RKEP Grip

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

  1. iAsianGuy

    iAsianGuy Regular Member

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    I find white and yellow quite tacky IMO
     
  2. visor

    visor Regular Member

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    I use those 2, but swsh wants most tacky, which is pink. Pink is much too tacky for me as it would stick so much to my hand that it causes blisters...
     
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  3. swsh

    swsh Regular Member

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    I used yellows before but was looking to just push the tackiness over the edge where it’s too much. I was hoping for G09 pink to be the tackiest out of all.
     
  4. swsh

    swsh Regular Member

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    Can we like maybe exchange our hands? Pretty please?
     
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  5. swsh

    swsh Regular Member

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    Should I just go ahead with G09 pink then?
     
  6. visor

    visor Regular Member

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    Yeah, and ask Eric for a really tacky G10...likely lime green.
     
  7. DinkAlot

    DinkAlot dcbadminton
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    The G09 is the tackiest RKEP grip and there's a difference among the colors; with yellow, white, and pink being the tackiest. Recently (actually yesterday :p), I received another order from RKEP, picked up some G08 grips because they are 0.15mm thicker (wanted a bit more thickness to my grip). Anyway, I sweat a lot - OK, tremendously - and a pleasant surprise, the G08 grips works really well for super sweaty hands. The sweatier the hand, the more tacky and grippier it gets.

    I tried the G08 in the past and it was very good but I didn't remember it being *this* good. This Panda is one happy camper and will be switching over to the G08 as I don't need to use grip powder anymore (we, we'll see during the summer).

    So, this is something to think about; ummm, forget thinking, buy some and try to see if it's your cup of tea. :D
     
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  8. swsh

    swsh Regular Member

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    I wholeheartedly agree. For a bit thicker grip, stock grips that are 0.75+ tend to feel and play better (stiffer and more consistent?) than the same setup with cushion wrap.

    I'll definitely get some in this package to try!
     
  9. swsh

    swsh Regular Member

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    Super fast as always. I swear he never sleeps.

    49fe3eb0-af97-4f47-8d0a-03a47d4d8f28.jpg
     
  10. pepe54

    pepe54 Regular Member

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    Good to know, I guess the cloth stitching fabric layer works wonders for sweat absorption.
    Do you find the thicker G08's cushioning and impact dampening sufficient for bare wooden handle applications?

    At present, I am torn between the RKEP overgrip and RKEP replacement grip offerings ; their overgrips look a lot more well developed in comparison to their older replacement grip designs.
     
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  11. swsh

    swsh Regular Member

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    A friend who plays national uses two overgrips on top of each other. It helps with the balance for him or so he says and is a lot more consistent and stiff than the cushion wrap + overgrip.

    I'd suggest the same for you. 50 percent overlap on overgrip as base grip and then another one on top of that with 50 percent overlap as well. Probably best to go with RKEP OG's.
     
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  12. pepe54

    pepe54 Regular Member

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    Thanks for the tip, I remember experimenting with two overgrips recently and had a slightly positive reaction to it:
    the cushioning was superb, but it made the handle size a bit too large to my liking. At this stage I am even thinking of shaving down my handle but then again that seems a bit crazy and I might lose the hexagonal shape to it. Thereafter I found an apacs replacement grip that I actually liked but am having problems identifying what model it is as theres little trace of them nor are they readily available.

    Cushion wrap IMHO is absolute garbage but that is just my personal opnion; did some impact testing with several layers of that closed cell foam and followed up with some brief research on its vibration dampening properties as a material.

    The conclusion I had was that foam (cushion wrap) offered little to nothing and is vastly inferior to polyurethane elastomers when vibration dampening is concerned. During my search, I discovered that the best shock absorption material involves some fancy gel type compound that solidifies upon fast impact and heats up, then re-liquifies but sadly this stuff isn't mainstream yet.
     
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  13. swsh

    swsh Regular Member

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    Are you using G4 handles by any chance? That’d explain your reaction to it being too thick. At that point I would just use a single overgrip overlapped 50/50 on wood. Try it for a good while and see if you end up getting used to it. I never really liked it at first but now I can’t go back.
     
