new grips

[katy]

i almost forgot. yesterday i started to break in my new grips. i got a pair with the thick leather so they'll last forever. i bought a pair about a year ago that is the softer leather and easier to break in but i didn't trust the dowl and the leather was really starting to show wear from the grip brush.
i don't like the process of breaking in new grips, but i'm very excited to have a heavier duty pair, and the velcro is blue! i hated my original pair (17 years ago) because they had red velcro. the softer leather pair i bought because they white velcro, but i really wanted a blue pair!
anyone have suggestions for breaking in a new pair? i have been doing tap swings and kips.
and how do you feel about water on the leather? the info that came with the grips said no water, but i have always done it that way.

 

[BlairBob]

I don't reccomend water...ever. Just swing in them and chalk'm.

 

[Takiah]

I have reisport ones, taking me a LONG time to wear them in but I only get to use them once a week for maybe 20 minutes

But mine also said no water... apparently it actually cracks the thicker ones which is why they say not to - it makes them lose quality etc.

My coach told me to use LOTS & LOTS of chalk on them when they are new//when they are being broken in also.

Im a first time user with grips... and even though I have only ever used these grips it feels like with the thicker ones - they might last longer but you cant feel the bar at all (and i always feel like im going to fall off) do you have that feeling?

 

[katy]

the new grips are so weird, it feels like i am swinging on marshmallows. i did kips, clear hips, and casts today. the grips feel like they slip a little, but our bars are not very chalky.
this might sound silly, but should i be wearing wristbands with the squishy wrist insert (is it neoprene)? i definitely feel the wrist slipping around a little in clear hips.

 

[kgymn]

I had the softer leather Reisport ones, and then they stretched a bit too much so I got some US Glove- I got them cause I could afford the Reisports at that point, but then didn't like how much thicker they were. I hated breaking them in. But finally I got used to them, and now I love them and don't think I'll ever wear my Reisports again! For a couple months there I would put the US Glove ones on, do tap swings for maybe 2 minutes, then switch to my reisports to work on my skills. Then one day I got tired of switching grips and I just kept the US Glove on and I've never looked back! My skills were even immediately better!

And yeah I just do tap swings to break mine in. A whole lot of tap swings!

~Katy

 

[MadKate]

My old, too small pair had water used on them, and it seemed to make them harder. My new ones are Reisports, haven't been near water, and they feel just fine, so I'm going to keep them away from the water! With how rarely I get on bars anyways, they'll probably last forever. I rolled them a lot at home before I used them, and lots of tap swings. Since that's about all I can still *do* on bars. (can't even jump to the high bar unless I can grab a coach's hand while starting to stand up, though once I do get up there, I'm so tall I pretty much just fall onto the bar!) And as much chalk as the grips will hold on the inside of them!

I didn't have the "can't feel the bar" thing with the thicker ones, since they were also the kind that narrow a bit in the middle, and because they were too small, I rammed them down further on my fingers. I feel like I'm less likely to fall off or miss the bar with them than without.

And yes, with my old ones that had neoprene inside, I still used wristbands under them. Should make them slip less and be more comfortable, if the back of the strap was still digging into your wrist.

 

[katy]

grips are much better with the wrist bands under the squishy blue thing. they don't twist on the wrist now. i think that i need to get longer wrist bands now. the top of the wrist band keeps getting pulled under the part on the grip that wraps around the wrist.
they still feel pretty weird.