At a club I usually don't go to, one of my friend's dads had the plastic still on his racket from the original packaging, and had an overgrip on it. He said that it's better for the racket because with it on, the wooden racket handle wouldn't rot. How important is this for the longevity of the racket? I ask because I usually only use a replacement grip on just the wood of the racket. Thanks!
Usually what a lot of us do is tape up the handles with PVC electrical tape then apply our grips straight over. this prevents moisture and sweat from seeping through the grip and into the wood so that it lasts. Also helps so that your grips adhesive backing won't slowly tear off your wood fibre by fibre.
Another major benefit of the PVC tape is that it makes it so much easier to clean up the handle when changing grips.
I have racquets 10 plus years old in a humid environment and the wood is still ok. However, the original leather rip will disintegrate after a few years, even if the plastic is still on. It will look good until the plastic is removed - when you remove the plastic, it becomes a bit of shock - I tried it before!
Thank you all for your input! I don't live in a very humid environment so I have decided to take off the plastic and wrap the grip on the wood. About the original leather grip, I bought a muscle power 22 a few months ago and the original grip was still good! Maybe it was because it wasn't used.
Yup. If you don't use it, the grip doesn't get wet and stays good. I guess even with the original grip plus plastic not removed, and the racquet is used frequently, some moisture does seep through the plastic and into the grip.
