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PURE Grips - (Gadget Review)


GolfSpy Dave

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MyGolfSpy.com Review – Pure Golf Grips

http://www.puregrips.com/

 

First and foremost, thank you to Wes and Michael for providing me with a full range of PURE Grips to review. Check out this assortment.

IMG_0839.jpg

IMG_0838.jpg

 

As you well know, there are many choices of golf grips available to today's golfer. PURE Grips believe that their grips are superior because of the strict quality control in the injection molding manufacturing process, the exceptional feel in all weather conditions, the durability (12-month guarantee), and the tapeless air installation. Plus, they are made here in the good old USA. More specific information can be found here: http://www.puregrips.com/help

 

As you can see from the photos above and from the Pure Grips web site, Pure Grips come in a broad assortment of styles. From oversized to undersized, from firm to soft, one should be able to find a grip that suits an individual's preference. The grips are all black with the paintfill colors reflecting the specific type of grip (orange for oversized, red for soft, & etc.). If black is not to your liking, stay tuned to the end of the article for new color goodness. No jumping ahead now...

 

I am going to break this review into two parts that I think will address the two primary questions about Pure Grips. “How easy are they to install?” & “How do they perform?”

 

AIR INSTALLATION OF PURE GRIPS

So installing grips with an air compressor is not unique to Pure Grips. In fact our own Golfspy Matt published a nice DIY piece on the topic of re-gripping with air in this very forum.

 

http://forum.mygolfs...air-compressor/

 

While Matt may be an accomplished club builder in that sweet workshop of his, I am a neophyte. My typical club building option is to say “debit please” when I pay for services at the local shop. Prior to messing with the Pure Grips, I have installed one grip total in my life, and it was using hair spray (find my DIY whip trainer article for more details). Needless to say, confidence was not high as I embarked upon this adventure.

 

Before starting, I had to procure the needed materials. I picked up a small vice ($30), a hook blade utility knife, and a rubber shaft holder ($7). Obviously missing from the list is the air gun and the air compressor. Thankfully Pure Grips supplied the installer gun (see photo) and my brother supplied the compressor (see his behind in the first video).

IMG_0843.jpg

 

Tools in hand, I next went to the Pure Grip web site to watch the instructional video. You can see it here:

http://www.puregrips...s_installation/

 

Looked easy enough on the video so I cut the old grips off a set of clubs and set out for my brother's with grips and semi-confidence. I thought it would be fun to show some of the videos of me installing the grips. The first video here is actually my first attempt at installing the yellow banded Pure Pro model. No kidding...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4E8DTp5wVo

No I am not trying to play jingle bells. 47 seconds, not bad.

Here is the second grip; a blue banded Pure Smooth Wrap.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5Ht1ktqkbk

 

Three seconds faster. I may be the king of air install. Midsized, Soft Wrap, and Pure Wrap all quickly succumbed to my grip-installing prowess.

 

Now according to Pure, these grips can be installed over old tape, new blue painters tape, or even on a bare shaft. So feeling confident in my skills, I removed the tape from the last shaft and went with a bare shaft install of the undersized grip. Here is the video of the first attempt:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCcukZcqdcA

 

That worked great, LOL. Here is the second and more successful attempt:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKljJobO9Ws

 

Now it may be the undersized grip, or the lack of tape, but this install was a bit more difficult. The grip seemed to stick to the bare shaft more than it did the taped shafts. The core diameter is also only .580 in this model as compared to the .600 in the others. Obviously not impossible, but it was initially more difficult.

 

One of my concerns was getting the grip badge squared to the club face. I have watched my normal repair guy adjust the grip to square while the solvent is still wet. Adjusting with the air was very easy. My alignment skills are still a work in progress, but a pulse of air was enough to get the grip moving again. I could also feel how the grip could be stretched while the air is being applied. Throughout the installs I did not have a single grip distort or burst under the pressure. I did, of course, set the compressor to the Pure recommended minimum and maximum pressures before starting.

 

I was very impressed at the ease of the overall install process. I feel confident in my ability to regrip my clubs with the Pure system. This after only one session. Another exciting idea for me is the ability to manipulate the amount of tape on the shaft to affect the shape of the grip. I have wanted to experiment with building up the tape under the right hand. The air install makes this a quick and reversible process. The grips were firmly attached to the shafts and resisted my best attempts to twist them in my hands. No waiting for the solvent to dry here.

