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Hyperice knee sleeve vs Grippy x sleeve

Posted by Pascal Landshoeft

Jul 21, 2020 9:00:00 AM

Hyperice knee sleeve vs Grippy x sleeve

This is a comparison between the Hyperice knee sleeve and the Grippy x sleeve including pros, cons and alternatives. Follow the links for more details.

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Mark Bell grippy X Sleeve
 

Overview and review of the Grippy X Sleeve

 
Grippy x sleeves are one of the stiffest and thinnest knee sleeves on the market and comes in at $85. This is the one to go for to optimize your one repetition maximum.
 

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Overview of the Grippy x sleeve

 
The Grippy x sleeves come out of the range of Mark bell’s wraps and sleeves. His channel supertraining06 is probably one of the biggest, if not the biggest, powerlifting channel on YouTube. They are designed to emulate wraps and be as stiff as possible for heavy squats. The specifications are: 
 
  • Sold in Pairs
  • Thickness: 6.5mm
  • Length: 29cm
  • Approved by USPA
 
To provide a good, right support to place another squat personal record. 
 

Sizing for the Grippy x sleeve

 
I take no responsibility for any size information as it usually lands me in trouble with at least one person. What I will say is that the design of the Grippy x sleeve is unforgiving. Take the measurements seriously and spent some time thinking about size or you might be in a world of pain to get these on. This is intended for the support the x sleeves provide. Rehband models are more forgiving in this regard. The sizes are
 
  • S - knee circumference 13-14”
  • M - 14.25” - 15”
  • L - 15.25” - 16”
  • Xl - 16.25” - 17” 
  • 2xl - 17.25” - 18”
  • 3xl - 18.25” - 19”
  • 4xl - 19.25” - 20”
 
If you have very big calves which are potentially thicker circumference then your knee, go a size up.
 

Pros of the grippy x sleeve 

 
The pros of the grippy x sleeves are: 
 
  • USAPF approved 
  • Stiffness 
  • Experienced vendor 
 
The grippy x sleeves are USAPF approved. This means that you can use them in competitions in this federation. It is always good to simulate competition conditions as close as you can in training. With these sleeves, you at least compete on a national level. IPF approval is a different topic. 
 
The stiffness of the x sleeve is its main selling point. The grippy x sleeves are probably the closest you can get with sleeves to simulate a wrap. A good knee wrap will be tighter and provide more bounce, but it is also hard to do it yourself. 
 
Mark Bell has been around for a long time and was a powerlifter for a long time. Whether you actually need all of the sleeves he puts out can be debated, but his products do what they say on the tin, based on my experience. 
 

Cons of the Grippy x sleeve 

 
The cons of the grippy x sleeve 
 
  • IPF controversy 
  • Price 
  • Stiffness 
 
One con for international powerlifters is that there is a debate about whether they should be IPF approved. There is a controversy for how they function and a complaint was filed (probably by SBD).The IPF is the international rather than national federation for powerlifting and considered the gold standard of raw lifting. If you read this check the current status as it might have changed. 
 
The price is a little steep but you pay for the quality. This was so good that it was ruled out, so it will probably protect your knees and improve your PR. 
 
The stiffness can work against you. Of you want to use these sleeves for CrossFit WODs or Olympic lifts they might limit your range of motion too much. 
 

Alternatives to the grippy x sleeve

 
Alternatives to the grippy x sleeves are:
 
 
Knee wraps are the ultimate stability tool for your knees. While they are harder to put on correctly they provide the most amount of bounce. Depending on the lifting federation they might be allowed or not. Lifting with wraps is not considered raw lifting. 
 
The Rehband knee sleeve is the long-held general standard for knee sleeves. You will find Rehband products across all different sports. The use is versatile and they are not as stiff as the Mark bell grippy sleeves.
 
The x knee sleeves from Mark bell are the upgraded version after the IPF pulled their approval for the grippy sleeves. This is the updated version with thicker neoprene that covers USAPF and IPF approvals. 
 

Summary for the grippy X Sleeve

 
The grippy x sleeves are the “cheater” sleeves which will provide you with great support for raw lifting and were so effective that the IPF banned them. Definitely worth having if it just for the story around them. Of you want sleeves with similar attributes to go for the extreme x sleeves. 
 
