Best Towel Grips for Badminton Players
One of the primary reasons people choose a towel grip is its exceptional sweat-absorbing properties. As badminton is a physically
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Yonex Hi-Soft Grap Review
Written by
In my opinion, a good badminton grip is as vital as a quality racket, especially in high-intensity sports like badminton where quick grip changes are a constant occurrence. I have found that changing my grip can instantly improve my game and I always come away thinking “Why didn’t I change this sooner?!”.
Here, we review Yonex’s PU Replacement grip Hi-Soft Grap, designed with ultimate comfort in mind but still sporting a non-slip performance and great absorbency.
Ideal For - Comfort
Pros
- Exceptional Comfort
- Great Tackiness
- Reliable Durability
- Good Value in Bulk
Cons
- Limited Style Options
- Absence of Instructions
- Moderate Regripping Speed
The Yonex Hi-Soft grip is a perfect marriage between comfort and performance, ranking highly in tackiness and comfort. It proves that you don’t have to sacrifice comfort for performance, so let’s have our cake and eat it too.
Don’t know what the difference is between a replacement grip and an overgrip or want some more general information about grips, check out our article Everything You Need To Know About Badminton Grips.
We performed several tests and rated each grip we tested according to 7 different categories. We found that the Yonex Hi-Soft Grap ranked highly for all the performance metrics we tested, scoring full marks for comfort. To see how it stacks up against the others, check out our other article Best Badminton Grips.
Let’s see how Yonex Hi-Soft Grap ranked during our in-house tests. All the grips we talk about have been bought, tried, tested, and scored out of 10 in each of our 7 categories to give you the best information for picking your next grip.
Tackiness - 9/10
What we thought
- Extremely Tacky
- Long lasting Tackiness
There is nothing wrong with the tackiness of the Yonex Hi-Soft. The tackiness performed great in our in-house tests and this was also backed up on the court too. We found the tackiness to be long-lasting, still performing well after several matches and training sessions.
The Test
To determine how tacky (or grippy) the grips were, we had one person hold the racket on the grip side and the other person try to pull the racket out of their hand. Depending on how easy it was for the person holding the grip to hold onto the racket determined the tackiness score of the grip.
Comfort - 10/10
What we thought
- Perfect Padding
- Cushioned Feel
- Shock Absorbing
The Yonex Hi-Soft Grap is brilliantly cushioned for ultimate comfort. Even though the grip is padded, it doesn’t mean that the grip is too thick. This is why the Yonex Hi-Soft Grap scored a perfect score as it maintains a perfect balance between comfort and thickness making it great to hold without compromising on performance. For comparison, Hi-Soft Grap is 1.60 mm thick compared to Yonex Super Grap which is 0.6 mm thick.
The Test
After re-griping the racket the team each held the racket and ranked how comfy the grip was to hold.
Durability - 9/10
What we thought
- Durable
- Long Lasting
- Tacky Even After Extended Use
Like all Yonex products, the Hi-Soft Grips reflect the quality of the brand and are well-made. We found that the Yonex Hi-Soft grip withstood the durability tests very well showing very minor abrasions from the exfoliating glove. Also, the durability of the grip has been put to the test in several matches and training sessions and passed with flying colors.
The Test
To test the durability of the grip, we used an exfoliating glove as an accelerated stress test, rubbed the grip for 30 seconds, and ranked them based on the amount of wear we saw on the grips.
Style - 5/10
What we thought
- Average Number Colors
- Range of 6 Colors
- White, Black, Pink, Blue, Yellow, and Red
If there is one area where the Yonex Hi-Soft grip is underwhelming, it’s style. With only 6 colors available there is of course enough to choose from but it looks limited when compared to its sibling the Yonex Super Grap.
The Test
We ranked each grip from 2 to 10 based on the number of available colors and patterns that can be purchased for that grip.
Absorbency - 8/10
What we thought
- Great Absorbancy
- Tacky Even When Wet
- No Problem for Sweaty Hands
In our absorbency test, we found that the Yonex Hi-Soft grip performed admirably. We observed that the tackiness of the grip was not lost even when wet. Though not as good as the towel grips or Yonex Super Grap, we found that the Hi-Soft grips would perform perfectly well for the vast majority of players.
The Test
To test the absorbency of each group, we first put our hand in a bowl of water and gave it a shake-off to give a level of wetness to the hand that would simulate sweating. We then tested how this simulated sweat affect the grip.
Ease of Regrip - 7/10
What we thought
- Adhesive backing
- No Instructions provided
- Speed – 1 min 32 sec
Regripping the Yonex Hi-Soft Grap was an easy process, featuring a pre-cut start position and finishing tape. However, instructions were not provided for the individual grip we purchased and the end of the grip is not pre-cut, so can be tricky for beginners. In the speed test, it wasn’t particularly fast, coming in a joint 6th out of the 9 with its sibling, Yonex Super Grap.
The Test
To determine how easy it is to regrip a racket using each grip, we took into consideration two factors.
1) Whether or not instructions were provided when purchased and
2) We performed a speed test to see how fast we could regrip a racket.
Price - 8/10
What we thought
- Excellent Value for Money
- Bulk buy available
- Expensive to test
When it comes to the price and its value for money, the Yonex Hi-Soft Grap is great when buying in bulk. We found that you could purchase it for around £2.00 in bulk, which for what you get, is incredible. The only minor downside is that buying an individual grip to test out can be pricey. Individual grips can be bought for around £5.00 including shipping, a high barrier to entry.
The Test
As for price, we considered the actual price of one grip and the value of buying the grip in bulk. Then using these prices and by taking into consideration the scores of each category, we scored each grip on whether it was good value or not.
Overall - 56/70
Yonex Hi-Soft Grap
Yonex’s Hi-Soft Grap is crafted with the player’s comfort at the forefront while maintaining a non-slip performance and excellent absorbency.
With a perfect score for comfort, its brilliant padding and shock absorption strike a perfect balance between comfort and performance.
The grip showcases impressive durability, reflecting Yonex’s quality craftsmanship, and maintaining its tackiness even after our in-house tests and on-court experience.
However, it falls slightly short in terms of style variety, offering only a limited range of colors, especially when you compare it to other Yonex grips.
While not surpassing highly absorbent towel grips, it performs admirably well even when wet, making it suitable for most players.
Regripping is straightforward, albeit it can cause a challenge for beginners due to the lack of provided instructions.
In terms of value for money, purchasing in bulk provides great savings, yet individual grip prices might deter some testers due to the higher cost.
In summary, the Yonex Hi-Soft PU Replacement grip provides exceptional comfort without sacrificing performance, making it the go-to grip for those players seeking additional comfort during play but who want to maintain a high level of competition.
If you want to see how it stacks up against the other grips we tested, check out our article Best Badminton Grips.
Is this your next grip?
Other Yonex Options
Here are some of the other options that Yonex has on offer.
If you wish to purchase any of these grips, using the links in this article means that we receive a commission from the company on your purchase at absolutely no cost to you. So by clicking these links, you help support the free content we provide here.
See how it Stacks Up Against its Competitors
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