Captains of Crush Hand Gripper - No. 1

Although I have been into weight training for 20+ years, I had never specifically focused on grip strength until the last few months. One of the reasons that I never used grippers is that the only ones that I had seen were the junky kind sold in sporting goods stores. I thought (and think) that those are pretty much a joke. These Captains of Crush grippers are nothing like that.

I have been very strong for a long time. The closest that I had ever done to grip training is forearm work such as reverse curls and wrist curls. In addition to those, I have done a lot of work that hit the forearms with exercises such as deadlifts, etc.

Even though I am very strong overall, I was humbled when first working with these grippers. I bought the Sport, Trainer, and #1 initially. Even for someone with a background of a lot of weight training, the # 1 was a major challenge. The Sport was very easy and all that I ever used it for was warming up. I did a lot of work with the Trainer. My grip strength improved quickly and I did more and more with the #1. There are ten different models ranging from 60-365 lbs.

I would recommend that anyone who has not done a lot of gripper training not try to start off with too challenging of a model. The Trainer will be quite a workout even for pretty strong people. It is probably a good idea to get at least three different strength levels so that one can do warmups with one, higher repetition sets with another, and have one for doing low repetition sets that really work the muscles hard.

These grippers are all very high quality. They are made with aircraft grade aluminum handles. The springs are also top notch. They do tend to squeak at times so keep a can of WD 40 close by for the occasional spray.

If you want to improve your forearm and grip power, these are a great tool. I also recommend the Ivanko Super Gripper IVANKO Super Hand Gripper Hand Strength Forearm.

exactly what he wanted......a football player, wrestler and currently RUGBY player who strength trains 3-4 times a week....he loves this gripper! You will not be disapointed with this product!

UPDATE: he has now purchased the next level/version....these grippers are the very BEST!

Probably the best of its type of..er...exercise device (gripper sounds like a fake word).

Fast delivery, very good quality, though it took a little while for my hands to get used to the metal grip (it scrapes skin off at the beginning).

The No. 1 wasn't all that difficult to close, but I still can't close No. 2 (even after being able to close No. 1.5 and do about 10 reps with it). Maybe there should be a No. 1.75 or something.

If my wrist were not horribly screwed up (possibly from using the same Captains of Crush gripper, though that's unlikely), I'd be using it even now. Instead, all I can do is squeeze the Iron Mind egg. How sad.

As another reviewer put it, the Ferrari of hand-grips. I was tempted to call it the Cadillac of hand-grips but now that I think about it, that just wouldn't do it justice. These grips are solidly constructed, 100% metal with knurled gripping surfaces and easy to read engraving so you can tell which tension you've picked up (I own several tensions). I've tried every brand I've come across, and these are the best. They don't break, they don't slip, they're consistent and they are available in bone crushing tension levels and many stages between beginner and pro.

The COC 1 is a good place to start for men who already lift weights, work manual labor or have otherwise strong hands. Beware that grip strength is entirely it's own thing and a lot of "strong" people cannot close the #1. Still, with effort, people of ordinary strength can find themselves closing it with practice.

In my opinion, the #1 is the best place to start for men with already "strong" hands (strong by 'ordinary' standards, not 'grip strength practitioner' standards). If you are just beginning with grip training, go with the "Trainer" or even the "Sport". Under no circumstances- save for true freaks of nature or dedicated weightlifters- should anyone start above a #1 unless your goal is to own a gripper that you simply can't close.