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Mark Bell Grippy X sleeve vs Rogue 7mm knee sleeve

Posted by Pascal Landshoeft

Jul 22, 2020 9:00:00 AM

Mark Bell Grippy X sleeve vs Rogue 7mm knee sleeve

This is a comparison between the Grippy x sleeve and the Rogue 7mm knee sleeve including pros, cons and alternatives. Follow the links for more details.

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Rogue 7mm

Overview and review Rogue 7mm knee sleeve

 
The Rogue 7mm knee sleeve comes in at $62.50 and is american made. For $80 you can upgrade it to your own design via the Zeus engine.
 
 

 

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Overview of the Rogue 7mm

 
The Rogue 7mm Sleeves are American made and approved by the IWF and IPF for open and raw competitions. These knee sleeves come in many different designs. With the Rogue Zeus function, you can even design your own pair with your own logo or loved ones. The main specifications of the Rogue 7mm sleeves are:
 
  • Made in the USA
  • Sold in Pairs
  • 7MM thick SBR/Neoprene blend
  • IPF and IWF Legal for Raw and Open Competition
These are versatile sleeves that come in 3mm, 5mm, and 7mm. If you want to make sure your equipment is made in America these are the ones to go for.
 

Sizing for the Rogue 7mm

 
The Rogue 7mm Knee sleeves are available in 5 different sizes. They are measured by your upper Claf circumference for the best fit:
 
  • XS 31 - 33 cm
  • S 33 - 35 cm
  • M 35 - 37 cm
  • L 37 - 40 cm
  • XL 40 - 43 cm
The Rogue knee sleeves are among the more forgiving knee sleeves when it comes to sizes. Other models like the ones from Mark Bell have a very tight fit, so you have to pay more attention when you are ordering. 
 

Pros of the 7mm Rogue Sleeves

 
The main pros of the Rogue 7mm knee sleeves are:
 
  • Wide arrange of designs
  • Wide range of approvals
  • American made
The Rogue 7mm knee sleeves are American made and deliver a wide arrange of designs and approvals. You might even say they are the best value for money in the market when you do not exactly know what you will use them for. These will work for weightlifting, powerlifting and also might be available in a flashy design of your choice.
 

Cons of the Rogue 7mm knee sleeves

 
The cons of the Rogue 7mm knee sleeves are:
 
  • Thickness
  • Stiffness
 
The Rogue 7mm knee sleeves might be too thick for some smaller athletes to get into. The smaller you are and the more mobile you want to be, the less suitable the 7mm thickness will be. Go to 5mm or even 3mm depending on your weight, build and exercises you want to do. 7mm is the thickest you can go and still get approvals from the IPF and IWF. 
 
What the rogue knee sleeves gain in design options, they lose in stiffness. Compared to the Mark Bell line up these sleeves might not be the tightest fit on the market. If you want to go full throttle on your one-repetition maximum attempts for the back squat the x Treme might be the better choice. 
 

Alternatives to the Rogue knee sleeve

 
Alternatives to the Rogue 7mm knee sleeve are
 
 
The 7mm Froning knee sleeves from Rehbandare very similar to the Rogue knee sleeves. They cost a little less as they are not American made and are sponsored by the fittest man on earth, Rich Froning. Apart from that the thickness and the material are very similar.
 
The Mark bell Xtreme knee sleeves will cost you a little more but are the better fit for one repetition maximum attempts on the squat. If your main goal is to bring your one-repetition maximum up, these are the better choice for powerlifters. Only if you are very small or prefer fast squats which demand more mobility in the knees, the Rogue sleeves might be a better option. 
 
The Dan bailey knee sleeves are another option if you want to go for a 5mm knee sleeve and still support a Crossfit athlete. There is also a Dan Bailey design shirtt in the Rogue line up. %mm knee sleeves are usually good all-around options. Especially if you want to run and lift in the same workout. 
 
 

Summary for the 7mm knee sleeves

 
If you are a weekend warrior who wants very stable knee sleeves which are still comfortable to wear and look cool, the Rogue 7mm knee sleeves are for you. They will not be a pain to get on and off, while also taking the game seriously. 
 
 
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.
 

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. 
 

Topics: Rogue