Fitting Grips and Overgrips: How To Avoid Wrinkles Etc

[Xenakis]

Anyone got any tips for wrapping grips and overgrips?

I'm fine with some of stretchy overgrips like Yonex but I put a new Head Hydrosorb on one of my Prestiges the other day and couldn't get the wrinkles out towards the bottom of the grip (as you transition from wrapping straight around the bottom to getting the grip to turn diagonal as you move up the handle.)

Any tutorials or comments about best practice in this department?

Thanks/Ta.

 

[Dags]

You shouldn't need to change directions. If the grip is tapered, as you wrap it, it naturally moves into the diagonal.

This implies either:

- your grip doesn't have a taper (tournagrip is one which doesn't for instance). In this case I usually cut my own as it makes it much easier to avoid any bumps.

- you're wrapping it clockwise. For a right-hander's grip, you should go anti-clockwise, lefties go clockwise. As righties are more common, grips are usually tapered to go in that direction.

 

[tennisdude083]

You shouldn't need to change directions. If the grip is tapered, as you wrap it, it naturally moves into the diagonal.

This implies either:

- your grip doesn't have a taper (tournagrip is one which doesn't for instance). In this case I usually cut my own as it makes it much easier to avoid any bumps.

- you're wrapping it clockwise. For a right-hander's grip, you should go anti-clockwise, lefties go clockwise. As righties are more common, grips are usually tapered to go in that direction.

Even with a tapered grip if you don't start to angle the grip upwards it will not wrap smoothly. Hydrosorb is tapered.

Just pull tightly and start angling up the grip slightly as your wrap around the butt cap. I usually start to angle after I wrap after I have wrapped around the grip once and am about 1cm past the start point. Hmm its kind of hard to explain in writing.

 

[Xenakis]

Thanks for the tips. I'm left handed and have been wrapping grips in a clockwise direction so i'll try doing it as a righty and see if that helps.

 

[Team China]

I start the grip horizontal with the butt cap and as i am going down i gradually angle the grip while pulling on the grip. As long as you gradually angle it as your going down (while pulling) you will be fine. Wrinkles means at one point in your griping your angling your grip too sharp at 1 point. It takes patience but you will find the groove.

Thats the best tip I can give.

 

[origmarm]

With Tournagrip especially I find it helps to stretch the hell out of the first run round.

Never having wrapped a hyrdrosorb it's hard to comment but as a general rule for the grips that taper you should never start going straight around, always start at the angle of the taper if that makes sense.

The advice about the direction of the wrap is spot on also, must be very difficult to do it the other way left handed.

Otherwise unfortunately it's just practice

 

[Xenakis]

Thanks orig. Was just doing some googling on this topic and found a YUlitle vid on youtube which is quite helpful.

Apparently left handers generally prefer their grips to be wrapped one way and right handers the other due to the angle of the wrap as it corresponds to the hand position.

That does mean presumably that left hand grips will have the text/logo upside down. If that matters.

Also a good tip on the vid about marking the end of the grip with a marker and cutting along it.

 

[Xenakis]

Put a Hydrosorb on a Yonex RDS001 earlier. Wrapped it like a right hander and angled it slightly from the beginning and kept it tight at the top and bottom.

No wrinkles/bubbles. Also I used the pen marking method to finish at the top and it works very nicely.

Thanks for the tips all.