RKEP Grip

Discussion in 'Grip' started by perfectgravity, Feb 24, 2010.

  1. Squash Eric

    Squash Eric Regular Member

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    same
    GRS08: no --- finally call at
    G16
     
  2. Tactim

    Tactim Regular Member

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    Ordered 10 grips which will come in 2-3 weeks. Can't wait to give them a try =)
     
  3. gundamzaku

    gundamzaku Regular Member

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    24pcs of g009 overgrip for 16 bux, made 4 orders. can't wait, oh boy oh boy!!!!!
     
  4. yerrorice

    yerrorice Regular Member

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    Make sure to review when you get it! :D
     
  5. karyaw

    karyaw Regular Member

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    anyone in malaysia is selling RKEP grips?
     
  6. Tactim

    Tactim Regular Member

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    Just received the grips today. Will test them out tomorrow in a 3 hour session. Looking to have a review up by the next day after the test
     
    #806 Tactim, Sep 20, 2012
    Last edited: Sep 20, 2012
  7. Tactim

    Tactim Regular Member

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    Thanks for waiting, I got a little preoccupied the last couple days and forgot to write the review!

    Just curious Eric, aside from the combination of the two grips into one as an overgrip, is there anything different material wise to make it better for sweaty hands in particular?

    Gripping: This part takes a little more time than you usually would for most grips because half the grip has the stitched-in material to give it that ribbed feeling. I usually like my grips pretty thin but when you try to grip with little overlay, that makes the ribbed portion of the grip take up too much of the handle leaving very little for the powermaster portion to cover. I had to adjust this and overlay much more (around 50% for every twist) so that the stitching portion would end half way above the grip before transitioning to the powermaster portion of the grip. The grip is a little thicker than what I'm used to but not so much that I can't play with it. For those who like thicker grips, this will be no problem. For people who like thin grips, this grip may make you adjust your comfort level to properly grip this racket.

    From what I can see, the ribbed portion of the grip is supposed to really help your grip during swings by catching your middle finger, ring finger, but doesn't make your thumb and forefinger feel uncomfortable because they're located on the flatter powermaster grip portion. This probably takes the best of both grips by making overhead gripping more stable but also that you don't awkwardly try to use a thumb or backhand grip right on top of the ribbed stitching where you can lose control and comfort.

    For those who don't know, I have a huge amount of sweat on my arms and back of the hand when I play which quickly drip onto my grips (could be partially. fixed with toweling after every rally but that slows down gameplay too much). My palm has a fair amount of sweat as well.

    Played for 2 hours in fairly intense games so I definitely sweat a lot. So far, the grip does exactly what Eric said it would in that it would handle sweaty hands pretty well. I normally use the Karakal PU Super so I'm using that as my basis of comparison. The grip is fairly soft and almost has a powdery feeling after you grip it. It has medium tackiness, but definitely not as tacky as yonex super-grap (for me, a good thing).

    Karakal Pu Supergrip is a good grip for the first few weeks, but it reaches a point where my sweat has rendered the grip fairly slippery and the racket handle can slip out of my thumb and forefinger.

    My shots during the session were somewhat off due to lack of practice and a thicker than normal grip, but I can expect that to get better as I play with the grip more. I definitely like the new grip though, I love the ribbed stitching in combination with the powermaster portion.

    I won't go as far as to say that my quality of play is improved by the grip but it addresses problems as far as sweat goes so I don't feel uncomfortable when I play due to a slick grip.

    The final verdict of the grip is still undetermined but looks promising as most of my grips are great the first few weeks but quickly hit their limit in handling sweat. From the design, it would seems that even if the grip got a little slick, the stitching that provides the ribbed feeling should help grips despite that.
     
  8. Borbor

    Borbor Regular Member

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    mine arrived over the weekend as well; gonna give them a good test the next 3 days.
     
  9. gundamzaku

    gundamzaku Regular Member

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    got my 96+4 grips from Eric this morning at work! i haven't counted it but on the package it says 100 so i'll take it at that. i've been tracking the package since it left asia and i have to say Eric has been very good at sending out packages right after he received payment. 5 business days later i got my stuff. i can't wait to use it! i highly recommend RKEP if you want to make purchases online. and since he's well known on BC, i wasn't worry about the merchandise at all, but just to be patience :)

    oh and thank you for the extra grip, you didn't have to do that but you did, because you provide great customer service!
     
  10. gundamzaku

    gundamzaku Regular Member

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    First Impression of G09 Grip

    this grip is stiff. as a general rule i like to stretch the grip while i grip so that when i let go it compresses a bit and grip onto the racket. because this grip is stiff, there's barely any room for it to stretch. also, the back side seems to be smooth, which i consider a good thing because it won't get stuck to the original grip like it does with the yonex super grap. this grip is very sticky, sticky to the point where it might get uncomfortable under any normal circumstances. but since it's providing grip on a badminton racket, it is perfect. i do notice there is a slight odor and i can't describe it, but i'm assuming that it's coming from the rubber and whatnot. i'm not too worry about it because it's not strong enough to bother me. it doesn't smell as nice as the yonex one but i don't really care about the smell. because the grip is quite stiff i had to use tape at the end to keep it together, the built in adhesive at the end of the tape might not be strong enough. the feel is great, since i have dry hands, i never have to worry about sweat, and usually my grips stay clean, and so even after a month my white grips will still be white. so sweat absorption is not my number one priority, but the tackiness/friction IS! and by far this grip is the tackiest!!! can't wait to try it out on the court tomorrow!!!
     
