RKEP Grip

**Naim.F.C** · 04-20-2011, 10:51 PM

Originally Posted by kwun

two pages already. writing review is hard work!!!!

Yess!! This is what I wanted to hear...even though I already own one...LOL. More interested in a comparison with the VT80....even though I've already bought one (should be with me in a week)...Lol.

***kwun*** · 04-20-2011, 10:52 PM

Originally Posted by visor

Btw kwun, did you make sure that the grips were fully on the weigh pan and did not rest on the sides of the scale? A few grips appear to be awfully close in those pics.

where the heck is the ban button. you of little faith.

**Naim.F.C** · 04-20-2011, 10:53 PM

Originally Posted by kwun

where the heck is the ban button. you of little faith.

You have one of these at home don't you?

**visor** · 04-20-2011, 11:02 PM

Originally Posted by kwun

where the heck is the ban button. you of little faith.

I guess that means yes and no to my query in that order, huh?

Blessed are those who have seen and believed; even more so those who have not seen and yet believed.

***kwun*** · 04-20-2011, 11:03 PM

Originally Posted by visor

I guess that means yes and no to my query in that order, huh? :P :P :P

yes.

now. i need to go string a few rackets before continuing on the mx80 review.

**Naim.F.C** · 04-20-2011, 11:05 PM

Originally Posted by kwun

yes.

now. i need to go string a few rackets before continuing on the mx80 review.

Haaaw man...

**visor** · 04-20-2011, 11:40 PM

Oopsy kwun, one more little detail...

You weighed the grips with all the packaging and labels etc, looks like you'll have to get the average weight for all the plastic, label, adhesive backing, etc so that we can calculate the true weights of each naked grip as it is on the handle. I know, I know, so I'm a perfectionist...

This will give us a more accurate indication of what colour to use when we want to intentionally shift bp by a certain amount.

**Naim.F.C** · 04-20-2011, 11:48 PM

Originally Posted by visor

Oopsy kwun, one more little detail...

You weighed the grips with all the packaging and labels etc, looks like you'll have to get the average weight for all the plastic, label, adhesive backing, etc so that we can calculate the true weights of each naked grip as it is on the handle. I know, I know, so I'm a perfectionist...

This will give us a more accurate indication of what colour to use when we want to intentionally shift bp by a certain amount.

I don't see how that would be accurate still, though it might be 'more' accurate as you mentioned, still pointless imo. As I generally don't even use all the grip, or tape that is supplied in a packet. The best measurement so far seems to be your BP measurement earlier. Because ultimately, a combination of weight added, and the change in BP is what matters most. (Outside of the quality of the grip itself of course.)

**Mark A** · 04-21-2011, 01:15 AM

Tried the RKEP Power Master yesterday and liked it very much. Compared with the Ultimate, the PM is less spongy and less tacky, but has better "traction" (thanks to the ridges) and much better feel from the racket. Tack can be recovered with resin or grip powder, though

.

**Naim.F.C** · 04-21-2011, 04:11 AM

Originally Posted by Mark A

Tried the RKEP Power Master yesterday and liked it very much. Compared with the Ultimate, the PM is less spongy and less tacky, but has better "traction" (thanks to the ridges) and much better feel from the racket. Tack can be recovered with resin or grip powder, though

.

Is the Power Master a replacement grip only, or can it be used as an overgrip?

**teojb** · 04-21-2011, 06:23 AM

Originally Posted by visor

Oopsy kwun, one more little detail...

You weighed the grips with all the packaging and labels etc, looks like you'll have to get the average weight for all the plastic, label, adhesive backing, etc so that we can calculate the true weights of each naked grip as it is on the handle. I know, I know, so I'm a perfectionist...

This will give us a more accurate indication of what colour to use when we want to intentionally shift bp by a certain amount.

should check the width and length of the grips too. maybe just between the lightest and heaviest just to rule out these factors.

