I recently purchased a pair of the Gripmaster Hand & Finger Exercisers in order to help build forearm strength. As I was unsure which tension would be appropriate, I bought one each of the Light/Blue (5 lbs. tension) and Medium/Red (7 lbs. tension) grips. I've had them for a little more than a week now, and I just love, love, love them! Perhaps that's a little more enthusiasm than anyone should muster up for exercise accessories, but I really do enjoy the grips. I leave one out on my desk at all times, and get in a little work here and there when I stop to read a document or whatnot.

The Gripmaster Exercisers are different from conventional grips in that you can either work your entire hand at once, or each finger individually (great for guitar players, I've heard!). One side features four small levers, each with its own spring, that can be squeezed together or one at a time. The plastic on the flip side is molded together so that you can work your whole hand as one unit. The black rubber cushion is removable, and you can place it on either side of the grip. It's an awesome idea, and allows for maximum versatility!

Just for reference, I'm a female, in relatively good shape, but with painfully little forearm strength (my biceps are huge from years of Tae Bo, though!). The 7 lb. Medium/Red grip is do-able, but challenging. The 5 lb. Light/Blue grip, on the other hand, makes for a much easier workout; I oftentimes find myself squeezing it while doing other things, and I only feel it after a number of reps. If you're a female and not in great shape, you'll want to start out with the Light/Blue grips (or even the Extra Light/Yellow ones), and work your way up. Out-of-shape guys can probably get away with the Medium/Red ones to start. If you've got good hand/wrist/forearm strength, don't even both with the lighter tensions - skip ahead to the Medium/Red or Heavy/Black.

Although I've only owned my Gripmasters for a week or two, and can't personally vouch for their durability, they do seem sturdy and well-crafted. My fiancé's brother, an amateur boxer and guitar player, used his for years without a problem, so I have faith that I'll be squeezing these babies well into 2015!

- Kelly Garbato, Couch Potato Turned Fitness Fanatic 5 stars

I recently purchased a pair of the Gripmaster Hand & Finger Exercisers in order to help build forearm strength. As I was unsure which tension would be appropriate, I bought one each of the Light/Blue (5 lbs. tension) and Medium/Red (7 lbs. tension) grips. I've had them for a little more than a week now, and I just love, love, love them! Perhaps that's a little more enthusiasm than anyone should muster up for exercise accessories, but I really do enjoy the grips. I leave one out on my desk at all times, and get in a little work here and there when I stop to read a document or whatnot.

The Gripmaster Exercisers are different from conventional grips in that you can either work your entire hand at once, or each finger individually (great for guitar players, I've heard!). One side features four small levers, each with its own spring, that can be squeezed together or one at a time. The plastic on the flip side is molded together so that you can work your whole hand as one unit. The black rubber cushion is removable, and you can place it on either side of the grip. It's an awesome idea, and allows for maximum versatility!

Just for reference, I'm a female, in relatively good shape, but with painfully little forearm strength (my biceps are huge from years of Tae Bo, though!). The 7 lb. Medium/Red grip is do-able, but challenging. The 5 lb. Light/Blue grip, on the other hand, makes for a much easier workout; I oftentimes find myself squeezing it while doing other things, and I only feel it after a number of reps. If you're a female and not in great shape, you'll want to start out with the Light/Blue grips (or even the Extra Light/Yellow ones), and work your way up. Out-of-shape guys can probably get away with the Medium/Red ones to start. If you've got good hand/wrist/forearm strength, don't even both with the lighter tensions - skip ahead to the Medium/Red or Heavy/Black.

Although I've only owned my Gripmasters for a week or two, and can't personally vouch for their durability, they do seem sturdy and well-crafted. My fiancé's brother, an amateur boxer and guitar player, used his for years without a problem, so I have faith that I'll be squeezing these babies well into 2015!

- Kelly Garbato, Couch Potato Turned Fitness Fanatic 5 stars

I [used to] love this product. But Gripmaster has reduced the palm pad to something too uncomfortable to be useful. I have a 5lb blue version, which I use often. I decided to get a 7lb medium version. What arrived was the new version, which I didn't expect - images weren't yet updated. As of this writing, Gripmaster's own site still doesn't picture the currently sold version. I've posted my own pictures here, which compare the original with the new version. The old version was nicely padded and ergonomically large. The new version has much less padding and it feels sharp and blocky. It wears on you after too few reps. With the original, I could go as long as my finger and forearm muscles would allow; with the new one, discomfort kicks in first. As other reviewers have noted, these aren't best for developing brute strength (weights are) but rather for therapy and dexterity, which require moderately high reps. If it can't do the reps without discomfort, it's just not worth using at all.

And in case you own the original and you're thinking you'll just put the big pad on the new skeleton, forget it. They're not interchangeable, which is also disappointing. On the original you could put the pad on either side, allowing you to use all your fingers on the unified bar or independently on the buttons. Can't do that with the new one. (See the pictures.)

Too often a company makes a good product and once it gains a market foothold, they cut costs and expect it will only increase profit margin. This is a perfect example. Well, I hope this review will encourage purchasing choices that make Gripmaster regret their choice to go cheap on their customers. Maybe they'll be compelled to resume making the great product it used to be, which led to all these positive reviews, almost all of which are NOT about the product you'll actually receive.

While I expect resurrection of the original Gripmaster to be a long shot, the fact remains: here's a smart little product I used to recommend to anyone - and now I think it's nearly useless. Disappointing.
2 stars

Let me start saying that this is a wonderful product. Small, light, and well constructed (they feel like they will last forever). You can carry them with you, allowing to workout your fingers at the office, at home or wherever you find suitable. I bought the four different color-coded gripmasters: Black/heavy, Red/medium, Blue/light, and Yellow/extra light. I only found the resistance of the red and black ones useful for me, but my wife loves the blue and yellow ones. It was a great buy because of their high quality and affordable price.

The product comes with a foldable instruction booklet where you find details for six different exercises:
- Trigger pinch. This one simulates the movement of squeezing a trigger, and it isolates the index finger for enhanced strength and coordination.
- Gross grasp. This one strengthens fingers, thumb, wrist and forearm for a firm grip.
- Hook position. This one strengthens longer muscles in forearm and wrist while stretching smaller muscles in hand for greater motion and endurance.
- Tip to tip pinch. This exercise strengthens specific fingers, thumb, smaller hand muscles and forearm for greater control and endurance.
- Wrist flexion. It strengthens wrist and forearm muscles.
- Key pinch. Strengthens thumb and index finger for greater stability and coordination.

At the gripmaster website you can find more exercises for different activities and sports.

If you are looking to crush hands when handshaking this is not the product for you, but if you need finger strength, control, endurance and coordination you are in the right place. 5 stars

If you are working to improve your overall grip, the medium is great. If you are trying to build up strength of a lazy pinky, then you might want to start lighter to get the full range of motion for this exercise. I'm trying to learn bass guitar and need to cheat with my ring finger when hitting notes meant for the pinky. Bought the medium Gripmaster which works great but is a little too much to start out with for my pinky finger. Unless you go through the full range of motion, you're just cheating yourself out of the full benefits of the workout. It's just like bench pressing. I may not max out as much as the next person at the gym, but at least I bring the bar off the rack and all the way down to my chest. Same principal with this exercise. 5 stars