  11. CanucksDynasty

    CanucksDynasty Regular Member

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    I put the overgrip (reverse way...whatever they call it) with the adhesive ending at the cone. The adhesive is OK. It (adhesive tape) will move maybe a few millimeters but the grip will stay on. I haven't experienced any problems with it so far (several months of doing this). I don't like the black RKEP tape as it doesn't go on smooth like nitto tape. So I've been doing this reverse way of gripping ever since.
     
  12. gundamzaku

    gundamzaku Regular Member

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    First Impression After 1 Session 2hrs of Consecutive Playing Nonstop (more or less)

    that's exactly what i've been doing, but the adhesive part needed a bit of cutting to the thinness and angle i am used to with yonex super grap.

    i gripped my BraveSword11 with a purple G09 grip. i chose purple because i have an assumption from reading various threads that colored grips have a lower durability compared to its white counterpart. i have 24 purple, 24 red, 24 lime green, and 24 white.

    anyway, i gripped my BraveSword11 a few days ago and when i took my racket out of the bag today the adhesive part near the cone came undone, mainly due to the a bad gripping job on my part. so i regripped the cone area and it's perfect, no loose ends.

    i seldom use the same racket during a session especially if i want to try out the different colored grips, but for this test i'd like to experience the durability of the highly rated G09 grip.

    WOW, it never lost grip like the yonex super grap. with the super grap, even when i swing the racket around in my room after a gripping job i can feel that it started losing grip. but with the RKEP G09 grip, it felt almost exactly the same as when it was new. if i quantify it with a number, 10 being brand spanking new and not molested after i grip it, then a 9.5 is given after 2hrs of continuous play. yes it is THAT GOOD!!!

    because i have dry hands, sweat was never a problem. the only reason why my hand will have sweat on it is because it came from wiping my face or dripping from my arms. yes i feel very very blessed that my hands NEVER sweat.

    conclusion: from a very dry hand perspective, this is a very very tacky grip, to a point that's almost uncomfortable...when you're just holding the grip. but during play, i absolutely don't have to worry about slipping AT ALL. less gripping strength needed for me means more flexible wrist movement :)

    P.S. now i'm excited to wait till one is worn, then i have the chance to take it off and see if it sticks to my original grip and ruin it. if it doesn't, then i am 100% sold, i'm only 95% sold as of right now, hehe :)
     
  13. Borbor

    Borbor Regular Member

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    Loving this grip.
    Only gripe is the side that meets the handle isn't as tacky as the yonex. I have a few racquets where I grip with the plastic intact and the RKEP slid off a few times before I finished gripping :D (mainly is when I'm trimming at the cone); but every other aspect this grip is superior to the super grap.
     
  14. visor

    visor Regular Member

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    @ gundam and borbor: don't worry, its good that the underside is not as sticky as supergrap and that's why it won't leave a nasty residue on the oem grip like the sipergrap will.

    Also I find that the yellow, pink and green are much too tacky when new as they're too grippy to be comfortable. Almost feels like it'll rip off a layer of skin. :p. Plus hard to quickly switch grips during a fast doubles game between forehand and backhand when it's so sticky.
     
    #814 visor, Sep 27, 2012
    Last edited: Sep 27, 2012
  15. BlueTornado

    BlueTornado Regular Member

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    Agreed on the colors. Yellow, pink, and green are nice and tacky but almost too much for me. I like red and white in particular.
     
  16. gundamzaku

    gundamzaku Regular Member

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    Oh I'm not worry if anything it's good that the backside is not grippy so it does not mess up my original grip since I do take the plastic off! I see it as another positive thing! On a side note I would love to see reviews about sweat absorption since I can't comment on it, my hands don't sweat much.
     
  17. gundamzaku

    gundamzaku Regular Member

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    quick update, been using the same racket for almost three weeks playing about two sesions a week, about 3hrs per session. i still have about 65% tackiness left on the grip according to my palm. if i was using yonex super grap, i would have to replace the grip for sure. once again i have dry hands so maybe i'm able to preserve the grip for a longer period of time.
     
  18. CanucksDynasty

    CanucksDynasty Regular Member

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    So basically it's cheaper and lasts longer than Yonex. Glad I switched a year ago ;). Sometimes it pays to follow advice from fellow badminton freaks :D.

    Now if only they could do something about that tape. :)
     
  19. visor

    visor Regular Member

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    Yah... the tape is nasty. :p. The one from 2 years ago was much better, like it should be.

    @Eric: please sort out this tape problem with your manufacturer. :)
     
  20. gundamzaku

    gundamzaku Regular Member

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    i grip it the other way so at the cone i have the adhesive, but i still use the tape and i thought it was nice that it's a bit stretchier so that when stretched while taping on the cone it forms to whatever shape the cone is. why is the tape nasty or bad???
     

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