**singnflip4life** · 04-21-2011, 10:20 PM

Originally Posted by Naim.F.C

Is the Power Master a replacement grip only, or can it be used as an overgrip?

All replacement grips can "technically" be used as overgrips, just be warned that the grip will be much much thicker if you do so. I know of many players who do it, but I simply cannot generate power with such a thick grip.

Originally Posted by teojb

should check the width and length of the grips too. maybe just between the lightest and heaviest just to rule out these factors.

Well to be honest, the width and length are predetermined in the factory, all the colors have the same dimensions on their label as far as I remember (except the white G09L, and thats a different grip in terms of length).

**Mark A** · 04-22-2011, 01:31 AM

Originally Posted by Naim.F.C

Is the Power Master a replacement grip only, or can it be used as an overgrip?

It's too thick to be used as an overgrip IMO (but then my grip size is G5.5 with the PM on, or 2.75" around the bare wood).

**visor** · 04-22-2011, 01:41 AM

if using replacement grip as an overgrip, you gotta be careful to reduce the stickiness of the strong adhesive, otherwise it'll damage your factory grip when come time to remove the replacement grip

also, weighing around 14g, the replacement grip when used in that manner would likely make your racket head lighter by 2cm!

**Tactim** · 04-22-2011, 04:23 AM

So a little update on the performance of the RKEP Ultimate grip G05.

If some of you didn't already know, I am a major palm sweater (I rated myself about a 9/10 on the palm sweat scale) and here's the condition of the grip currently after about a 1 month and 29 days (3 hours for each 3 times a week of playing). All in all around 65+ total hours of play time.

I can definitely see that the initial tackiness of the grip has decreased significantly than when it first started. I noticed that a lot of my palm sweat accumulates near the butt end of the handle, particularly where I grip it with my 4th and 5th finger. That's where I feel most of the slipperiness when I play, and likewise that's where most of the tackiness has deteriorated. It's still fairly decent in that I could probably still play with it, though it's about 50% of the tackiness compared to when I first started using it. It has around the same tackiness life-time as the Karakal PU supergrip I'd say, though it's not as cushiony, depending on how much overlay you do (I have a pretty thin grip with very little overlay so I naturally don't have much cushiony to begin with.

I would say that the slipperiness starts to affect my play towards the latter end of a 3 hour session, but if you give enough time for the sweat to evaporate off the grip, say 10-15 minutes between games, it seems to do alright. The other thing to do is have a towel on hand to constantly wipe your forearms and your palms. that will probably increase the life of the grip and keep the tackiness. The only thing I do is wear sweatbands, which apparently still isn't enough. If you don't wear sweat bands the tackiness may run out quicker.

To provide the most objective review of the grip, I'd say for the first month it deals with sweat pretty well for my level of sweaty palms, but after that first month you can start to see the tackiness decrease and the slipperiness become much more noticeable. This is only if you play as often as I do, so if you're a once a week person it'll obviously last longer for you. I think it's only slightly better at handling sweat than the Karakal PU Super grip, though it has better initial tackiness. It's obviously very hard to get a perfect grip which lasts 3 months, has perfect sweat absorption and tackiness with sweat, and is comfortable. If it were easy it would be on the market right now, but I think for an off brand that isn't quite established yet, I'm pretty impressed with the grip quality.

I'll be on summer vacation in a couple weeks so my frequency of badminton playing will be next to nil, but when I get back to college I'll be able to test our the RKEP Power Master G06 grip and compare the sweat-dealing capabilities, tackiness, and durability during that time.

**singnflip4life** · 04-22-2011, 09:46 AM

I am actually using the Ultimate grip as grip tape for the handlebars on my fixie. I'd prefer the Power Master, but it's simply not long enough as I cannot stretch the material. I wonder if Eric would be open to an OEM order, maybe of just a huge roll that I can cut to my liking.

I've tried out all the grips except the ultimate on my tennis rackets, but none of them compare to the Power Master for that type of game. The Ultimate is still my go-to for badminton