1)What is hand gel/sweat band
The handles of the new badminton rackets we buy are usually covered with a layer of rubber. The technical term is called“Inner handle”, Its function is to prevent the fibrous tissue in the handle from being damaged by sweat, air, harmful elements, etc., so as to extend the life of the handle of the racket. The inner grip skin generally has good waterproof performance, but the sweat absorption performance is poor, and the racket with only the inner grip skin is generally too thin and hard to hold, so it is very uncomfortable, so usually, you will buy another hand. Glue to wrap around the handle of the racket.
In addition to making it more comfortable to hold, hand gel can also absorb sweat and adjust the center of gravity of the racket. So hand gel is also called“Sweat band”. A racket that is easy to use, hand glue will also play a great role
2)Choice of hand gel
There are many kinds of hand gels on the market, hobbyists can choose according to their own preferences. According to the material, it can be divided into towel glue and polyester leather hand glue. Cortical hand glue can be divided into two types: patterned and non-stretched according to the state of the surface. Patterned hand glue can be further subdivided according to the type of pattern, such as ribbed, grooved, perforated and so on. The patternless hand glue can also be divided into smooth surface and sticky surface.
Ribbed hand glue is generally thicker, and there will be prismatic protrusions after being wrapped, which helps to grip more firmly and prevent the handle from slipping after sweating. Grooved hand glue will also help the firmness of the grip, but it will be thinner, suitable for those who like thin handles. The hand gel on the sticky surface is usually thin, which will increase the adhesion between the hand and the grip when the palm of the hand sweats. The sweat absorption of towel glue is undoubtedly good, and it is very soft and feels good, but it is usually thick and the handle will become very thick; and after the towel glue is applied several times, the towel will become very hard. The feel will be greatly reduced.
The thickness of the handle varies from person to person, and the thickness of the handle before the hand wrap is also different. It is generally represented by G4 or G5, and the handle of G5 is thinner than that of G4. So when choosing hand glue, you must consider the thickness of the original handle.
3)The wrapping of hand gel
It is easy to wrap the hand gel. Generally, starting from the bottom of the handle, you must choose the winding direction. This is easy. You can tell the correct direction by trying. When winding, pay attention to the force to be even, do not wind too loose, and do not pull too tight, otherwise the rubber will be stretched thin, affecting the life of the rubber. Generally, even after wrapping the tapered part of the racket, the remaining rubber part can be cut off, and then the end part can be fixed with the fixing tape attached with hand glue. If you feel that the fixing tape is not enough, you can use black electrical insulating tape to reinforce it.
※There are two points to note:
One is that the fixation between some hand glue and the inner handle is achieved by viscous materials, especially towel glue. In this case, a layer of plastic wrap should be used to wrap the inner handle before the hand glue. Then wrap the hand glue to prevent the sticky substance of the hand glue from staining the inner handle.
The second is that the length of the hand glue can be changed according to different gripping habits. For the average person, it is sufficient to wrap the hand gel around the cone of the handle. Some doubles players like to hold the racket forward, so that the speed of raising and swinging the racket will be increased a lot. It will have a great advantage in front of the net, so the hand gel will be wrapped for a long and long time, such as the hand gel of some Indonesian players. It will even get entangled in the middle of the racket shaft!