Towel Grip Experience

[Matt Ross]

Hi all,

I was thinking about going to towel grips, and was wondering if any of you had any experience of playing with them, are they any good? Do you think they are better than say the normal PU grips because of the perspiration absorbtion? If you have used these, what make do you think are the best for making the towel grips? Any advice would be appreciated.

Matt

[cooler]

matt, i think some players like them while other don't. I know a player who make his own towel grips from used bath towels. He just loves it. I held it and it is better than stuffs buy from stores.

[Totoro]

towel grip is easy to become stingky because of the sweat... it also don't last so long, after a while it becomes harden and u will be like holding a piece of rough wood... but most national players use it... y? because they can get sponsor and can change a few times a week... at the beginning, the grip feel superb but after a while it is no longer suitable...

[JChen99]

I used Towel grips for a while and decided to go bak to regular one...
The towel grip after about 3 hrs of play feels very sticky and stinky

In conclusion... unless you are always gonna change it after few hours of play... otherwise... EWWWWW -.-"

[ksooi]

Hi Matt,

I have only used towel grips in all my years of playing badminton. I have tried other grips but have always gone back to towel grips. You might have to change them regularly but I feel very comfortable with them.(great sweat absorbtion) I usually have several rackets of the same model so I usually rotate their use so the grip is not worn out that quickly.
As for the best make of towel grips, in the 80's I only use Carlton(definitely the best then) but I don't think they make them anymore(can't find them anywhere). Right now I am only using Yonex towel grips.(plain color ones) Victor makes them as well but they seem to be a bit thicker. You would need to get rid of the original grip.(I use Yonex rackets with G4)

Hope this helps.

[ivan]

Towel grip rulz !!!!!! I have been using them for a long time (probably 5 years), and yes, you do have to change them regularly (I change them about once a month) but the thing is they provide that very touch feel which you never gonna get from pu grip. The one that will make your feel very sticky is the long hair towel grip, get the short hair one :)

[GRObFURSt]

if you made it out of your own towel couldnt you just put it in the washingmachine ?

[cooler]

yes, my friend does put it in the washing machine. Each towel grip lasted him 3 washes before he chuck it away. He has 2 daughters, plus his wife, they go thru lot of towels.

[Mag]

Originally posted by cooler
yes, my friend does put it in the washing machine. Each towel grip lasted him 3 washes before he chuck it away. He has 2 daughters, plus his wife, they go thru lot of towels.

I'm a bit curious: as he uses them several times, I take it he doesn't glue them on?

[modious]

Originally posted by Mag


I'm a bit curious: as he uses them several times, I take it he doesn't glue them on?

Interesting.

[Darren]

If you like towel grip (and can't be bothered to make your own!) then your best bet is the Ashaway towel grip roll. Costs about £20 and is 20 metres long. This should give you about 30 grips worth.

I use this and really like it, I can't go back to pu types now. You do need to replace it probably every 10 hours of play I would suggest.

Central sports in Coventry sell it so give them a bell!

[Nic]

I think Yogi makes his own towel grip out of towel, check out his post here (http://www.badmintonforum.com/vb/showthread.php?threadid=5925&highlight=towel+grip)

[kwun]

thanks Nic for digging that thread out.

i think i will experiment with it. a thin bath towel at a discount dept store can be had for as little as US$5. plus some double sided tape for $3-4. that will make at least 10-15 grips. a definite bargain.

[Nic]

no problem, kwun. :)

get the towel and tape from the Dollar Store, only about US1 each. but I am not sure if there is any Dollar Store at your location.

[cooler]

Originally posted by Mag


I'm a bit curious: as he uses them several times, I take it he doesn't glue them on?

Mag, my answer is a bit late but others here use doublesided tape. I think this fella i know uses something like that too. Glues are for fine furniture/cabinet making :p

[UkPlayer]

imo

Towel grips - expensive, smelly, harsh on the hands
Super PU - tacky, easy to grip, clean, comfortable and cheap

[kwun]

Originally posted by Nic
no problem, kwun. :)

get the towel and tape from the Dollar Store, only about US1 each. but I am not sure if there is any Dollar Store at your location.

Nic,

yes. good idea. actually, come to think of it, the lower the quality of the towel usually means that it is rougher, and that's actually good when it comes to badminton grip..

