Gripmaster Hand Exerciser, Finger Exerciser (Hand Grip Strengthener), Spring-Loaded, Finger-Piston System, Isolate & Exercise Each Finger

The gripmaster finger exerciser is great for those looking to work on finger strength and overall grip. BUT...please realize that these are not designed for whole hand strength work. They are designed for individual finger work. If you are looking for whole hand grip strength training, you should buy a different device. I see people reviewing these devices saying that they are super easy and not worth the money because they can do like 150 reps on the black (heavy) tension. This is because those people are using this device as a whole hand grip strength trainer instead of a finger grip strength trainer.If you are looking to increase your finger strength/dexterity, these are great devices. And as you increase your finger strength, you will automatically increase your overall grip strength.I have been using these gripmaster exercisers for about one year now and I am a normal, 6 foot, 200lbs male. The reason I began using them was I started to have shooting pain in my forearms from the beginnings of carpal tunnel syndrome. I figured that if I strengthened my hands and forearms, I might have less problems with carpal tunnel. I started with the blue (light tension) gripper and moved up to red (medium tension) after about 4 months of moderate use. During this time, I tried my best to do all the exercises shown on the Gripmaster website: [...] My routine was three sets of decreasing reps once per day. 15 reps followed by 12 reps followed by 10 reps holding each finger or grip hold for 5 seconds.After 4 months I went to the red (medium tension) device and continued my routine. By this time (4 months after initial use), all my pain associated with carpal tunnel syndrome was gone. After another 4-6 months using mostly the red device, I decided to try the black (heavy tension) gripper and purchased the black and red combo pack even though I already had a red device. The black device was challenging and still is, but I can still do my normal workout routine with it and it has increased my grip strength even more.The interesting thing was that the new red device was much stiffer than my old red device. This was the first time that I realized that these Gripmaster devices "wear-out" fairly quickly with normal use. By wear out, I mean that they lose tension and become easier to compress over time thereby giving you less of a workout. As best I can tell, within 4-6 months of normal daily use, the tension will be significantly lower than when first purchased.Overall, I don't like that the tension drops off fairly quickly under normal use. But I cannot argue with the results and that is really what matters. As long as you are willing to replace the devices every 6 months or so, you will be very happy with the results from the Gripmaster. I give these devices 5 stars because they do exactly what they are designed to do and strengthened by hands and rid me of carpal tunnel pain. My hands and grip feel stronger and as a bonus...I've found that the hand exercises provide some stress relief as well.Bottom Line: If you want stronger hands, fingers and grip and you are willing to do the exercises as shown on the Gripmaster website, then you should get these devices. I would suggest that all normal adult males should start with the red (medium tension) and go from there. If you are already very strong or already do hand/finger workouts, you may want to start with the black (heavy tension). If you are rehabing an injury (like I was) or are very old or very young, you should probably start with the blue (light tension) device and work your way up. I would also suggest the blue device for normal women to start with. Women who already do hand/grip work could probably start with the red device and move up from there. Thanks.

I ordered this grip master ten years ago. I didn't think Amazon would have the order history for items this old let alone be able to leave a review for it, but here I am. Anyhow, I want to say that I have used this device regularly and it still has the same strength since I bought it. Not only did I use it. But my friends and son plays with it too.I bought three different strengths / tensions of these 2 years back, and based on the strength of those, this one has not lost any noticable spring retention. The build quality has held together very well and the rubber palm pad is still solid yet removable. I cannot praise this thing enough as a stress reliever and grip strength workout tool. I don't even play guitar anymore, which is what I bought it for.10/10 still holding up, excellent tool. Cheers to the engineers.

With a weight-training background I already have a number of products focusing upon forearm and grip strength. This by appearance and description seemed to fit a very specific purpose, what could be called finger-tip strength, so I went ahead and gave it a try.Receiving it, the high-quality construction was immediately noticeable. Beginning with the highest tension [black] gripper, I began use intermittently, whenever web pages loaded in slowly, between television commercials, and so on.I had no idea why during my twice-a-month hobbyist guitar playing, I was able to play with a marked increase in speed and accuracy. The fingers occasionally seemed to be pulled onto the fretboard like magnets. Thinking about it for a few minutes, I realized this device was the only significant change I had made over that time. Typically I had to warm-up for at least 30 to 45 minutes before my hands correctly played quicker fingering patterns. There was no lag time this time.For the price and diminutive size of this device, it is surprising how effective it is at its focused purpose. I also noticed that, while my typing has not gotten any faster, I can type somewhat longer without becoming self-aware of fatigue.--------There are several reviews for this gripping device that claim insufficient resistance, even with the highest tension [black] version. This may be due to a misconception of the purpose and usage of this particular device. It is what could be thought of as a finger-grip strengthener, as opposed to those devices which develop palm grip-strength, which are far more common and found at any sporting goods store.The tell-tale sign of improper use, is through where you position your grip when performing the exercises. If you find yourself grasping at mid-finger level, between the first and second knuckles, and squeezing all of the fingers together at the same time, pumping over and over again, you are using this improperly. You are to place the very tips of the fingers, before the first knuckles, on the finger-rests, and proceed to provide force with individual fingers, alternating with other patterns such as all four-fingers simultaneously as well, but always with this positioning. If you try using this device as a mid-finger, mid-grip strengthener (with the device ending up resting against the palm of the hand), you are using it incorrectly.For a mid-grip strengthener, Captains Of Crush is very highly recommended. These provide massive amounts of resistance, and are for the more typical mid-grip strengthening exercises. Even the trainer, Captains of Crush Trainer Gripper, will at the beginning be highly difficult for most athletes. The efforts are well worth it, however, these are extremely high-quality devices. There is actually official certification for doing their highest level grip one single time, for one single repetition (the two ends touching). Through these you can perform the more typical palm-strength exercises.Both the C.O.C. type of palm-level strengthener, and this Gripmaster fingertip-level type of strengthener, are needed for more complete and balanced grip strength. Doing exercises focusing on the forearms directly can also be very important. Any grip exercises strengthen the forearms as well, but only indirectly. It depends on how important overall lower-arm strength is to you. In any case, the Gripmaster is for working the most distal part of the grip, that is the tips of the fingers. Working it any other way, is not using the device for what it was designed for.