9 Best Lifting Straps : Deadlifts, Crossfit, & Powerlifting

deadlifting

Fitness and weightlifting is becoming more popular than ever.  Many people have strong initial progress and then level out.  If that describes your situation, then now is the time to start looking for ways to obliterate the dreaded plateau and make some more strength and muscle gains. Lifting weights can be hard, especially during the end of your workouts as your grip begins to weaken.

Many weightlifters and bodybuilders alike find themselves tiring out at the end of their workouts. Before turning to more of those supplements and powders that your doctor probably would not be too happy about, you should look into lifting straps. Lifting straps are designed to reduce grip fatigue so you still have energy by the end of your workout and can complete enough exercises to smash your goals and build a healthier you by giving your larger muscle groups adequate work.

Top Lifting Straps Comparison Chart

 

Weight lifting straps are sold by many different manufacturers, so it is important to know what you are looking for before you blindly make a purchase. Some factors to consider are material and durability, whether or not the straps coming with padding, the length of the straps, and the affordability of the lifting straps. You don’t want a pair of straps that is constructed of poor material and will break or leave a funky odor. You also want to make sure that the product is not dyed and their will be no problems with the visual appeal of your straps.

There are also a lot of little things to look for in straps that will make them better tailored to your needs such as the width of the straps and the circulation they allow to your hands. This guide will help you navigate through the lifting straps and avoid purchasing the wrong pair of lifting straps.

Best Lifting Strap Reviews

 

1.   Harbinger Neoprene Padded Lifting Straps

Featuring Neotek wrist pad cushions, these straps are optimized to improve your grip on the bar and develop your strength. The Neoprene padded lifting straps have 5mm cushion that will prevent injury or blisters on your hands and wrist. These straps have a long tail that allows you to wrap around the bar to ensure maximum security and comfortability. They are crafted with the intention of durability with heavy-duty stitching and merged end tabs to avoid frayed ends. These are great straps for their price, and they are heavily praised for the length of the straps. The straps are long enough to get around 2.5-3 wraps around the average-sized bar. If you are looking for lifting straps that will really improve your grip on exercises such as deadlifts, then these are great, affordable straps that are especially strong in durability and length of strap. The Harbinger Neoprene padded lifting straps come in black and pink. They are frequently atop ranking lists of the best lifting straps primarily because of the length of their straps. If you are going to put a heavy emphasis on the length of the straps when making your decision, these are a great pair of straps for you. The padding is wrapped inside the wrist to help alleviate some annoyances that can result from using lifting straps.

 

2.   Schiek Padded Lifting Straps

The Schieck lifting straps are especially focussed on maximizing comfort and support. Shiek also proudly boasts about the durability of their straps claiming that “Schiek lifting straps combine the best in comfort and durability, lasting up to five times longer than conventional straps”. The padded section of these straps are very comfortable and simple to use. If you have weak wrists, these are a great pair of straps to consider because they are the top of the line in support. It is recommended to tighten the wrist cuff down as you begin to lift. These are not particularly known for giving great wrist support during bench and squat, however, the grip on these straps is very impressive. The end of the wrap features a hook part of Velcro, facing inwards to be held by your fingers and palm to reduce slip and improve traction. These straps are great if you are looking for durability, comfort, and stability. They are a little pricier than some lifting straps, but this comes with optimized durability for lifting straps.

 

3.   GoFit Cotton Wrist Straps

The GoFit Cotton Wrist Straps have some major benefits that other wrist straps do not have. Their material allows for them to be completely machine washable, this can be a huge advantage as you are going to be working out very intensely with these straps on, and they are likely to get very sweaty and in turn, stinky. The design of the straps is all black to avoid staining from extended use. These strips are reported to be one of the best for people who are just beginning to get into using lifting straps, however, the material do not work great for serious powerlifters or bodybuilders as the material is somewhat flimsy for this heavy amount of stress. They are very affordable and one of the lowest costing straps on the market. However, be very cautious when using these as they are not designed for very intense lifting, some have reported them ripping apart very easily and early in their lifespan.

