tougher than you really are) this is an indispensable service. | | Con's: | Without cold there can be no warmth, without dark there can be no light and without cons there can be no pros. So I must report the bad to you all.
Now, I feel bad writing anything in this section due to the fact that Heavy Grips was kind enough to offer up their product (for free!) but I would be doing all my T-Nation neighbors a disservice if I left the cons portion out. The cons are as follows:
1) They need more knurling. Although they do have some it seemed like the grippers slipped a little to much for my liking. It was a real problem when going for reps and I could see it also being a problem when someone was trying to close the tougher grippers. A little chalk took care of most of that problem but not quite all of it.
2) I only got two of them for free. There really is not anything else for me to complain about. Which is why I wish I had gotten a whole set.
| | How did you test/use the grippers? | | Myself and two of my friends practiced closing them. | | How was the workmanship and overall quality? | | Very good | | Which two grippers did you get (what resistance levels?) | | 100 & 250 | | Would you recommend T-Nation citizens pick up some Heavy Hands grippers? | | Yes | Overall rating:  | | Comments: | To finalize, these grippers are a quality product! As you can see I had little to complain about but much praise to give. For those that are new to grippers, I would get started with these. For those of you like me, who are veteran Captains of Crush trainees, let me say this: you may not want to "convert" but the 150 and 250 would make great in-between grippers if you are trying to go from the #1 to #2 or the #2 to #3.
Any way you look at it, no matter who you are, these guys at Heavy Grips have got something for you.
Thanks again Heavy Grips and T-Mag!
TP190 | |
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Chris Shugart
Editor / V-Diet Author
Join date: Oct 2002
Location:
Posts: 10103
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I have all five models. The 250 and 300 taunt me.
I like the Ironmind models too, but they became "squeaky" after a lot of use. So far, the Heavy Grips haven't. |
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Harley695
Level 4
Join date: Oct 2002
Location: Ohio, USA
Posts: 28
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I e-mailed Bill Morrison of Heavy Sports and he mentioned possibly covering the handles with a rubber substance. I like the soft knurling on the Heavy Grips but needed to use chalk when I used the grippers as part of a grip workout. As long as the rubber covering was not "squishy", I think this would still offer a comfortable handle and be less slick in a sweaty palm situation.
Chris, how close did you get to closing the 250? |
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bikeboy
Level 0
Join date: Jan 2004
Location: England
Posts: 197
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Chris, my ironmind grippers went squeaky after alot of use. a single drop of silicone oil on the spring sorted this out. |
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mg6680
Level 0
Join date: Nov 2002
Location:
Posts: 1
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I have the 250 and 300. Good quality grippers for the price. Although one of the handles on my HG250 is set about 1/4" deeper than the other. I was able to close the 250 out of the box (not the 300). Currently I'm up to 5 reps on the 300. I would rate the 300 a pretty easy #3 (an older one). The newest #3 I have is much harder. The HG gripper springs seem to season pretty fast too. All and all pretty nice grippers. |
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rn
Level 0
Join date: Aug 2004
Location:
Posts: 3
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I do a lot of grip training.
I'm close to closing the #3 Iron Mind gripper and I'd like to see if this is harder.
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