Mark Bell Grippy X sleeve vs Strong sleeves

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

Overview and review of the Strong Knee sleeves

The Strong knee sleeves come in at $80 and are the first attempt at seamless knee sleeves from Mark Bell. They are stiffer than regular sleeves but not as stiff as the Xtreme X Sleeve.

Overview of the Strong knee sleeves

The strong sleeves are the entry-level knee sleeves from Mark Bell designed for comfort and stability. With 7MM in thickness and level 3 neoprene, they are comparable to the sturdy upper range knee sleeves of other vendors like Rehband. This is based on Mark Bell's target group of powerlifters who usually need everything one step stiffer and thicker than other athletes as they give up mobility in a trade-off for strength. The main specification of the Strong Sleeve are:

7mm Thick
Level 3 Neoprene
Sold in pairs
Seamless design

This is a solid option for a beginning powerlifter who feels like Rehbandis not stiff enough for them. Especially when you weigh more than 200 pounds and want to powerlift you might want to consider entering the market with Mark Bell rather than with Rehband.

Sizing for the Strong knee sleeves

The Strong knee sleeve comes in different sizes. These are measured from the circumference of your knee when standing. The options are:

XS - 11" - 12"
S - 12" - 13"
M - 13" - 14"
L - 14" - 15"
XL - 15" - 16"
2XL - 16" - 17"
3XL - 17" - 18"
4XL - 18" - 19"

These are the numbers for the comfort fit. Add 1" if you use the competition fit.

Pros of the Strong sleeves

The pros of the strong sleeves are:

7mm Thickness
Level 3 Neoprene
Seamless design

The main idea with the Strong sleeves was to take the design of other 7mm knee sleeves in the market from SBD and Rehbandand improve it. The main difference is that the Strong sleeves have fewer seams and are therefore less error-prone. The design is still pretty heavy-handed and aimed at powerlifters. Maybe not the best solution for smaller individuals who want to move around as fast as possible while wearing sleeves. Here you may look for 3mm or 5mm options depending on whether you want to be active or you want to use the knee sleeve for rehabilitation after surgery/injury.

Cons of the Strong sleeves

The cons of the strong sleeves are

Price
Stiffness
Thickness

As Mark Bell aims at a smaller target group and the production of a seamless sleeve compared to one with seams as a bit more complex, the price is higher. If you want to pay the extra dollars for a 7mm knee sleeve aimed at powerlifters that is great. Otherwise, you might opt for Rehband.

The stiffness and thickness might work against the strong sleeves based on your use case. If you want to wear sleeves and still run and jump or just support your knee after injury 7mm thickness plus an emphasis on a tight git might be overkill. You do not want to get your knee out of place again after surgery, because the sleeve you bought to support it was too hard to get into. That is the very definition of overshooting the target.

For a 7mm sleeve, you will usually pay less with Rehband. Their designs have more seams and are inspired across disciplines rather than specifically for powerlifting.

Alternatives to the Strong sleeve

Alternatives to the Strong sleeve are

The Xtreme sleeve would be the option if you want to take it to the maximum for your one-repetition maximum attempts on the squat. This is the stiffest and thickest IPF approved knee sleeve currently on the market. If you are big, heavy, strong and do not care that much about mobility, the X is for you.

If you want to buy a 7mm knee sleeve but save a little money you can also go for the Rehbandoptions. One is in direct cooperation with Rich Froning in case you want to support him directly as an athlete or feel inspired by his logo on your sleeves.

Smaller and lighter athletes might find that a 7mm knee sleeve is an overkill for them.

Summary for the Strong sleeves

The strong sleeves from Mark bell are a good entry choice for anyone focused on powerlifting. Other athletes might want to go for 5mm versions from Rehband, depending on how much mobility they want.

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.