IronMind’s Captains of Crush Review: Get a Handle on Your Grip Strength

Stop and consider this for a moment: when was the last time you thought about your grip strength?

Well, maybe you should think about it more often. Sure, having strong hands and forearms can be great in the defense of carpal tunnel — and makes for a damn fine handshake — but a muscle-bound clutch can also pay dividends in the weight room. For example, when you pull a heavy deadlift, what’s often the first area to fail — your back and legs, or your handle on the bar?

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Training your grip strength isn’t difficult, but does require some attention. If you want a stronger handle on the weights, you need to tackle this area like you would your legs, chest and other muscles. This means utilizing the proper training tools — and for decades, the gold standard for grip strength training has been the Captains of Clutch Series from IronMind.

Featuring an iconic V-shape and constructed from durable metals, these convenient tools pack plenty of resistance across a wide weight range to help you bolster your paw potential. The silhouette has helped plenty of the world’s strongest athletes fine-tune their grip strength over the years, but just how impactful are these tools that have gone essentially unchanged for so long?

Ben Emminger

To find out, I set out on my own grip strength journey with the CoC Series, starting with the Trainer model at 100 pounds. I’ve trained with other hand grippers in previous years and consider my hand strength to be above average, so I was excited to embark on this test run, noting features like comfort, effectiveness and room for continued growth. Here’s what I found after a month of using the IronMind Captains of Crush Series.

Amazon

BEST OVERALL GRIP STRENGTHENER

IronMind Captains of Crush Hand Gripper

• $25.95 at Amazon

What’s Good About the IronMind Captain’s of Crush Series?

You definitely feel the durable, well-built construction in the knurled aluminum handles.

On first pickup of the Captains of Crush Series, you can definitely feel the quality baked into the design. The aircraft-grade aluminum felt sturdy in my palm, and I was pleasantly surprised with the knurling patches — rough enough for added grip, but not so aggressive that I’d rip my skin on each completed set. Other hand grippers can feature a plastic construction that might be more ergonomic, but ultimately begins to weaken over extended use.

Ben Emminger

I also liked how uniform the Captains of Crush Series felt across the weight range. While most of my workouts used the Trainer model (more on that later) I didn’t feel any difference in handle sizing, which made finding the ideal hand placement much easier as my strength progressed to higher resistances.

The proprietary GR8 springs provide plenty of challenge and easily retain their strength.

You can easily tell a CoC gripper apart from other similar training tools, thanks to the visually-pleasing spring that connects the handles — yet don’t be fooled by this feature’s good looks. It’s there to serve one purpose, and that’s to put up plenty of challenge in every workout session. I was quickly humbled by the impressive resistance of the GR8 spring in the 100-pound Trainer, and was happy I chose this as my starting point.

Ben Emminger

Ben Emminger

As the days progressed, I was slowly able to set, or close, the gripper completely for 10 reps per hand; after roughly three weeks of diligent use, I was confident enough to move up to the beefier No. 0.5 and its 120 pounds of resistance. This might look like a failure, but for reference, IronMind’s strongest gripper — the 365-pound No. 4 — has only been set by four people in history. In a weird sense, this challenge was what I was hoping for, as those early failures allowed my competitive nature to take hold, fueling my desire to achieve those 10 perfect reps.

Outside of the premium resistance, I was happy to find that the 100-pound Trainer felt as sturdy on my last day as it did on the inaugural session. The spring easily held that power, and I didn’t feel it suffered from weakened performance after multiple uses.

What’s Less Than Ideal About the IronMind Captains of Crush Series?

You can easily bite off more than you can chew with these hand grippers.

As stated above, I was humbly impressed with how difficult the Captains of Crush Series can be. Thankfully, I was somewhat accurate in gauging my initial grip strength in opting to start the the 100-pound Trainer, but for those that aren’t as in-tune with their limits, I can see where they could overshoot and try to work out with the improper tool.

IronMind does have lighter models — the 60-pound Guide and 80-pound Sport — but the labeling alone doesn’t necessarily lend itself to who these resistances are for. If you’re brand-new to grip training, I suggest starting at the Guide and work your way up as you grow those vital hand muscles.

Finding the right hand placement takes time and practice.

Ben Emminger

While the CoC does fit comfortably in your palm, it takes some playing around to find that ideal gripping form. Too far back near your wrist and you won’t achieve that proper closure. Too high or too low on the handles, and you’re not working with the tool itself. I spent a good portion of my first workout messing around with different placements, and I felt this was beneficial in accessing proper form for continued growth over time.

Thankfully, though, there’s a wide array of resources and tools online to help you craft your grip strength setup. From books and literature to quick YouTube tutorials, you can achieve that effective form in no time, provided you do the homework before training.

IronMind Captains of Crush Hand Grippers: the Verdict

There’s definitely merit to that “gold standard” moniker when it comes to IronMind’s Captains of Crush Series. I can’t emphasize how well-built these hand grippers are, and you’re more than capable of getting in a solid workout as you learn and improve your handling skills. Plus, the challenging weights at the higher end of the spectrum can serve as great goals to one day accomplish — IronMind even has a certification process to put your feats in the brand’s official book of records.

The Captains of Crush Series Hand Grippers are available for less than $26 each, making them plenty affordable, too. Pick your starting weight, find the perfect placement and grab hold of your next favorite training tool that stores easily whether atop your work desk or in your gym bag.

Amazon

BEST OVERALL GRIP STRENGTHENER

IronMind Captains of Crush Hand Gripper

• $25.95 at Amazon

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