The 6 Best Weight Lifting Grips And Pads

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Weight lifting grips and pads allow you to work bigger muscles without fatiguing your forearms first and protect your hands.

The wrong models will not offer that much extra grip and break down soon. The best weight lifting grips and pads can offer amazing workouts for years to come.

Best weight lifting grips and pads top picks

After investigating 38 weight lifting grips and pads models in detail, these are our top picks:

1. Best for the average lifter: Cobra Grips PRO
2. Best for the advanced lifter: Versa Gripps PRO
3. Krato Kevlar Lined Versatile Lifting Grips
4. Grip Power Pads Original Lifting Grips (simple pads without straps or finger holes)
5. Grip Power Pads Lifting Dowel Straps (extra plastic piece at the end of the grip)
6. Bear KompleX 2 and 3 Hole Weightlifting Grips (has finger holes)

Weight lifting grips and pads come in a few different types. When a top pick is not the standard wrist strap, no-finger, design, this is noted after the product name. This saves you some time.

Something else to note is that different individuals can have different training goals, strength capacities, budgets, and personal preferences. Sometimes picks lower on the list will be better for you personally.

How we selected our top picks

Our fitness experts spent a lot of time looking at and comparing all the different important factors of weight lifting grips and pads. Some of the things that were taken into consideration when making our selection include:

• Design type, materials used, durability, etc.
• User reviews
• Anecdotal reviews from fitness experts
• Price
• Brand trustability

If a pick seems interesting click it to see the online prices.

6 Best weight lifting grips and pads reviewed

If you know what type of weight lifting grips and pads you want, the list of top picks can help you make a quick decision and save some time.

You can also look at each of the best weight lifting grips and pads reviewed in depth to ensure you are making the right choice for your personal situation.

1. Cobra Grips PRO

Our top pick for the best weight lifting grips for the average lifter is a pair of Cobra Grips PRO (or fit for individuals with smaller hands). Individuals who lift very often likely want to go straight to the second option.

These are still extremely good but there are just a few more customers that find this option not optimal when it comes to comfort. Individuals who are on a tight budget and/or don’t lift as often can save some money by getting the Cobra Grips PRO.

You have a few different options when it comes to the Cobra Grips. First of all, there is the choice between the PRO and the FIT models. The PRO design has a slightly bigger wrist and grip surface than the FIT design.

The people behind the Cobra Grips recommend the PRO for wrist sizes from 5.5” to 8.75” (14 cm to 22.2 cm) and the FIT for wrist sizes from 4.25” to 7.0” (10.8 cm to 17.8 cm).

Next, you can choose between rubber and leather weight lifting grips. Customers mention that they find the leather version more comfortable but the rubber version more grippy.

Which one is the best depends on how much grip you need and personal preference.

Something that is not as relevant to your workouts but a nice addition anyway is the option to choose between a wide variety of color designs.

If you are on a tight budget and/or don’t lift as often, you can save some money with the Cobra Grips. Individuals who don’t mind investing more in just a bit more comfort can go to the second top pick.

2. Versa Gripps PRO

The Versa Gripps PRO are definitely above-average in terms of price but people are just a bit more satisfied with them than the previous option.

If you lift 3 or more days a week and/or have a somewhat bigger budget you likely want to invest just a bit more since you will be using the weight lifting grips so often.

Something positive that stands out is how specific the Verse Gripps brand is about its sizes. One thing to note about this is that some customers find these sizing guidelines inaccurate.

However, reviews go in both ways. Some people find the sizes mentioned too big, others too small. This in combination with the many happy customers who have no issues with this implies that these are cases of personal preferences.

One important thing related to sizes is that individuals with small hands can also go for the Versa Gripps FIT Authentic. These have a smaller grip surface.

The option to choose between different colors is a somewhat standard but nice addition.

Overall, the many customers are typically very positive in their reviews. If you have the budget for them, the Versa Gripps PRO are typically a great choice.

3. Krato Kevlar Lined Versatile Lifting Grips

This next option is just a bit more budget-friendly than the Cobra Grips. However, with the small difference and slightly less positive customer reviews, most people want to go for the Cobra Grips.

That being said, if you are on a tight budget and don’t lift that often, you could consider these Krato Kevlar Lined Versatile Lifting Grips.