 

Obviously this method of installing is not unique to the Pure grips, but the Pure install gun and the grips themselves make this technique easy and accessible to anyone,

 

AIR INSTALL SCORE: 40/40

 

 

PURE GRIPS PERFORMANCE

So it was totally easy and a bit fun to put on the grips, but that means nothing if they don't perform well on the clubs. As you can see I ended up with quite the rainbow array of grips on my clubs. This, I'm afraid, is where the review will be based more upon my grip preferences than the range of grips as a whole. First a few general notes about the grips and testing conditions:

IMG_0850.jpg

 

I was hitting off wet mats in between rain cells that are pelting us for the next week or so. As a result, the grips were exposed to water during the testing process. Universally, the grips remained tacky after drying the grip with a towel.

 

Not a single grip became loose or twisted during the testing process. Even when I opted to hit some balls on the fat side... ☹

 

Finding a specific grip that feels “best” can only truly be determined by an individual player. For me, I really liked the Pure Pro (yellow) and Pure Smooth Wrap (blue). Midsized was way too big for my left hand, and the undersized was so thin that I felt a bit disconnected from the club in the swing. The Pure Wrap and the Pure Soft Wrap were about in the middle of the pack for me.

 

The only negative experience came when I hit the Pure Smooth Wrap fat and it sent my right hand into the land of numb. It was cold, a bit damp, and it stung. Pure lists this grip as “moderate” in the shock absorption category. Even with the stinger, this was one of my favorites. If you are playing on cold, hard turf this may be a consideration when selecting the grip for you.

 

As a point of comparison of “likes” in relation to grips, my gamer set of irons are gripped with the Ping ID8 grips, save the six iron that has an orange Premio I am testing. I would be totally OK swapping my current grips for the Pure Pros. That's probably the best endorsement I can give.

 

As you are reading this you may be thinking that it is a bold claim to review performance based upon a hundred or so balls in a single range session, and I agree with you. I cannot hope to test Pure's 12 Month Guarantee with this small data set. However, I do have some more long-term data to report. Last summer I picked up a set of Scratch wedges (thanks Ari) that came with Scratch branded Pure Pro grips. Through the dozen or so rounds that the Pure Grips were on my clubs, they performed as expected and didn't look worn at all when I had them removed. The only reason I took them off was that the rest of my set had New Decades on them at the time and I didn't like having different grips on the wedges as I found it distracting. Replacing the two Pure grips was easier than replacing the Decades...

 

PERFORMANCE SCORE: 40/40 (although long-term play may cause revision)

 

 

APPEARANCE AND QUALITY

The Pure Grips are made of quality materials. This is apparent during the install process (not exploding in my face) and in swinging the club. Even the install gun is high quality metal with a thick plastic nozzle. So quality is top notch.

 

My appearance rating system for the Pure Grips is somewhat embarrassing. I like colored grips and I like the colors to match. I'm a golf peacock, so shoot me... I am currently gaming Ping G10 irons and the grips that I like (Pure Pro) are black and yellow, clashing with the G10 orange. Color is a silly characteristic to worry about in a grip for some, but there are many out there like myself that are drawn to the bright colors of Iomics, Premios, No1s, and the like. As it stands, I would not buy and use the Pure grips with my G10's because of the color issue. If only Pure grips came in other colors...

 

Take a look at this photo.

white.jpg

How about this one?

multicolor.jpg

That's right, Pure is coming out with colored versions of their grips. This reviewer is very excited to see this development. Sweet white grips that install in seconds with a compressor, count me in. Current price point for the Pure grips is $7.49 per grip or 13 grips plus an install gun for $99. This about the middle of the pack for grips these days, with the package being the better deal. If the new colored grips are priced in this range, I see a big hit for Pure with the new line.

 

APPEARANCE AND QUALITY SCORE: 10/20 (May improve with the new color offerings.)

