Topic: Grip wrap questions

[korisu]

I have a few questions about the grip wrap used on table handles. I just got a used Tornado coin-op for my home, and have been maintaining the Tornado table at my work for a year now.

The wrap on both tables is intended to be permanent (not taken off until it needs to be replaced). I use Prince tennis overgrip tape at work, and TTR Masterwrap at home. What's the best way to apply the wrap so that it doesn't roll and become displaced over time? When I first applied the wrap as-is to the table at work, it rolled over itself and separated to become bunched up on the end as people yanked on the handles, and only lasted a month or so. What I'm doing at both work and home now is covering the handle with a layer of hockey tape first to give the handle some traction, and then wrapping a layer of grip wrap over that as tightly as possible with as little overlap as possible, then wrapping both ends with the tape provided with the grip wrap. Is there a better way to do this? I mainly want to hear what people who own personal tables have done before.

Secondly, is there any way to buy more of the tape that comes with the wrap? They never include enough to wrap two ends. I've looked at several tennis shops, and they don't carry it on its own. I've asked the pro shop workers at the tennis places too, and they say they just use electrical tape. I use that same electrical tape on the table at work, though, and it is definitely NOT the same. The electrical tape stretches and gradually gets rubbed off the end of the handle, and leaves a nasty black goopy residue where it used to be. I have to re-apply it every month or so to each handle. In comparison, the tape provided with the grip wrap hasn't budged at all since I applied it in April. There must be something different between the adhesive on the electrical tape and the adhesive on the grip wrap tape... all I know is, the grip wrap tape works, and the electrical tape doesn't. I haven't been able to find a straight answer in any tennis/sports store or even on the Internet - is there any way I can buy JUST the holder tape for the grip wraps, without having to buy new grip wraps along with them? Any help here would be much appreciated.

[marty]

not sure if this will help but go to foosball.com  they sell what they call wrap bands  basicly a small but wide rubber band you should have got some with your master wraps i just un wrap and re wrap and then after awile even turn the wraps over  and use for awile, the way with the tape your talking about it will not stay sticky least thats what i found

[korisu]

I have the rubber bands, but those are even worse than the electrical tape at staying on... one good yank and they're off. I'm more concerned about sweat absorption and comfort than stickiness, and durability comes before everything. Thanks though.

[Old Meister]

I use pieces of a bike inner tube. Cut it how ever you want. Cut longer pieces so that you can hold the middle rods up for goalie shot practice. Works for me,,,

[korisu]

Old Meister - I've thought about that, but I don't think that'd be absorbent enough to use at work. Several players there (myself included) have hands that sweat like fountains.

Anyhow, I think I may have just found what I'm looking for! Apparently it's called "grip finishing tape"... I've never seen it in a brick-and-mortar store before, but there are a few places online that carry it. I'll post when it arrives with whether or not it worked for me.

[papafoos]

Why would you want to make it permanent?  Some people prefer no wraps, while others have preferences to different degrees of tackiness.

[bbtuna]

don't use tape, i have to run, but i will get into more detail later...the wrap bands made for foosball, as sold here, work and have for years and are used by top players around the world...tape will ruin your wraps...you can get 4 good wrapings per wrap before doing any wrap washing and i will get into that more later

[alaskan thunder]

bike innertube cut into small bands, dont cover the whole handle just use it to secure the end of the wrap

[jinhopark]

Has anyone ever tried this WHATaGRIP stuff?

http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/Unique_Sports_What_A_Grip/descpageACUNIQUE-WAG.html

http://rmsboulder.com/cushionwhat-a-grip.aspx

They come in various colors/thicknesses/cushioning...and appear relatively inexpensive, not sure how long they last though.

Looks interesting enough as I like more of an overwrap that you can just roll on and does not unravel Vs. winding up and unwinding when done.  Just my $.02.

[bbtuna]

okay, wow, this is a stupid long post on wraps but I am...well, my friends might say touched, well, really they would say anal retentive or obsessive compulsive about this stuff or just stupid...so, for what its worth, here you go....

haven't tried them but when they start talking about "cushion" that usually means added thickness and i am not a fan of adding thickness to handles i think are already too thick...some day, when we can customize handles, i think it will be shown over time that the thinner the handle, the better performance (thinner and without dips an flairs and such - maybe the flat sides like on the current Tornado or on a Tennis or Racket Ball racket or one side like on some golf clubs - but i tend to think it will be more the shape of the shaft of a baseball bat but with no widening or change in circumference and for some, an end like a bat)

this is true for sure with the rollover since a thinner handle reduces the rotation thus increasing the speed of the spin part of the shot...but i think it will be found that it has a similiar benefit when pull shooters get used to the change in their stroke since the movement swinging your man back and down will benefit from increased speed for the same reasons rollovers benefit...it will make shooting middles easier...it will also improve the defiancies with a push shot but will not be able to fully overcome the physical issues with a long squared off or cut back pull.