 

4.   Grizzly Fitness Deluxe Leather Lifting Straps

The first thing that stands out about these straps is their unique colorway, these straps do not follow the traditional all-black mold traditionally practiced amongst lifting straps. These straps are very comfortable and they do not leave as much markings that straps made of cotton or nylon will. These straps hold up fine against very heavy weight, the Grizzly straps are built for extreme durability and they are not made of poor material, the colors will not fade or run, and the straps are very thick, as they are made of leather. The leather is a unique feature and it offers a much tighter grip than regular cotton or nylon straps. Some have reported that they are not as thick as you would expect from a leather strap, but are nevertheless undoubtedly thicker than cotton straps.

 

5.   Universal Nutrition Animal LIfting Straps

Unveiled at the 2008 Mr. Olympia contest, these straps frequently come free with the animal pack bodybuilding supplements, but they also are very affordable to buy individually. They are specially designed to help grip fatigue. They usually can wrap around 1-2 times and they are machine washable. The only problem with these straps is that they are not very durable and they do not have any padding on the wrist. This could cause some pain on the wrist after workouts. However, these are very affordable lifting straps and will certainly get the job done to aid in reducing grip fatigue during workouts.

 

6.   DMoose Fitness Lifting Straps

Claiming to conquer grip failure, these straps are very, very affordable.  They are very comfortable, and they feature an adjustable loop for a better fit and safety.  The neoprene padding boasts a 4mm thickness, and there’s a built-in odor-resistance.  The 400-pound weight resistance limit is ample and the 24-inch length works for most applications.  DMoose says the reinforced stitching won’t rip or tear even over an extended timeframe.  There’s a lifetime guarantee which is just a nice thing to have in your back pocket!

 

7.   Rip Toned Lifting Straps

These straps come in many different colors, offering customization for your gym outfit arsenal. They come with an extensive guide that shows you how to incorporate lifting straps into your workout which can be great for beginners who are looking to add something to get them over their plateau in workouts, but are unsure of how you actually use lifting straps. These have a great fit, width, and thickness. They are very easy to use and they feature very quality material. One problem with these straps is that they are not padded. This can be great for those who aren’t used to padded lifting straps anyways, but for some it can make for a very arduous workout and rash pain after the workout is finished.

 

8.   Rogue Lifting Straps

Rogue fitness has brought a lot of options to the world of lifting straps. They feature many different types of lifting straps on their website, but they produce lifting straps in house themselves. Most popular amongst their lifting strap models are the Rogue oly leather lifting straps. First appearance these straps look like the real deal. Like the Grizzly straps, they are made of leather, according to Rogue they are made of “premium American leather”. In addition to their support of American patriotism, these straps also feature a unique design for lifting straps. They do not follow the traditional wrist mold of many straps, instead, they offer a unique design that doesn’t wrap around the bar many times, but instead opts for a quicker setup. The design of these straps look very nice as well with a dominant black color featuring red lacing. These straps are priced about the same as the sheik padded lifting straps, but they offer a more unique design and very tough and durable material. However, they do not offer as much padding in the wrist, and their design does not allow for the straps to be wrapped several times around the bar.

 

9.   Crossfit Lifting Straps

These lifting straps were personally designed for CrossFit superstars . These add great comfort with unique double stitching design. It isn’t as long as some traditional high-quality lifting straps, but the short straps allow to easily drop barbells and transition between exercise to rest. They have great width and are made out of very durable material. They are priced in the same range as sheik and rogue lifting straps.

 


Lifting Strap Buying Guide

When you are combing through the plethora of options with lifting straps, it is imperative to know what you are looking for. Here are some of the most important qualities of lifting straps that should influence your decision:

 

Length of the Straps

The length of the straps is going to be very important in your lifting straps because this is what will help you get a really strong grip on the bar. If you want to have a lot of support and comfort, it is usually recommended to get longer straps that can be wrapped multiple times. However, sometimes shorter straps can be appealing as well because they will look more discrete and give a totally different aesthetic to them. Depending on your intensity level at the gym you might not want to draw so much attention to yourself by having 3 foot straps hanging from your wrists as you begin to deadlift 135 pounds, that’s just not a good look in the weightlifting community. Some straps choose to abandon having long straps altogether in favor of the aesthetic. Having long straps can be somewhat detrimental however because it requires you to unwrap the straps off the bar at the end of every exercise. This means if you are doing overhead press with extremely heavy weight you cannot drop the bar because it will yank your hands down with it.

