"What's Up With the Captains of Crush?"

Dear Friend,

At Functionalhandstrength.com, one of our core values is to strive toward constant improvement in everything we do. Whether gradually or by leaps and bounds, all that really matters is forward progress. I'm sure many of you have noticed that we update our site every single day while our "competition" is asleep at the switch or taking the summer off.

Here is a letter we recently received that will no doubt answer many of the questions that are floatiing around out there:

John, I got the High Strength Hand Grips IronMind Trainer and #1 grippers from you back in February. When I started out, I couldn't even close the Trainer although now after following your advice from the gripper emails, I am proud to say I can click the Trainer for 28 full range reps. I can also close the #1 for 17 reps.

As you know, I went ahead and ordered the #2 and #3 from you about a week ago. I was genuinely surpised when they arrived on my doorstep only two days after I put the order in. I wanted to thank you for such quick service and also your gripper advice. I am less than a eigth of an inch from closing the #2 and I know I will be closing it in no time.

One thing that I noticed with the current batch is that the packaging is different and that the grippers themselves look different too. I'm wondering if it's kind of like cars with a new model coming out every year? Anyhow, thanks again for the great products and great service.

- Tom J. Ossining, NY

That's absolutely right Tom. We could very easily feature the cheap-o knockoff hand grippers that you might see every once in a while but that sure isn't our style. Ever since they were introduced in the early 90s, the High Strength Hand Grips Captains of Crush Grippers from Ironmind have been the leader in the field of hand strength.

Sure, the folks at Ironmind could have rested on their laurels but since they are never satisfied, constant improvement has always been the name of their game. In that respect, each generation of High Strength Hand Grips is a little diffferent (and a little better) than the last. Here are a few of the changes that have occured in recent years:

The Packaging:

Here is a look at a #4 from about a year ago(L.) and a #4 that came in on a shipment about a week ago(R.) As you can see, the packaging has changed considerably with the newest generation. We actually have a few of the "blue package" grippers left in stock. (If you are interested in ordering one of these earlier models, please let us know beforehand.)

The Spring:

As you can see, the appearance of the spring has changed too. The springs on the current Captains of Crush Grippers have a metallic, almost chromed look. The Captains of Crush did in fact have chromed springs at one time but that was many years ago. These orginal chromed spring grippers are extremely rare so if you have one, you had better hang on to it.

The gripper on the left is a #4 circa 1997. How is that for a mean looking gripper? That is the very same model closed by Joe Kinney. The gripper on the right is a brand new #4 from the shipment from last week. The springs of the Guide and Sport model grippers do not have this shiny color. We have a full selection of the other strength "shiny" spring grippers in stock and ready to ship. We have been shipping the brand new models since their introduction in March.

The End Stamp:

Until the early 1990s no hand gripper manufacturer had ever marked their grippers in any way. This casued a lot of confusion as to who closed what. The only way to tell was by the size of the sping; telling certain strengths apart based on appearance was very difficult. In 1991 when the Captains of crush hit the scene, Ironmind had the "Strength" (T, #1, #2 etc) engraved in the bottom on the handles to clearly indicate which gripper was which. Every Ironmind gripper since then has been marked clearly. Early models only had one handle marked.

Some time in the late 1990's Ironmind began stamping both handles in an effort to facilitate gripper identification during certification procedures. The Guide is marked with a "G" on each handle, the Sport with an "S" and the Trainer is marked with a "T." The other strengths have their respective numbers stamped on each handle. Again, the "single stamp" grippers are very rare and highly sought after by collectors.

The Center Band:

The Captains of Crush grippers are easily recognizeable by the disctictive band around the center of the handle. Since 2004, all Ironmind grippers have had "Captains of Crush" stamped around the band.

Thus endeth today's brief lesson in Ironmind hand gripper "Archeology"...now get to work!

Train hard.

John Wood signature

John Wood

P.S. Just in case you think you the new Guide and Sport grippers might be "too easy," you'll want to give them a try for dynamic thumb and individual finger work and you'll be singing a different tune. I know I did.

P.P.S. Each Captains of Crush Hand Gripper from Functional Hand Strength, comes with membership to our Gripper Training Email Newsletter. In addition to mountains of solid gripper training information, Members will be eligible for discounts and special offers which will not be available anywhere else.

Iron Mind Captains of Crush Grippers - Only $19.99 each (plus $6 S&H)

Note: Foreign and non-domestic orders need to send an email to info@functionalhandstrength.com for shipping info.