MAG grips question

[rosiekat]

So DS (8, just starting L6) has now been told he needs grips for high bar and pbars. His coach is a nice guy but is the interim coach as well as gym owner, so he's really busy and I feel like it's tough to catch him. What can y'all tell me - recommendations for brands, styles, etc.? I know enough via DS that he needs 3 holes for high bar and 2 for pbars, but that's about it. (And I know they have to be sized, I'm not too worried there as DS has pretty big hands for his age/height, so I'm sure something will fit him.) He's about 68 pounds right now, but he does a pretty energetic high bar - don't know if that makes any particular difference. I will catch the coach at some point, but I want to be able to limit my questions for him. Thanks! (Oh, and I did check the past posts, but since the newest seemed about 2 years old, figured I'd see if there was anything more current.)

 

[skschlag]

So, first...he need grips for rings and high bar... rings is 2 holes, hb is 3.

D likes hambuchen but they are hard to get. Now he is using Reisport.

 

[l.c.o]

My DS insisted on reisport because that's what two of his teammates had recently gotten... because "they look cool".

He's pretty short for his age (10) with smallish hands, and his hands are just large enough that the ring grips aren't unsafe. They seem to run a bit larger than the high bar grips. That or they start at a larger size - don't remember He's just a bit heavier than your DS (70-75lb range).

 

[rosiekat]

So in just looking around online, it looks like the Reisport double buckle ring grips start at a larger size than the double buckle high bar grips. (You can get the Velcro ring grips, though.) And it kind of looks like this may be a fairly moot point - after measuring him, it looks like about the only in-stock grips that I see are the Reisport and another one (maybe US Grip or something?) that wasn't recommended for smaller/newer to grip kids. His hands aren't tiny but he's still an x-small for the Reisport (according to their charts). He is (unfortunately) fairly close to the next size up, but I'm not going to push it. I think I'll be able to narrow my questions down for the coach now - I just didn't know where to begin! More feedback is definitely welcome, though!

 

[Madden3]

I suggest, try to talk to the coach before making this purchase. Some coaches are pretty opinionated about grips. Also, I always ask the coach to tell me what size to get.

My boys have always used velcro grips without any problem, their coach is fine with them, and both boys have said they would not like buckle grips. Occasionally the velcro needs to be cleaned with a wire brush to remove pit jam.

Up to this point both boys have used Reisports as these are what have been sold in the gym shop. As far as I can tell, they work fine and last a long time. But according to the coach, they stretch out too fast. (The leather.)

My older Ds just got Turn grips for Rings and he likes them much better. He says they have a more comfortable wrist band than the Reisport. We ordered online from Turn-gymnastics, the order came quickly and as ordered, shipping was reasonable.

According to my sons (so I assume according to their coach) the best grips in the world are Reichelsport, but they can take many months to get.

 

[Sasha]

Most of our boys use Reisport. My son likes the velcro. He is 9, but got them when he was 7. Still using same pair. He must have huge hands because he has worn size 1 in both rings and high bar grips since he got them and we measured very carefully. He is 70 lbs (was probably 60 lbs when he first got them).

I recently bought a replacement pair (not used yet, but at the ready!) and wanted to try Turn, but kiddo said no way is he changing from what he likes. Oh well!

 

[MrsAnderson]

My son has hambuchen for HB and reisport for rings (didn't want to wait on the rings). His coach measured his hands for us. He has a size 0 and he is quite large for a barely 9 year old :/
His coach said to go for Velcro because he will prob outgrow them before the Velcro stops sticking and he doesn't have time to wait for a bunch of 8-10 year old boys to do up buckle grips, they'd never get to actually do bars!
He got them when he was level 5 and weighed about 75lbs.

 

[samsmama]

DS also uses Reisport for both HB and rings -- when he needed them, it was the only readily available brand that came in size 00 (he was 8 and starting L5 when he got them). 2 years later, he's still on 00, but we replaced the high bar grips last summer. His coach would prefer buckles, but until his hands grow more, he's stuck with the velcro. I have a lovely pair of Hambuchen size 0 HB grips just sitting in the closet waiting. Maybe this season!

 

[profmom]

My son's coach is very firm on buckle grips. Velcro, he says, is unsafe because it wears and can come loose when it clogs with chalk. Velcro is OK in addition to buckles, but the buckles must be there for safety. I would not recommend going with the Hambuchens until you have a big guy doing releases -- they are very expensive and always back ordered. We have had much satisfaction with Reisport Hyper Protecs -- they break in easily and last a long time. My kid is not very heavy, but he is doing giants and yamawakis on rings and releases on high bar, and the grips have held up well.

 

[MrsAnderson]

Most of our boys use Reisport. My son likes the velcro. He is 9, but got them when he was 7. Still using same pair. He must have huge hands because he has worn size 1 in both rings and high bar grips since he got them and we measured very carefully. He is 70 lbs (was probably 60 lbs when he first got them).

I recently bought a replacement pair (not used yet, but at the ready!) and wanted to try Turn, but kiddo said no way is he changing from what he likes. Oh well!

I don't often find kids with bigger hands and feet than my 9 year old
Glad to know he isn't the only puppy [emoji190] out there!

 

[profmom]

I have one too -- when he was moved into separate rings/high bar grips a few years ago, he tried out a pair from a teammate who was literally more than a foot taller than him. They were a perfect fit. (He will turn 14 on his next birthday and on a good day weighs around 83 pounds soaking wet.)

 

[skschlag]

D does not like the way buckles feel. He says they don't feel like they get tight enough.

D LOVES the Hambuchens. But I would need to place a standing order at this point. With his size and what he does on HB, it is about every 6-8 months, and that is about their backorder time.

Should probably order another pair...lol

 

[Sasha]

I have one too -- when he was moved into separate rings/high bar grips a few years ago, he tried out a pair from a teammate who was literally more than a foot taller than him. They were a perfect fit. (He will turn 14 on his next birthday and on a good day weighs around 83 pounds soaking wet.)

LOL! We had a similar experience when a TM, also literally a foot taller, tried my little dude's grips and they were too big for him. LOL

All my children should be playing the contrabassoon, apparently.

 

[rosiekat]

Apparently the coach doesn't particularly care what he gets, so I had DS check with a couple of his older guy heroes. We ended up going with Reisport since a number of our guys use them and they seemed to be OK by a lot of you guys - besides, they were actually available, lol. Ordered high bar ones with double buckle, rings are Velcro since he's in too small a size there. It will be a good chance for him to compare the different fastenings, I guess. He's pretty aggressive on high bar, so we figured double buckle might be better - even though he's still relatively small, he is pretty crazy on it. Now I just have to make sure he doesn't lose them immediately...I'm sure I'll be returning to this thread over the years, lol, as I'm as sure as you realistically can be that he won't be wanting to quit anytime soon.

And those of you with sons with big hands, you're not alone. Although he sized for XS/0 in the Reisport, he is definitely near the end on the size range, and he's 8.5 with below average height. Two 10-year-olds on the team have smaller hands, and he's really close in size to the others!