I usually buy the Karakal PU Badminton specific grips from here: http://www.centralsports.co.uk/shop.php?page=detail&product=5794 From the previous batch I bought, the grips were like the normal Karakal PU grips, quite tacky at first, but after a few sessions, the tackiness wears off. This leaves the grips with a more velvety feel, but pretty absorbent until they get soggy with sweat. However, with the most recent batch I bought, some white ones and some red ones, the red ones were the same as before, but I found there's quite a big change with the white ones. They were a lot more tackier than the older versions, and this was apparent immediately after removing the plastic wrapper/cling film. Taking off the backing tape, this was different as well, where you could see the fabric weave through the double sided tape, compared to the previous version where the double sided tape was more opaque. I had the newer version on two rackets, which I have played with for around 30+ hours. I found that the newer version gave more of a "wet feel" type grip, more rubbery than the older version. They also didn't get as soggy as the older version, seems like they repel water/sweat more. The best thing about them was that they retained about 80-90% of their tackiness even after the 30+ hours of play I put them through. So while the feel of the new version may not be for everyone (it took me some time to get used to it, and I was a fan of the velvety feel of the older version), I must say I'm a convert to this new formula, which in my opinion is a significant improvement over the old version, more durable and tackier. Definitely recommended!! It's great to see them working to improve what was already a pretty good product before, now to carry this improvement through to the rest of the color spectrum. I'll try to get some pictures up, but I'm not too sure whether it'll show up the differences between the old and the new. TWO THUMBS UP !!!
That's good news! Interesting you mentioned this... I buy my grips from the same source and the last box of PU were sort-of powdery, not really tacky at all and I was disappointed. However, I've nearly used them all up and want to place an order for another load - I'm encouraged to hear that the latest ones you've received are tacky I had put the difference down to the fact that the last ones I received only had the plastic wrapper on the outside, not all the way along the grip and somehow the rubber has degraded? I also have a theory that different colours perform differently, I know the same material goes into each grip so maybe it's to do with being exposed to light or something but I feel that lighter colours are more tacky and darker colours more powdery? Edit: I usually go for yellow
The new ones have added nano something or other which is the difference from the last box which did not have the words nano anywhere on the box. When I purchased my last set they were a lot more tacky and maintained tackiness for a lot longer. I personally don't like it, prefer the old ones. The new "super tacky" pu grips give me blisters as they almost stuck to my skin. So they didn't really allow for any racket movement to change my grip (as in finger grip) without tearing my skin. The cushioning on the grip also seemed to wear out a lot faster, my old grips still felt soft and spongy after weeks, these began feeling thin after about 10 hours of play. I should add other people who have purchased them off of me had no problems whatsoever and preferred them to the older style. I have since switched to using towel grip, which is much softer and doesn't damage my weak skinned, never seen hard labour, Physicist/Meteorology hand