[modious]

No kwun, I think that's not too good!
Your hand might end up with blisters all over if the towel surface is thin and rough.

People use towel grips mostly is because they're soft and cushy (lots of fur??), very nice feel. There're towel grips that are very thin (very little fur??) but these grips are not very comfortable IMO.

[kwun]

is that true? most of the towel grip that i tried on are pretty rough. not rough like sandpaper rough, but rough like someone over washed a towel and forgot to put in fabric softener type of rough....

[Matt Ross]

Kwun,

Use sandpaper as a grip and let us know how you get on :) ;)

Matt

[UkPlayer]

Originally posted by kwun
is that true? most of the towel grip that i tried on are pretty rough. not rough like sandpaper rough, but rough like someone over washed a towel and forgot to put in fabric softener type of rough....


that's why I don't like them ;)

[kwun]

UKP, i tend to agree with you. i have used the synthetic type of grip all my badminton life. i like the feel of synthetic much more.

i tried towel grip in the early days, but never liked them. however, with increasing playing intensity, i noticed that no matter how good the synthetic grip is, they bound to get sweaty and slippery.

perhaps there is a good reason why the pros use towel grips as they must sweat much more than we do.

[Matt Ross]

Hi,

With the normal grips (eg PU grips) i tend, if my hands are sweaty, that i go for a backhand kill, or a backhand drive, and then my phumb slips, racket goes to the floor and the shuttle goes miles out...Thats why i'm concidering the change because i can get 24 for £12

Matt

[Totoro]

I think when the pump is wet, the PU grip doesn't function well... but now got sticky type but still it doesn't last for too long...

[kwun]

Matt, that's exactly the reason i am interested as well. nowadays, i need to bring a few rackets and rotate them depending on how sweaty they get. with the recent breakage of the Iso900SS, that means i don't have an identical back-up anymore.

[UkPlayer]

Originally posted by kwun

perhaps there is a good reason why the pros use towel grips as they must sweat much more than we do.

hmm. not all pro's. I think some use synthetic. It would be interesting to find out who uses what.

[kwun]

let me ask Jonas.. :)

[Matt Ross]

lol

I'm guessing kwun, me and UKP are on at the same time yes? Coz the post number of this thread has rose bloody quick!

Matt

[Matt Ross]

Hi,

I'll tell ya what. I'll ask yehlex for a couple of their towel grips, and see how i get on with them, no harm in trying a new grip...

Matt

[Baddie]

Hi guys,

I went to the thread where Yogi gave the instructins on how to make your own towel grip. I really did not quite get it :confused: Can Yogi explain it in a more detailed way? Or anyone of you have tried making your own? Do you use glue? or double sided tape? If glue, what type? If we glue it own, how can be take it out after a couple of use and wash them? or you maybe don't wash them anymore and just throw them away ....

Thanks a lot!!!!

[Nic]

Originally posted by Baddie
Hi guys,

I went to the thread where Yogi gave the instructins on how to make your own towel grip. I really did not quite get it :confused: Can Yogi explain it in a more detailed way? Or anyone of you have tried making your own? Do you use glue? or double sided tape? If glue, what type? If we glue it own, how can be take it out after a couple of use and wash them? or you maybe don't wash them anymore and just throw them away ....

Thanks a lot!!!!

Baddie, which part you dont get it?
As for the glue part, it is up to you, you dont really need to follow every step that Yogi did. You can use whatever method that you feel comfortable with. I bet Yogi just throw it away after it worn out.
IMO, I think using glue will be more economical, but i would go for double side tape.

[cooler]

further update.

After telling him to try home make towel grip as it is cheaper and better than commercial ones, he went on to make two. I took a photo of one as he was playing with the other racquet. He plays 3 times a week, 3 hrs each. He washes them in a washing machine every week. The pic shown is about 1 month old grip (not bad huh). The other one he was using is 2 months old and look almost identical to the one shown in this pic. We couldn't believed how well it last as now he got more spare towels than he needed to make towel grips.

[cooler]

i accidently posted in a different thread http://www.badmintonforum.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=53144#post53144

kwun, if u could move that post to here would be nice.

[UkPlayer]

Interesting that Jonas said towel is better for soaking up sweat in far east countries. If you are playing in a UK climate you sweat less.

