New? C2 Grips

[GettingFaster]

I was looking the C2 website under the scull grips section, wondering when the suede grips will be released, when I noticed the contoured orange rubber grip. It looks like an attempt at mimicking the croker grip. However, I haven't seen any sort of press behind these. Are these actually new? Has anybody used them?

[Dirty Water]

C2 was giving away "demo" pairs in Grand Rapids last summer that were essentially machine-contoured composite green grips.... I picked up a pair but didn't get around to putting them on my oars until fairly late in the season so didn't get a lot of water time with them. That being said the brushed texture seemed a little easier on the hands, and the contouring was comfortable enough.

[DouglasM]

Thanks for alerting me to the new grips. I had been using crocker grips on a new set of C2 sculls, and the exposed edge of the collar on the handles was cutting my knuckles when I messed up the cross over on the recovery.
I tried out a set of the new C2 contoured grips yesterday. It was raining and not very warm and the grips seemed to work well. I felt secure and my knuckles were a lot less damaged this time round. I had been using blue crocker grips and I think the C2 ones are a slightly smaller diameter.

[SwagRowerYOLO]

Thanks for alerting me to the new grips. I had been using crocker grips on a new set of C2 sculls, and the exposed edge of the collar on the handles was cutting my knuckles when I messed up the cross over on the recovery.
I tried out a set of the new C2 contoured grips yesterday. It was raining and not very warm and the grips seemed to work well. I felt secure and my knuckles were a lot less damaged this time round. I had been using blue crocker grips and I think the C2 ones are a slightly smaller diameter.

Are they hard like the green handles though? with a bit of contour added, or is there a little bit of squish in them like the blue croker grips?

[DouglasM]

I haven't used the C2 green handles, but I think the new C2 contoured grips are harder that the blue crocker ones.

[SwagRowerYOLO]

I haven't used the C2 green handles, but I think the new C2 contoured grips are harder that the blue crocker ones.

1 - 10 on squish what would you rate them? (10 most squishy)

[DouglasM]

I guess they would be in the 1 or 2 area of your squishy scale....

[SwagRowerYOLO]

I guess they would be in the 1 or 2 area of your squishy scale....

Gotcha. I rate the croker blues as a 6.8 squish and the c2 black sweep handles at about 8.1.

I don't think I could go back to anything below 5.5 now that I've been spoiled by the new c2's.

I rate the green c2 at about a 2.5 and olde style wood at 4

[teo]

this thread alerted me to the existence of these grips, so i bought a pair and have used them for a week or so. i like them.

33.5mm diameter is a sweet spot for me. i had been using green medium (34.5mm) or green thin (32mm) with each being just a bit too big/small, respectively. i'm not too big on the contours because my left hand grip is wonky and doesn't sit quite right with them. the placement seems the same as croker grips. i do like how the 'edge' of the grip tapers toward the thumb. it's not as abrupt as a croker's but it's a little less round than the green.

i squeezed a handful of other grips at the boathouse today. the c2 orange are a bit softer than crokers by 1-2 points. i would say the new c2 are of a similar softness to staempfli grips if the staempfli grips didn't have the raised crosshatch texture. the texture of the orange is a lot closer to croker than something like the c2 black foam. they certainly feel less durable than the green grips but not like they'll disintegrate in a season.

in a perfect world, i'd use 33.5mm green grips with the orange-style taper. in the meantime, i think it was $20 well spent for these.

[SwagRowerYOLO]

this thread alerted me to the existence of these grips, so i bought a pair and have used them for a week or so. i like them.

33.5mm diameter is a sweet spot for me. i had been using green medium (34.5mm) or green thin (32mm) with each being just a bit too big/small, respectively. i'm not too big on the contours because my left hand grip is wonky and doesn't sit quite right with them. the placement seems the same as croker grips. i do like how the 'edge' of the grip tapers toward the thumb. it's not as abrupt as a croker's but it's a little less round than the green.

i squeezed a handful of other grips at the boathouse today. the c2 orange are a bit softer than crokers by 1-2 points. i would say the new c2 are of a similar softness to staempfli grips if the staempfli grips didn't have the raised crosshatch texture. the texture of the orange is a lot closer to croker than something like the c2 black foam. they certainly feel less durable than the green grips but not like they'll disintegrate in a season.

in a perfect world, i'd use 33.5mm green grips with the orange-style taper. in the meantime, i think it was $20 well spent for these.

Whoa Whoa Whoa....

Orange are softer than blue Crokers?

[teo]

from my unscientific test, yes, albeit quite marginally. keep in mind that my orange grips are essentially fresh out of packaging vs. croker grips that have probably been in use for multiple seasons. i wouldn't be surprised if age alone accounted for any perceived difference.

c2 pretty transparently attempted to copy the croker grip for its customers, and i think they came pretty darn close. for what it's worth, i don't notice any more 'squish' in the handle when sculling vs. the c2 green. also remember that (just like crokers) the contours are harder than the non-raised bits, so how it will feel depends on how much of your fingers overlap the edges of those raised sections.

[SwagRowerYOLO]

from my unscientific test, yes, albeit quite marginally. keep in mind that my orange grips are essentially fresh out of packaging vs. croker grips that have probably been in use for multiple seasons. i wouldn't be surprised if age alone accounted for any perceived difference.

c2 pretty transparently attempted to copy the croker grip for its customers, and i think they came pretty darn close. for what it's worth, i don't notice any more 'squish' in the handle when sculling vs. the c2 green. also remember that (just like crokers) the contours are harder than the non-raised bits, so how it will feel depends on how much of your fingers overlap the edges of those raised sections.

In my experience, the C2 green sculling handles, are as hard as stones, not a thing scratches or dents them, and they have absolutely no squish.

The Croker blue handles, have an abundance of squish, and I've even noticed that my wedding ring cuts a grove in them, as I row along.

[teo]

i took about 30 seconds to fondle a couple of other grips, so maybe i'm off. in any case, i don't find the orange grips to be drastically softer than the green.