Looking at the grip in the photo's and my own, I'm almost certain LCW has gripped straight on to the wood, or what looks like black electrical tape. On mine, you can actually very clearly see the shape and mould of the original grip below the super grap, in the photo's above, especially the first, there is no sign of under mould or original gripping. The articles etc that i've read seem to be correct.
AFAIK, LCW takes off original grip, places a layer of White athletic tape on to the wood, then wraps AC102 on top.
It does indeed make the feel much harder. Increases BP, decreases overall weight, increases feedback to the handle, but also is much more (imo) uncomfortable and can cause blisters and sores if not careful. I still prefer to play with the original grip on tbh. Here's an example comparing Super Grap over the original grip and super grap over bare wood/tape.
Nope, pic number 1 is super grap over bare wood/tape. Pic no 2 is super grap over the original grip (you can see the shape of the grip below it).
Just do more hard labour and you'll have no problem hehe! More seriously though, once you've removed the original grip, it really depends on what "replacement grip" you use too. I'm using a Karakal PU Super Grip on my 3UG5 VT80 that's wrapped around quite thinly. If I used this 10-15 years ago, I would have hated it and found it uncomfortable. Now, it seems perfect.
I understand what you felt. Looks so much thinner than what you would get if you grip the Super Grap over the original grip than over raw wood doesn't it?
a'ah...yup. my eyes got confused i guess does it means LCW on VT80, still maintain original grip...and total weight is within 3U range? i think i will experiment what would it feel for taking off the original and bare supergrap on vt80. who knows....
Putting on a replacement grip is easy enough, I was talking about putting thin super grap over grip straight on to the wood (which is what LCW does, among a few other players). It can be very rough on the hands. Personally, I think I'll stick with normal grips, since I value the smoothness of my hands in favour of my other half over having rougher hands for badminton lol.
I already tried it on one of my older VT80's. Overall weight is lighter, but BP is a good degree higher and whilst you get more feedback from the handle (you can feel the contours of the wood better), it really ins't comfortable. I wouldn't recommend it unless you have coarse skin on your hands or could put up with the discomfort till you get used to it.
I think it also depends on how much over-lap you're using. My replacement grip over-lap is nearly nothing (a "mistake" on my part actually with the VT80, as I normally have a little over-lap). LCW's over-grip looks like it has decent over-lap, thus the actual thickness of the grip may be comparable.
I think it's good to experiment, and to keep experimenting (within reason) - our bodies (unfortunately?) don't stay the same over time! Regardless, you won't know what you prefer until you try it out.
if is that the case, i will just put another supergrap on top of that supergrap....me also appreciate the smoothness of my hands too. must try it first, but the end in mind.....
Truth is as I said LCW doesn't grip the Super Grap directly over the raw wood. The pictures I posted tell it. If it is raw wood underneath it will look much thinner. LCW uses G4 and you can clearly see that his grips in the pics are obviously thicker than a stock G4 handle plus original grip. As for Super Grap directly over raw wood, I have heard that mostly only the doubles players do that, since in doubles you're not required to return all shots you see hit into your side of the court.
By the way, a beginner-intermediate player had a feel of my 3U VT80 and he said it was really light. Compared to the racket he's using, which is probably made in the 1990s, it sure is!