Kent,
no, not going, just had a long text exchange with Chris T about it...wish i could, been out of work since November...i just hope i can right the ship for July...if you want to come to town once in a while, i have a guest room and can put you up rather than make the 2 1/2 hour trip two ways same day
Grips,
here is a composit of some I have written on this in the past...
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=5187.987987988Terry 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 everything 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 are at foosball.com...they are broken down into basically two groups..thick and tackey and thin extra tacky...I use the thin extra tacky which come in only 4 colors Light Blue, Red, Yellow, and White...the red are by far the tackiest out (more than any other wrap I have used) but don't last nearly as long as the light blue because they are thinner and if you are taking them on and off, they sort of self-destruct...the white aren't different enough for me to want to use them...I HIGHLY recommend the Light Blue (Yellow came later and were the best but something changed last time I ordered them and they were like a different wrap from a different company so I can’t recommend them until I know they are good again)
the thick ones come in many colors and the tackiness varies a little by color as noted above but the one thing they all have in common is that they are thicker and I am agin this because the handles are already “thick” enough – still, many people really like them
everything else is crap....just kidding, to each their own
however, with that said, there is no "best" wrap, it is personal preference, cost, and need (how much does your hand sweat)
I have tried many wraps, tubes/rubbers, and even golf gloves like we used to use in the old days (and Nathan Winter and Fredric C. still use)
I recommend, according to your budget, to try all kinds and see what works best for you...buy one or two of as many different brands as you can and start working your way through them until you find what works best for you (try tubes and such too)
going to Walmart and/or a Sporting Goods store will get you started in the right direction and you won't have to wait for the online ones...however, try a bunch online, these are overgrips foosers have used for years so they work with our application
colors make a big difference even in the same brand and model...somehow the dye used changes their texture
start at foosball.com [link=http://store.yahoo.com/foosdirect-store/wraps.html newwindow]Foosball.com shop online[/link]
and order like one or two of everything there...when you get a chance go to a tennis online and you will find a bunch of other brands
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
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