[Cheung]

Even with the UK being cooler, I still needed to change the grip every couple of weeks. I just didn;t bother with the towel grip in HK. I'd need to change grips after 1 week.

The grip itself is nice, it's the frequency of replacement that bugs me.

[UkPlayer]

The point I'm trying to make about the climate is that UK climate's may favour synthetic grips more than towel grips. I never get a problem with the racket grip slipping. Even during this hot summer with 2-3 hour sessions there wasn't a problem.

[Californian]

I have to use a towel grip, especially in summer because it gets so hot and I sweat so much. Nothing else works for me. If I couldn't buy them, I'd have to make my own.

[Matt Ross]

UKP,

I wouldnt be so sure, my hands do get sweaty alot. This time of year especially because the halls become incredibly humid and people sweat even more. In fast and hard games, especially in the mixed division one that i play in, i really do tend to sweat alot. So maybe i will go to towel grips and just to see what they're like. And i may even grip over the cap and kill 2 birds with one stone :)

Matt

[Gladius]

Originally posted by UkPlayer
The point I'm trying to make about the climate is that UK climate's may favour synthetic grips more than towel grips. I never get a problem with the racket grip slipping. Even during this hot summer with 2-3 hour sessions there wasn't a problem.

Well, I have been to Canada, the States, Uk as well as Australia, trust me, its a walking open air sauna when you compare the level of heat and humidity here in South-East Asia as opposed to the temperate regions !

I had plenty of problems during my school days using PU grips didn't realise it, thought it was just me being tired after about 1 hour ....

Well, switching to towel and a wrist band certainly did wonders in eradicating 'slippage' during play and having the need for a duplicate racket to cover ...

Which is why I stick with towel grips ..

[Cheung]

UK has been experiencing hot summers but although comparatively humid for that region, there is no way you can compare with playing in the humidity of M'sia, S'pore, HK(in the summer).

During Dec one year, I went to M'sia from HK(cooler) and played badminton. Sheesh, I nearly collapsed.

However, playing without airconditioning in HK in the summer (30degrees cent, 80-90%humidity in the evening) conditions the body wonderfully. During a short trip to M'sia, those M'sians were collapsing around me!

BTW, I use the 'change racquets' technique. I suspect Kwun noticed this at one of our sessions and then reported in BC.

[Chun]

Uhh... none of you guys use your shirttails to wipe your hand sweat after each rally?

I know some people who actually rub their palms to the bottom of their shoes after each rally to 1. dispose of excess hand sweat and 2. to attain more traction on their shoes when playing in wooden courts which are usually very dusty. Yuk, disgusting I know, and that's why I could never do it myself.

Anyway, my input is that I find the so called "extra absorption" of the towel grips to be unnecessary & the towel grips get "slick" really fast whether they're short or long fur towel grips.

But then again, that could be just me since I don't have the profusely sweaty hand problem.

[cooler]

you might change your mind if u go play in SE asian countries. Even many european players use towel grip.

[Mag]

Originally posted by Chun
Uhh... none of you guys use your shirttails to wipe your hand sweat after each rally?

You're kidding, right?

That could work if I kept changing to a fresh shirt twice during each game...

Ahem, maybe you don't play as intensely as you like to think? ;)

[Totoro]

Cheung,

Was it that bad playing in Malaysia? I played at 2.30 pm in an indoor court with no air-corn and never collapse... may be u just don't use to it?

[Californian]

On some floors, I wipe the bottoms of my shoes with my hand to get better traction.

I'm with Mag about the shirt thing. In the summer, I've completely sweat through a shirt in two games.

I've been in the game long enough to remember the days before towel grips became popular. Players had to stop after every other rally and go to the sidelines to get a towel and wipe off their leather grips. It was an annoying interruption in the flow of the game, but a good excuse for a tired player to catch his breath.

[zerochillnet]

I used a towel grip around a month ago it got too stinky and gave me a lot of blisters.... I had to take it of the next day. one word eeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwww not even sure if thats a word i suggest that everyone should use a synthetic grips

[RichT]

Hi Matt,


Where can you get 24 towel gripsfor £12 in the UK. Would be really interested in getting some.

Thanks
Rich

[Dill]

Hi Matt,


Where can you get 24 towel gripsfor £12 in the UK. Would be really interested in getting some.

Thanks
Rich

EG Sports in Glasgow sells them, 20m roll for £14.