MAG The life span of grips?

[momto2js]

My son has had this set of High Bar grips for 2 years. His hands haven't really grown, but I am thinking before the summer camp season he should start to break in a new pair "just in case". How long have grips lived for your son??

 

[Popcorn]

I just realized, because of this post, that my son just competed his third season in the same pair of ring and high bar grips. Which is amazing mostly because they have been lost and found over and over again

He started on the smallest pair and had room to grow, but they've definitely held up way better than any pair of shoes or soccer ball or other sporting equipment.

 

[skschlag]

When they are younger and smaller, they tend to last longer. NEver a bad idea to have a backup pair, but honestly, they could outgrow the backups before they use them. D goes through a pair about every 6-9 months now

 

[l.c.o]

My DS just recently got fitted for grips, so I can't give you a direct comparison. BUT my DD's first pair of grips had a failure at just about 18mos (mid-routine at a competition ), and the pair that replaced it is now nearing that same age. I bought a new pair as backups about four months ago, and DD is now starting to break them in (coach had DD wait until end of season). They definitely were in need of replacement.

I think I've heard that the bigger the kid and/or the more difficult the skills, the more quickly they need to be replaced. It also depends on the type of grip and the leather. A backup pair, at minimum, would probably be a great idea at this point.

Don't be scared to have your DS ask his coach to check his grips for fit/wear if they don't do regular grip checks.

 

[gymmomx2]

My son is closing in on 2 years with his current rings and HB grips. We are planning to buy him new grips this summer, he has grown a lot and could use a backup pair. The current ones are still in good shape.

My daughter is closing in on 3 years with her grips I got her coach to examine them and she said they are still fine. She is very small and light, I think that makes a difference. All her teammates replaced theirs after 2 years (some of them had ripped leather - yikes!). She does have a backup pair but she says they are too big and she only wears them once in a while to break them in doing kips.

 

[MyBoysFlip]

Two years here for both types - but he is getting new ones before the summer whether he wants them or not!

 

[skschlag]

ah.. I miss the days of 2 years on grips. I bought grips in hb grips in october and april. Now he needs new rings groups..which I replaced in June. At least we are close to a year on those.

And that is a good point...rings grips tend to last longer, and you don't necessarily need backups... We just buy backups when primaries are getting close.

 

[samsmama]

DS has had the same rings grips for two years. Once they are doing giants, his coach wants high bar grips replaced every year. I expect DS will need replacements for both before the next season.

 

[profmom]

Hey, all of you with littler/lighter guys -- if your boy has had the grips for two full seasons, have the coach check the fit right away to make sure he doesn't need new ones. This is particularly important if your kid HASN'T grown much, as grips can stretch. That's when the high bar ones get dangerous.

 

[skschlag]

Good point prof D is in a 2 on hb (1 for most things but in the ones he likes, he is a 2). I jsut ordered him a 3, and they fit exactly the same.

 

[flash]

By the time they are eligible for nationals, I would say that you should always have a back up. I've seen several kids have grips break during competitions. You certainly don't want that to happen at nationals.

 

[krc]

Simple test - If you can touch leather to leather while holding the bar - GET NEW GRIPS!!! Do not wait till next week.

 

[momto2js]

I texted the coach to have him look and make a size recommendation. They look like they are in good shape. He is 60 lbs and just started swinging giants, so I'm thinking it is about time.

 

[rosiekat]

You're supposed to wait till coach says to get grips, right? Ours have begun training giants some over the last couple of months, but not regularly yet. (Our season just ended Sunday, now they'll kick into the L6 stuff.) We're kind of in coach limbo right now, so I'm just making sure I'm not the one clueless mom out there or anything.

 

[momto2js]

I can't imagine my doing giants without grips. I would ask. The coaching search is no fun!! BTDT many times!

 

[DADGYMDAD]

My daughter is a tiny girl. Will be 8 this week-end. As been doing giants with no help since she was 7ishhhh. Without grips. Of course, it's not the metal bar like men's bar but she can do a complete level 7 without any grips. Coach is getting grips slowly once or twice a week but only for a short time. It changes her form as she is more in control without grips.

 

[Sasha]

My son is 9.5, 72 lbs, and he has competed in the same grips for 3 seasons, and is still wearing them now into the off-season. He wears Reisport Hyper ProTec Elite, which is a pretty thick leather than is supposed to stretch less. I do not know if this is actually true - only that it is advertised that way, and grips were recommended to us by original coach as a long-lasting grip. Grips do not appear to have 'worn' all that much, but I am not an expert here. Could have stretched and I just can't tell. He repeatedly tells me they still feel 'perfect' when I question. He does have a back up pair of both rings and high bar grips, though, just in case, which he has not even tried on yet. His hands have grown a bit, but he was on the small end of the hand-measurement chart for the grip sizing when starting out with these, so definitely not outgrowing the size yet.

And as others have replied, I have also been warned by many parents of older/heavier boys to enjoy these early years of grips lasting more than a year While watching practices I have witnessed several moments when an older boy's grips broke in the middle of a skill. One more scary thing about gymnastics (as if we needed another while watching high level men's gym!)

 

[rosiekat]

Hmm, guess I'll ask. I'd just as soon him not have them yet if it's an optional thing, since he'll just lose them. But, high bar is his favorite and best, so if they tell him in, oh, December to get some, it could mess him up big time. (Even in preschool, he was climbing on the seesaw and jumping to this one tree branch and using it as a bar...) I'd better warn DH of the sooner-or-later added expense!

 

[sce]

Hmm, guess I'll ask. I'd just as soon him not have them yet if it's an optional thing, since he'll just lose them. But, high bar is his favorite and best, so if they tell him in, oh, December to get some, it could mess him up big time. (Even in preschool, he was climbing on the seesaw and jumping to this one tree branch and using it as a bar...) I'd better warn DH of the sooner-or-later added expense!

It does seem different coaches have different philosophies on boys getting grips. Ours recommend them at level 5. As for losing them: Does he have a cubby to keep things n at the gym? My ds has a grip bag, and the grips go in the bag and into the cubby every time eh uses them. If a boy leaves them out, coach finds them and makes them do something to earn them back. (quickly reinforces not leaving them out.) The only time they leave the gym is for meets. When he was younger I made him double check before leaving each meet, to b3 sure he had them. They cost a lot, are not quick to replace and take time to break-in, so losing them would be very painful.

 

[profmom]

My guy got grips at L5 as well, but they started out with girls' uneven bar grips and only transitioned into separate rings/high bar grips when their hands were bigger and they were doing giants and bigger swinging skills on rings. I do think it's worthwhile getting them well before the comp season when the time comes. Some guys take to them readily, but my son had a couple of teammates who had all kinds of trouble adjusting to the feel.

At his first L5 meet, two of his teammates forgot their grips. I don't think they've done it since. Their then-coach had a rule that if they forgot to bring their grips back to the gym after the meet, they owed him ten rope climbs. That was not a problem after the first few meets!