So after almost six-months of use with my beloved racket, I made a little change. I changed it’s grip. You see, my racket came with a big, white, fluffy wrapping around the handle. Set by the manufacturer.
But it’s white. I don’t wear white clothes for a reason. I’m a slob and will get it dirty immediately. I mean, I don’t spill tea on my racket or smear ketchup on it, but I’m not the neatest cleanest person. White just isn’t good for me.
It was bright white before.
So I finally went to the store to choose a new grip. But I was confronted with a lot of choices.
First off, there was the color to consider. I don’t want my racket to be ugly so colors like powder blue was out of the question. Also, I think black makes my racket look a bit evil and white was out, obviously. I also hate pink and as my racket has a lot of purple in it pink and purple would make it look too girly. So I had to go with one of the neon colors.
But beyond the colors, I had to choose a style. My former grip tape was puffy and my teacher said it wasn’t good for me. I later learned that the thicker tape helps for strong hits like smashes and drives. Things I’m not so good at and don’t do often, so I wanted a thinner grip this time.
There is also a grip style called a towel grip. This sounds exactly like what it is. It’s a cotton towel-like material that is heavy, but good if you want more power (or if your hands sweat a lot). I sweat from basically every pore except my hands, and I see towel grip as just a nasty cesspool of germs like a toilet seat cover so I passed on that.
I ended up with the nice sounding “comfort grip” in the end. In a bright orange color. Thinner grips give you more control for detailed shots like fakes, drop shots and clears. I figured it was the best for me all around.
You can change the grip yourself, but I’m the kinda person that ends up wrapping the scissors in a package at Christmas so I am not the right person for that. I asked the lady at the badminton court to help me.
She peeled off the old tape revealing the stark, wood handle with nails (or something) in it. Rackets require tape so they don’t finish the handle at all. There is no need so there is no nice varnished surface or anything. Then she unwrapped the tape I had bought. It’s self adhesive but you have to peel off the back. She did that and then wound it around and around the racket, finishing it of with some black take to hold it tight at the top.
It was nerve wracking to watch–like when your favorite stuffed animal is in the washing machine–but she was a pro and within minutes I had my new wrap!
My shiny new grip!
Of course I had to strut around the rest of the time showing off my “cool new grip” and everyone was sick of it by the end of the day, but I like it! I like that it is thinner than before and I feel like I can get a better grip on the racket.