thinner changable handles were tested and this one had heads turning from some big name rollover shooters http://www.foosballpro.com/foosball_product_photo.php?cat=Quik-Change%20Foosball%20Handles&item=5187.987987988
Terry Moore thought it was significant enough improvement to possiblily be considered an unfair advantage

now on rolling up a wrap, you don't have to keep your wraps that way, i never roll mine, i keep them lose acting like they don't care and just stuff them in a pocket or bag all willy nilly...still when i do neaten them up, i always use a fold method because I am not a fan of rolling them up either - too much work.  i just do fold them in half, half again, again, and again and like magic, they are in more or less the same configuration as when i got them...but again, i like them unwraped and crazy... like my game

with all that said, if it is important to you, you should buy one or two of a bunch of different ones until you find what you really like ...I have purchased eveything I have ever heard of and then some including tubes, gloves, and everything else available searching for what fit me best

a year in or so i settled on Wilson White Overgrips (color changes a grip a lot, so the black Wilson Overgrips are not the same)...good combination of thin and stickie (not too much of either and i could buy rolls of 30 for about a dollar each

then at the end, after i had committed to the Wilson, Master Wraps became available again and I tried a bunch of these, thick and thin, tons of colors...I use the thin light blue and white (I used to favor the thin yellow marginally but something changed in the last batch and they are just not the same any more)
MW are 2 dollars each (unless you buy in bulk) but in my opinion they are well worth it and last at least twice as long as the Wilsons - I have tried washing them after much use and find I get a second life from them...not as good or long as the first life but still good enough for 90% of the time I play or practice

a good friend of mine uses Yonex (lime green) and I have seriously considered switching because they are a little more tackie in the beginning, they last almost as long on side 1 (not as good, but usuable, side 2), they are quite a bit longer, and they are thin yet some how, are sort of spongie...cool combo, and I haven't figured out quite how they do it

everything else is crap....just kidding, to each their own

[korisu]

Thanks for the replies, everyone. I bought some finishing tape from a tennis supply company, and that seems to work MUCH better than the electrical tape I bought from the hardware store. I guess it's all in the glue in the tape, because the finishing tape hasn't slipped at all since I applied it. The reason I need it to be permanent is because there's absolutely no time to wrap the handles each time we play at work - we play on our lunch break, and the wrap has to be ready to go the moment we start.

bbtuna - you mentioned washing the wrap? How does that work? What do you use to wash it, and do you need to remove the wrap in order to wash it? The Masterwrap on my table at home has gotten dirty pretty quickly just from the grime on my hands, and if it's possible to clean it in place, I'm all ears. Does the tack come back after it's washed?

[bbtuna]

you can remove them and throw them in a washing machine with a load using hot water and dry them in the dryer again hot and they come back about 80-90%

you can clean them on the handle, its hard work, but use a wash cloth with hot water moist (not dripping it would be a mess) and scrub the dirt off...you can remove near 90% of the crud

afterward the wrap is wet and won't see like an improvement but after it dries it will be

they will never be like they were new but they will be much better than they are dirty and will prolong how good and how long you keep them

the way i wrap, i get 4 distinct wraps, so i have new wrap showing, on each wrap i use...two for the front side and two for the back...i have to think about how to explain it...its simple if you see it but it is hard to say

[Vaggeto]

BBtuna... when you say 4 wrappings... how does that work in a small tourny setting when you are using a table for 2-3 games and then off of it for 20 minutes then back on?
Doesn't this mean the life of the wrap is very short?

Thanks!

[bbtuna]

no it doesn't mean it is short...everyone who uses wraps at tournaments wraps and unwraps match after match - i haven't explained what i mean well so i think you are misunderstanding what i am getting at

let me try and explain it

start with the fat end of the wrap good side up
start the wrap in the dip/indent part of the handle
without moving out of the dip, use about 2 1/2 to 3 turns (not sure exact, i will count later) of the wrap to start filling the dip
then start to move toward the back of the handle
now i don't go all the way to the end, just to about 1/8 inch from the end
then I start back the other way carefully covering all the wraping I have already put down
then keep working to end of handle to about 1/8 from the end again

if i did the right amount of turns in the dip to the front of the handle and then to the end I should have just enough wrap to cover the end...if I do this, all the wraping I did in the dip and to the back end is covered and not being touched by my hands

i can unwrap and do this same wrap again and again until i think the wrap is more used than i want
then I do the same thing, with the top side of the wrap up starting in the dip as before but I start with the tappered end of the wrap
i use the same exact wrapping as above and what happens is the part of the wrap i had hidden under the wrap before is now on top (well about 90% of it)

again, i can unwrap and rewrap until this side doesn't suit me any more and then I flip it using the back side of the wrap starting with the fat end in the dip and wraping the same as above

this way i get two new/like new wrappings from the top side of the wrap and then two new/like new wrappings on the back side

the back side is not quite as good as the front but after you have worn the front side down it feels great, like a new wrap

you can only do this both sides things if the back side of the wrap is tacky enough and not all wraps are
i use Master Wraps thin light blue, red, or white (80% light blue) and these all allow for that

you can't do this with some of the thick or regular Master Wraps but you can with Wilson white "overgrips" and with Yonex....other may be able to, but I can tell you for sure these can