Another AC102EX fan (on electrical taped wood) here, I have pretty sweaty hands and get about 20 hours before i need to replace it. I tend to switch between my rackets (same ones) if it starts getting to sodden/slippy. Quite like toweling but can't face all that messing with powder.
I've been using karakal tribal after the first day I tried it ever since. My grip usually lasts 3-4 months (4hours/week) before it really has to be changed because my hand doesn't sweat much. Lucky me. It's tacky-ness often goes off after day 1 or 2 but the overall feeling of the grip still remains. It's also quite expensive in Malaysia so that's the 2 reason I won't change it regularly.
I use supergraps (black). No factory grip under. only electrical tape on the wood and supergrap on top. Tues: 8hrs (morning social 3hr, training 1hr, night social 3hr, private court hire 1hr) Wed: 3hrs (sometimes) Thurs: 3hrs (training and social play after) Fri: 3hrs Sat: 3hrs (sometimes) Sun: 3hrs The supergrap starts to wear badly by friday after regripping on tuesday. (i regrip weekly-1.5 weeks)
its VERY weak when sweat comes into contact with it. I also noticed when i actually try to pull the grip when gripping to make it flat. i could see signs of tearing
Current weather has been so hot and I play more often leading to more regular changes required. Tackiness is gone after like 1.5 weeks for me.
Yah the weather is bad. Whenever I change my grip my father will scold me for an hour or two. So the last time I used the factory grip for two years. You could be like WOW! But yes, i change it occasionally.
For me, towel grip takes a week to break in - changing it more often than once a month or so would not be practical. As I cant play a lot at this point, grips last me anywhere between 4 and 16 weeks, depends a lot on how warm halls are (more sweat causes more residual buildup, so warmer halls shorten grip life span). Dont use Yonex' rubber grips atm because I tear through them with my thumb and where the racket makes contact with the floor on dives, and I got tired of re-ordering and re-gripping so frequently compared to towel grip.
So how do the pros fare with towel grips if it takes a while to break in? Also, never ever seen you dive in your videos...
You dont watch them all, start to end? I'm heartbroken! Applying grip powder helps, but also hardens it quicker. I CAN play immediately but it doesnt feel as great as after a week or so. Also, some ppl can use then freshly applied w/o the grip powder, but I'm not one of them
Making a towel is not expensive and can be made by using an old towel and a double side tape. I generally change my grip every week and this has made a lot of impact on my game. My grip is always new and always take pride in telling my friends that the towel grip was made at home. It is highly cost effective and improves ones game.
Recently, I use Yonex AC102EX to replace the base original grip without any kind of tape on top of the wood. It lasts for more than a month. Not sure exactly how long it lasts. But, I wonder whether what I do atm will tear the wood if I have a sweaty hand.
The dampness might soften up the wood eventually...better put some electrical tape on the wood to prevent sweat entering the handle (as well as possible, anyway). Doesnt affect thickness or feeling, but overgrip is a bit trickier to apply since it's slippery.
It won't affect the wood. Have been doing the same thing for around 10 years and I have never had any problems, nor seen any damage done to the wood.
Thanks to j4ckie and rbynck for the input. A friend of mine gave me a quite thick overgrip last week and it feels nice compared to AC102EX. It is because I still feel the wood but the feeling is softer. I tried to find thicker overgrip (Victor, Karakal) in UK but no luck. Anybody knows any thicker overgrip that I can buy around UK? Thanks.
Hmmm...that might be a good idea. Perhaps it can add a bit of softer feeling to the grip. Thanks for the idea Warlock86!
