How to Choose the Right CrossFit Grips

May 29, 2026

Your hands are the connection between you and the bar. Once they tear, your training stops. The right grips keep you on the rig longer, protect your palms, and remove one problem from a workout that already has plenty. Here's how to pick the right pair.

Why Grips Matter

A lot of athletes start CrossFit without grips and manage fine for a while. Then they hit a workout with 50 pull-ups and a set of toes-to-bar, and their hands shred. That's not a hygiene problem or a toughness problem. It's a friction problem. High-rep bar work creates heat and shear force on your palm, and bare skin loses that fight eventually.

Grips solve this. They put a layer of material between your hand and the bar, reduce friction, absorb the pull, and let you hang on longer before your grip becomes the limiting factor. Good grips also keep your hands intact between sessions, which matters if you're training five days a week.

The Hole Question: 2-Hole vs 3-Hole vs No-Hole

Most grips are sold with finger holes. You slide two or three fingers through, and the grip attaches at the wrist. It sounds practical, but there are real reasons to question whether holes are actually the better design.

	2-Hole / 3-Hole	No-Hole Recommended
Palm coverage	Fingers and upper palm only	✓ Full palm including lower hand
Pressure points	Yes — finger holes create hotspots	✓ None
Kipping movements	Can bunch up and shift	✓ Stays flat on the bar
Barbell use	Awkward — holes get in the way	✓ Works on bar, rings and barbell
Rope climbs	Can shift during leg wrap	✓ Stays in place throughout

The no-hole design covers more of your hand and applies pressure evenly across the palm instead of concentrating it at two or three points. For workouts that combine bar work with barbell movements, they're the more versatile option. There's a reason most serious athletes have moved away from holed grips.

Leather vs Synthetic

The material your grip is made from affects feel, durability, and how it performs when things get sweaty.

Leather

Classic choice. Gets better with use as it moulds to your hand. Good grip when dry. Can become slippery when very wet. Durable if looked after, but needs time to break in.

Carbon / Synthetic

Performs well from the first session. Maintains grip even when wet, which matters in high-sweat workouts. Lighter and thinner than leather. The dominant material in modern grips.

Microfibre / Textile blends

Found in premium models like the Velites Quad Ultra. Combines a soft feel with strong grip without needing chalk. Good for athletes who prefer a more natural hand feel on the bar.

Kevlar-reinforced

Added durability layer used in some high-end grips. Resists wear from rope climbs and high-friction movements. Worth it if you're training five or more days a week.

Getting the Size Right

Sizing varies slightly between brands, but the general rule is the same: measure around the widest part of your palm, just below the knuckles. A grip that's too small will bunch up. Too large and it slides around on the bar.

General sizing guide (palm circumference)

S	Under 18 cm	Smaller hands, most women
M	18 – 20 cm	Average women, smaller men
L	20 – 22 cm	Average men
XL	Over 22 cm	Larger hands

When in doubt, size down rather than up. A snug grip gives you more control. A loose one creates movement between your hand and the bar, which causes more friction, not less.

When to Use Them

Any pulling workout. Pull-ups, chest-to-bar, toes-to-bar, muscle-ups. If your hands are on the rig for more than a few reps, wear grips.

Rope climbs. Rope climbs shred hands fast. No-hole grips stay in place during the leg wrap and protect the full palm. Holed grips can shift mid-climb.

Barbell cycling. High-rep snatches, cleans, or deadlifts also stress your palm. No-hole grips work here without having to swap equipment between movements.

The day after a hand tear. Don't skip training because your skin is raw. Grips let you keep working while your hands recover.

What Not to Do

Don't rely on grips to fix poor technique. If your kip is off or you're death-gripping the bar, grips will reduce the damage but they won't solve the problem. Fix the movement first, then protect your hands.

Also: don't skip chalk because you have grips. They work together. Chalk reduces moisture on the palm, grips reduce friction and shear. Use both during high-sweat sessions.

And wash your grips. Dried sweat and chalk build up in the material and reduces grip over time. Rinse them after hard sessions and let them air dry. They'll last much longer.

Our Grips

We stock no-hole grips from Bear KompleX, Picsil, and Velites. All of them cover the full palm, work across bar, ring, and barbell movements, and hold up to serious training volume. If you're not sure where to start, the Picsil RX Grips are a solid all-round pick. For athletes who prefer training without chalk, the Velites Quad Ultra is built for exactly that. Browse the full range at wod-supply.com/collections/grips.