Hyperice knee sleeve
 

Overview and review of the hyperice knee sleeve

 
The hyperice knee sleeve is quite pricey at $90 and a sleeve with inbuilt gel might be faster better cheaper. Only exception is if you are massive. The back and shoulder range of hyperice makes more sense.
 
 
 

Overview of the Hyperice knee sleeve

 
The hyperice knee sleeve is one of the products of hyperice that help you recover faster. There are also variations for the shoulder, elbow, and knees. The principle of the hyperice is to provide you with an ice bag that you can easily strap to your body. 
 
The hyperice comes with the following features: 
 
  • 3mm neoprene 
  • Machine washable 
  • Air release valve to adjust compression 
  • Loadable bag 
 
With this, you can work several areas of your body with an ice bag that you can strap to your body to stay mobile. Great for big athletes who want maximum icing effect and are used to it for recovery. 
 

Pros of the hyperice knee sleeve

 
The pros of the hyperice are:
 
  • Uses ice cubes or any other liquid 
  • Highly adjustable 
  • Comfortable 
  • Easy to set up 
 
A big advantage of the hyperice is that it uses ice cubes or any other cold liquid to get the desired recovery effect. This makes it a good utility at sports events or in your gym bag as you will always find something cold to put in. Compared to a towel makeshift solution it is superior. Your ice packs might not always be cool on the road if you forgot to put them in the fridge. Especially on an away game or when you are traveling.
 
The combination of ice and air compression makes it an adjustable solution for any sized athlete. Especially the huge ones where the liquid packs are not covering the area or do not cool the deep tissue. 
 
The neoprene is easy on the skin, absorbs sweat and can, therefore, be worn by anyone who sets eyes on it easily. There is no complicated setup or wrapping.
 
The big nozzle makes sit easy to laid the hyperice with coolant. This makes it a fast solution to cool any area as long as you have ice within reach. 
 

Cons of the hyperice knee sleeve

 
The cons of the hyperice are:
 
  • Can not be worn during exercise 
  • Bag and nozzle prone to error 
  • Price 
 
The big bag makes it almost impossible to exercise and keep the ice in place. It is great to do chores like cleaning and shopping while you are recovering, but hyperice is not suitable for some of the training methods which involve being cooled. The Titan vest might be a better option for this. 
 
The normal use and abuse of a strap or knee sleeve in a gym bag is prone to break the screw top or the ice bag of the hyperice. I wouldn’t put that on the manufacturer as I don’t see a better solution without making the membrane too thick so it does not cool anymore. Most average joes will just throw this into their gym bag and that begs to break the mechanism. 
 
The price is very high for a knee sleeve or ice pack. You pay for your comfort.
 

Alternatives to the hyperice knee sleeve 

 
Alternatives to the hyperice knee sleeve are: 
 
 
The freeze sleeve is a neoprene sleeve with in build cooling gel. This makes it a very convenient solution unless you object to the chemicals used to make the cooling gel. Compared to the hyperice knee sleeve it is the better solution in my opinion for recovery at home for average-sized athletes. There is no extra set up required and you can use it on elbows and knees. For away games, it might not be better as it is easier to ask a stranger for some ice than putting your gross sleeve in their fridge. 
 
If I was to spend money on hyperice I would spend it on the back solution. I have regular back pains from squatting and deadlifting. The usual icing solutions like a bag of peas or ice or hard to keep in place in the lower back. The hyperice back is ideal for that. 
 
The hyperice shoulder would the equivalent of the back version for the shoulder. I personally have no problems with my rotator cuff, but if you do this can be a good solution. 
 
The hyperice utility is a little different in design from the knee sleeve to go anywhere on your arms or legs. For the knee, you will have a harder time to keep it in place as the straps are arranged differently.
 

Summary for the hyperice knee sleeve

 
For cooling your arms or legs I think that the freeze sleeve is the better option unless you are a massive human being. If you have arms like thighs you might have problems to find a fitting sleeve. Out of the hyperice line up the back and shoulder version are great options if you have problems in these areas and need faster recovery. Try icing with peas first. The usefulness of icing for recovery is highly debated among professionals and it usually comes down to personal preference 

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