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  14. Rimano

    Rimano Regular Member

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    This, came to exactly the same conclusion with my cushion wrap experiment. I usually prefer an overgrip over stock grip, but occasionally I have to resort to 2 overgrips on base wood, because I grab some of my rackets off the market place. Cushioned wrap makes it too soft and it's difficult to apply a thick consistent layer.
     
    #1654 Rimano, Nov 27, 2017
    Last edited: Nov 27, 2017
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  15. pepe54

    pepe54 Regular Member

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    All my Yonex racquets are G5's ; I do wish they came in G6 and G7 but those are custom I heard :D
    My Apacs handles are a G4.5 i'd say, while my old Ashaway is a G5.5 Mainly I think its because I have small hands lol

    With wrapping a single overgrip on barewood - that yields the best performance and feel for me, however I do suspect it is the prime culprit of how I landed an elbow tendonitis injury about a year ago when I was trying to learn the backhand clear like a madman on a 24lbs 2U Ashaway spare racquet lol. This sort of setup really has no cushioning / dampening effect on shuttle impact.

    PS: Cushion wrap / closed cell PU foam (material) fails to restore to its original flufiness/bounce after prolonged compression. Found out when I took it apart after a week or two of experimentation.
     
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  16. swsh

    swsh Regular Member

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    Interesting. All mid range country (ours) coded apacs here are G6 tho they claim to be G2 (G5 yonex). A hell of a lot thinner than all victor, yonex and li ning I own in G5. I guess it ain't the same there.

    Final suggestion that I also have done for a few is get a couple of RKEP g08's with your order or buy cheap Li Ning OG's from a nearby store which are all .75mm and wrap it without any overlap on the base. Cover it with electric tape to secure it (stiffens it up as well which feels nice) and then do your 50/50 overlap over that with a .6mm overgrip like g09 g10 yonex equivalents etc.
     
  17. pepe54

    pepe54 Regular Member

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    Actually, my mistake, to clarify, my earlier mention of my Apacs being G4.5 is just a colloquial estimation of mine. Officially their rated as G2 by their own nomenculeture yeah, but I do feel that they are slightly larder than the Yonex G5's hence I came up with the term G4.5. Its also interesting to note that the shape of these handles are slightly different between my Yonexes, Apacs, Ashaways and Prospeed; thus far the prospeed handle appeals to me the most as its most symmetrical (the yonxe's are asymmetrical, like a pulled rectangle - hexagon).

    Cheers for the suggestions again ... and by the way, I soap my grips for hygiene too, forgot to mention this a while back, people will probably lol at this. An unintended side benefit, it does increase tackiness further if a mild layer of hand soap is left in to dry, however, this will dry out the PU material and lead to hardness/drying/cracking in extreme cases). Germaphobe ftw lolol :D
     
    #1657 pepe54, Nov 28, 2017
    Last edited: Nov 28, 2017
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  18. swsh

    swsh Regular Member

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    I just wash my hands really thoroughly after changing and reaching the courts. Before this my grips would lose tackiness very quickly and get dirty but now that is no longer the case.

    Can't risk water getting through to the wooden handle despite me wrapping all of my handles with electric tape.
     
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  19. pepe54

    pepe54 Regular Member

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    I remember seeing a handle coated with clearcoat / lacquer / some kind of a finish and immediately thought that the owner did it to avoid the handles getting waterlogged. Now that I think about it, I'm not sure whether this finish was factory as I don't see it on my Yonex DG10 handle.Another idea involves using something like Rain-X or water repellent coating though I would be cautious about any unwanted interactions with the racquet that cause damage.

    That aside, I do believe that if you use a damp cloth with mild soap, it gets the handle no more wet than say a proper game of slugfest-style singles on a humid day :D
     
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  20. swsh

    swsh Regular Member

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    rkep.jpg

    G09W: Very tacky and very nice. A lot more cushion than I was expecting honestly. My arm will probably tear off but the grip won't let go from my hand. Perfection.

    G08: Too similar to Li Ning OG's. Looking forward to testing this one tomorrow.
     

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