Yakgrips or tennis racket wrap?

Read reviews on yakgrips and people complain about them slipping around. I was wondering if anybody uses tennis racket wrap. I’ve seen many people using it on fishing rod handles and several other things that need grip and comfort. Very durable stuff.

Yak Grips: not a fan
I bought a pair of Yak Grips, and I ended up taking them off. For the record, they never slipped on me. My issue was the resulting increase in shaft diameter made them uncomfortable to use. Felt like trying to paddle with a baseball bat.

Neither
If you really need to increase your grip with no extra bulk then I recommend sex wax. http://www.sexwax.com/ Not a joke. But I can’t think of a reason that you would need anything.

Slipping around?
Are you kidding, once you put those babies on you have to practically cut them off with a hacksaw. I used mine inside out so they would slip off.



But I found them too thick. I recommend taping a square of neoprene around the shaft. Just the right thickness, soft, and tacky when wet.

depends on your hand size
My hands are more like bear paws. I like the super thick feeling of the yakgrips myself. I’ve had no problems with them slipping. Then again, I followed the directions and put them on WET… Many people try to put them on dry and wind up stretching them. That might be why they slip?



I’ve used the tennis racket wraps on my hiking staff. They feel great, but I don’t know that they would stay on a paddle shaft. The only way I can keep them on my staff is to use thumbtacks in the ends stuck into the wood.

I had them too

– Last Updated: Jun-01-13 9:32 PM EST –

There are (were) two styles of Yakgrips, the slip-on and the velcro wrap around. I had the slip-on style and I did not like them. They were comfortable, but as soon as the paddle shaft would get wet, the water would make them slip. I got rid of them.

To me the best thing to do when you want cushioning and/or better grip is to wear paddling gloves.

Thanks
Thanks for the replies. Most of the amazon reviews said they slipped so i was just referring to that. I’ll try em without anything and see if i have issues.

Yakgrips. Some may find that
a spongy resistance causes them to reflexively grasp harder than they should.



I encircle the control hand area with bicycle inner tube, seamed shut with bicycle tube patches. This provides a tacky surface that lasts. The other hand should be held fairly loose, and therefore it is fine for the shaft there to be “slippy”.