 

TOTAL SCORE: 90/100

 

SUMMARY

I think that Pure Grips are a great product that truly brings the concept of air installation to the average golfer. They offer a wide assortment of quality grips that should meet the playing needs of a wide range of golfers. If you have issues with colors matching (like I do) you may be a bit frustrated with the color of the grip you like does not match your gear. That being said, the new line of colored Pure grips may be just what was missing from their line-up. Players will soon have the option of air installed, made in the USA, colored grips, without paying the premium import grip prices.

 

Thanks again to Wes and Michael for making this review possible.

 

Please keep your eye out for a “Pure-It-Forward” thread in the coming days.

Volvo Intorqueo

All the cool kids follow me on twitter: @GolfspyDave

If you are not a cool kid, following me on twitter will make you cool...

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Great review thanks. Always wondered about these.

Callaway razr x tour 5-pw

titleist 585h 24 &21 hybrid

Heavy wedge 52 gap wedge

Nike sv sand and lob wedge

Callaway Diablo Octane tour Driver

Adams F 11 3 wood

Seemore ci2 or Bettinardi studio stock 2

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Excellent review Sactown! (and it totally did sound like you were trying to play jingle bells at first ;) )

 

I'm impressed that after a quick towel dry the tackiness pops right back up on these, that'll be rather handy in the rainy PNW. I'm also with you on the colours. The initial set of grips sound like they perform but look a bit dull for anyone that cares about their colours.

 

Questions that they may or may not have spilled the beans on

A: Any idea on when the other coloured grips are coming out?

B: Any idea on whether they play to offer a light weight grip in the 39 gram range?

I laught at your claims to fight a zombie apocalypse when most of you can't stand up to a Spider

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Nice review, buddy. That first install video sounded like you were strangling a goose, but that's ok. ;) Did you dunk the end of the grip in solvent to get it started more easily?

Nope, did it dry like the video on the Pure site suggested. As long as I pushed with the gun and not the guide hand, they went on easy.

Volvo Intorqueo

All the cool kids follow me on twitter: @GolfspyDave

If you are not a cool kid, following me on twitter will make you cool...

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Excellent review Sactown! (and it totally did sound like you were trying to play jingle bells at first ;) )

 

I'm impressed that after a quick towel dry the tackiness pops right back up on these, that'll be rather handy in the rainy PNW. I'm also with you on the colours. The initial set of grips sound like they perform but look a bit dull for anyone that cares about their colours.

 

Questions that they may or may not have spilled the beans on

A: Any idea on when the other coloured grips are coming out?

B: Any idea on whether they play to offer a light weight grip in the 39 gram range?

 

Other colors should be available in the next couple of months but I have no clue about a light weight model. I bet you could shoot them an email on their site and find out. Very nice folk to deal with for sure.

Volvo Intorqueo

All the cool kids follow me on twitter: @GolfspyDave

If you are not a cool kid, following me on twitter will make you cool...

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Couple of Interesting updates...

 

First two bits of information from Pure Grips.

1. In the coming months you will be able to order their grips in custom color combinations of grip and paintfill. There will be a one case minimum for custom orders.

2. From Wes at Pure Grips "We expect to have an amazing color offering in April, and I want to point out that our colored grips will be the only ones on the market that are rubber and not urethane, polymer or silicone. Thus, our colored grips will be the only ones to offer the advantages of durability, tackiness and all-weather performance that our black grips deliver."

 

 

Install notes

Yesterday I blew off the undersized and oversized grips. Both came off easily, but it did take a few seconds for the air to break the bond between grip and shaft. Solid hold. Since I had taken the tape off of the undersized shaft, I decided to try the blue tape route for a new grip. Easy and holds perfectly.

 

Now if they only made putter grips...

Volvo Intorqueo

All the cool kids follow me on twitter: @GolfspyDave

If you are not a cool kid, following me on twitter will make you cool...

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The only thing i found negative about the pure grips was that they shed more than other grips and leave my hands black. Thats just my experience.

PING: Rapture V1 9° Aldila VS Proto 'By You' (65 Stiff)

TITLEIST: 906F4 15.5° Aldila VS Proto 'By You' (80 Stiff)

COBRA: 5w Speed LD F/ST Tour AD YS Designed by Graphite Design made for Cobra Stiff

PING: S59 Rifle 6.5 Soft stepped

PING: Tour 48°, 52°, 58°

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