The first thing that can be improved in these weight lifting grips is the size. Some customers find them too short for comfortable and convenient usage.

It also looks like these weight lifting grips from Krato are not as durable as the more premium options. However, more customer feedback about this is needed to be able to say that for sure.

That being said, customers are still generally very happy with their investment.

If you don’t lift as often, want a budget-friendly way to try out weight lifting grips, and/or are on a tight budget, you can give Krato Kevlar Lined Versatile Lifting Grips a shot.

4. Grip Power Pads Original Lifting Grips

The Grip Power Pads Original Lifting Grips are unusual from the previous options in the sense that they are simple weight lifting pads without any wrist straps or finger holes (although there are options with finger holes too).

This type of design has advantages and disadvantages. The main advantage is that some people like the extra breathing room and that nothing is around their wrist or the rest of their hands.

Additionally, this type of design is more budget-friendly than most weight lifting grips.

On the other hand, these weight lifting pads don’t stay in place as well. During your exercises, especially with heavy weights, they can slip to some extent.

The effects of this can range from some annoyance to dropping weights and the downsides that come with that.

Additionally, they require more attention in between sets. Weight lifting grips with wrist straps simply follow your hands wherever they go.

Weight lifting pads can fall down between sets, then you have to pick them up, carefully put them into place before each set, etc.

For the right people who value the benefits of weight lifting pads and don’t mind the downsides, these can be a good choice. They have many happy customers who tend to be very positive in their reviews.

5. Grip Power Pads Lifting Dowel Straps

This next option is another model that is different from the standard design. The material used in the Grip Power Pads Lifting Dowel Straps is less grippy but there is a plastic piece at the end to offer a solid grip anyway.

One thing to keep in mind is that your hands need to be the right size for the weight lifting grips to work well.

You can put the wrist straps somewhat higher or lower on your forearms but even then you will stay close to the length of 17.5″ (44.5 cm).

Additionally, some people simply do not like this type of design for their weight lifting grips.

One positive detail of the Grip Power Pads Lifting Dowel Straps is that they are very budget-friendly. At the same time, customers still tend to be happy with their purchases.

Two other nice additions are the money-back guarantee and the option to choose between a few different colors.

6. Bear KompleX 2 and 3 Hole Weightlifting Grips

These weight lifting grips from Bear KompleX stand out in that they have finger holes on top of the more common wrist straps.

A benefit of this is that the grips stay in place over your hand palms even when you are not applying any pressure. This can be useful for getting into position for a new set.

On the other hand, this makes the Bear KompleX Weightlifting Grips also less convenient for the usage method where you strap the grip around the bar and then put your hand on the other side.

Some people also simply like or don’t like the feel of the extra finger holes.

A downside specific to this pair from Bear KompleX is that there are a few cases where the weight lifting grips did not last that long.

Additionally, some people find the grip lacking which can be inconvenient at best and lead to dropping heavy weights.

One positive point is that you have the option to choose between 2 or 3 finger holes. You may prefer one or the other. Besides that, the money-back guarantee is nice to have, especially if you are not sure (yet) about this type of design.

Most people will prefer the more standard weight lifting grip design but if you have a preference for this type of design, the pair from Bear KompleX can be a good choice.

How to choose weight lifting grips and pads

You may still be unsure about what pair of weight lifting grips and pads is the right choice for you. Thinking about some of the following features can help:

1. Design type: Weight lifting grips and pads come in different design types. Some of the things that vary include wrist straps or not and finger holes or not. Which one is the right choice is mostly a case of personal preference but for example, the ones with wrist straps will typically be more convenient to use since they stay close to your hands between sets without any extra effort.
2. Size: You want to make sure the model you have in mind is the right size so you can use it comfortably. Some of the areas that will vary in size include the wrist strap length, finger hole diameters, and pad size.
3. Material used: Different weight lifting grips and pads can use different materials. In some cases, you can even choose between the rubber and leather versions. What material you want to choose is a combination of personal preference, durability, and how much extra grip you want.
4. Price: With fitness equipment like weight lifting grips and pads that you will use so often you typically want to choose performance and comfort over small price differences. That being said, sometimes you can get very similar or more benefits at a lower price. Some individuals also don’t lift that often and in turn, may lean towards more budget-friendly options.

Once you know what you want in these details you can check the best weight lifting grips and pads for them. This can help you choose the right model for you personally.

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