Are You Into Leather?

Feb 19

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Are you into leather?

If not maybe you should be!  Leather grips are becoming popular, again, for a few reasons.  One reason is there are a few manufacturers that are doing a really good job producing leather grips that won’t break the bank.  I purchase leather grips from Head, Becker, Kimony and others.   The Kimony is a great example of a top quality leather grip.  The Head leather grip is Calf Skin therefore very supple whereas the Becker leather grip is more robust and comes in black.

Another reason is, that under normal tennis playing conditions, they never wear out!  This durability is enhanced when an overgrip is used.  A good leather grip can be cleaned, if necessary, with any number of leather conditioners.  If cleaning is desired do it on the racquet.  Once a leather grip is removed it is really difficult to get it back on the racquet perfectly.

A leather grip will add about 10 grams of weight to the rear-end of the racquet which adds stability without *increasing the swing weight.

A leather grip looks really great on most racquets.  Expect to pay about $22.00 for a good leather grip installed.  Installing a leather grip requires a little more time and care to produce a good fit around the butt cap and long lasting adhesion to the grip pallet.

I know looks don’t mean much to you but the other reasons should be enough to persuade you to try leather…on your racquet.

Kimony Leather Grip

Kimony Leather Grip

*Calculated swing weight (from the butt cap) will be affected by the additional grip weight but electronic devices that calculate swing weight from a point 4 inches (10 cm) above the butt cap will not exhibit an increase.

Posted on February 19, 2013, in Customization!, Grips, News!, Racquets, Tips. Bookmark the permalink. 6 Comments.

  1. Sam | January 9, 2015 at 3:56 PM

    I recently switched to a leather grip on my head prestige MP, but soon gave me pain in my arm. I added powerpads ( small pieces of leather on the grommets which prevent vibration) which helped. I was wondering if anyone knew why the leather grip was hurting my arm on my Prestige but not my other rackets which didn’t require power pads?

    Reply
    • RacquetQuest | January 10, 2015 at 11:55 AM

      Sam, I don’t know why the leather would be an issue on that racquet specifically. Where are you putting the “power pads” on the Prestige?

      Reply
      • Sam | January 10, 2015 at 12:30 PM

        Hi, I’m putting the power pads in the four main strings where they usually go. Should a leather grip work on all racquets?

        Reply
        • RacquetQuest | January 10, 2015 at 1:05 PM

          Sam, I just wondered if you were removing any of the Cap System to make way for the power pads at the sides. Have been installing leather grips on many racquets without any issues. Are you using the Head Calf Leather or something else? Do you use an overgrip? What other racquets do you have leather grips on?

          Reply
          • Sam | January 10, 2015 at 1:23 PM

            I used a Wilson leather grip on my prestige mp with an overgrip over the top. I have a babolat pure storm gt which came with a leather grip pre installed. I thought it was quite strange that the prestige causes my arm pain but the babolat doesn’t. Do the rackets you used in the past with leather grips have hollow handles or are they filled with foam or silicone. I was wondering if this was the reason…but then again both the babolat and he prestige have hollow handles. Confusing.

          • RacquetQuest | January 10, 2015 at 6:20 PM

            Sam, did you have arm pain with the Head racquet prior to the leather grip? Did anything else change, like string, tension, machine or something?

            John

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