Palm Padding

The padding on your straps wlil make the difference between leaving the gym with rashes and blisters all over your hands, or having ordinarily damaged weight lifter hands. Some may feel like the padding is unnecessary and like the barebones feeling of toughing it out, man vs. iron. However, some are not too found of the damage that can come from the gym and would like to add to the comfort of their workout as well. Some straps without padding may annoyingly rub against your wrist with every rep, slowly chipping away at your sanity and love for the gym. Depending on what category you fall into, you might be best off investing in some padding for your straps. Padding may also be frowned upon in the lifting community as many believe the whole purpose of lifting heavy weights that require something like straps is to toughen up. However, some people have skin conditions or other miscellaneous afflictions that require the use of padding.

Durability

From the beginner at the gym to the iron addict gym rat who never leaves, lifting weights can add up and cause an immense amount of stress to the straps. If you are a season weightlifting veteran, you will likely have no other option but to invest in a durable lifting strap. Deadlifting 500 to 600 pounds is going to be immensely dangerous for the fabric of your lifting straps. If you are going to be lifting lighter weights, then the durability of the straps may not be an issue, but there are many reported cases of straps tearing in half after being tested with immensely heavy exercises. Many of the newer model straps feature a tough leather material. This material is likely to be the top of the lifting strap market in measures of durability.

Style

Look good, feel good! There are few things more important in the gym goers routine then rocking a sweet outfit color-coordinated form the top to the bottom. It is important that your straps don’t hold you down and make you look ridiculous in the gym. Some straps such as the grizzly leather straps have a unique style with them that you can conquer and make your own identity. Other straps like the Rip Toned straps come customizable in many different colors. Most other straps tend to come in an all-black look with the only aesthetic differences ranging from padding to length of the straps. Make sure your style is on point so you don’t miss out on those gains. Few things will make you look like more of a gym veteran than a nice looking pair of lifting straps. The leather straps give off a great vibe of intensity and experience lifting weights. The cotton straps are a good choice for those who do not want their gym style to be too intense or over the top.

Affordability

Maybe you are reading about lifting straps following a recommendation from a friend at the gym, or maybe you are a gym beast who is looking for their fourth or fifth pair of lifting straps. Regardless of who you are, you want to get the most out of your money. However, if you are a beginner to using lifting straps, it might be best to test the waters with a cheaper pair of straps to learn the ropes before investing in a high-quality pair of lifting straps. Usually, you can find high-quality straps priced around twenty to twenty-five dollars, but you can easily find a cheap pair of cotton straps for under ten dollars.


Conclusion & Recommendation

In Conclusion, lifting straps are a great way to conquer grip fatigue and extend the intensity of your workouts. There are two main types of lifting straps, padded and non-padded. Some important features to look for are durability, comfort, strap length, padding, and material.

The Harbinger Neoprene padded lifting straps are one of the best lifting straps out there. They come with a 5mm cushions to prevent injury or blisters on hands. The straps are very long and can wrap around 2.5-3 times. The Schiek Padded lifting straps are a little pricier, but they offer great durability, comfort, and stability.

The GoFit Cotton Wrist Straps are made of cotton material which is great because they are fully machine washable. These are great straps for beginners because they are made of somewhat flimsy material when tested against really heavy weight. The Grizzly Fitness Leather Lifting Straps are very tough. They have great durability and are made of leather which is very unique in the lifting strap market. One drawback is that they do not have any padding on the wrist. They are very affordable and likely to come with something else on the website because of the nature of their sales. However, they are not very long straps.

The DMoose straps have a lifetime guarantee against defects and breakage along with a deodorizing ability.

Some are much more expensive than others, so it is important to develop a focus for your straps and decide which feature is most important for you. Good luck with your decision, hope this guide helps, thanks for reading!


Pete

My name's Pete Stec and I'm one of the owners here at SportConsumer.com and Sport Consumer Family (YouTube). My family and I invite you to travel our journey of wellness for your kids and family through nutrition and exercise while we continue to provide the very best reviews on the sports gear you need for serious competition or for your leisure activity!

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