Have you wondered: What is the hardest gripper? Where do my grippers lie? What grippers can I get to bridge the gap between what I am closing now and my goal gripper?


Questions such as these are why you have to join THE GRIPBOARD. Everything regarding Grip Strength has been discussed. If there is something that hasn’t, then you should bring it up.

In most cases, all you have to do is use the search function and you get what you need.
Recently, a member on the Gripboard, Sultan_of_Spin, dug up a gem of a thread, originally started by Stalwart Sentinel. Within the post was the succession of Grippers from the easiest, the IronMind Guide, to the toughest, the RBWT (Robert Baraban’s World’s Toughest).

Here is the hierarchy according to Stalwart Sentinel’s research. Take in mind that grippers with the same name can vary. For instance, due to changes made in spring material, the original Heavy Grips 300 I have is much tougher than the newer one I have. Still, even with variance in mind, this is an excellent list to base your purchases and training choices upon.

1. IM Guide 60 lbs
2. RB70
3. IM Sport 80 lbs
4. HG100
5. .225 BB Beginner 100 lbs
6. HG150
7. .225 COC T 100 lbs
8. RB130N
9. RB100
10. RB160N
11. RB130
12. RB180N
13. .235 BB Advanced 140 lbs
14. .235 COC #1 140 lbs
15. HG200
16. .241 COC 2004 #1 153 lbs
17. PDA243
18. .250 COC 2006 #1.5 168 lbs
19. .250 BB Super Advanced 173 lbs
20. GM1 cert gripper
21. RB210N
22. HG250
23. RB160
24. .260 BB Master 195 lbs
25. .260 COC #2 195 lbs
26. RB180
27. RB240N
28. PDA262
29. RB260N
30. .273 COC 2006 #2.5 238 lbs
31. HG300
32. .275 BB Super Master 255 lbs
33. GM2 cert gripper
34. RB210
35. HG400
36. .281 BB Grand Master 280lbs
37. .281 COC #3 280 lbs
38. .277 RB240
39. .283 COC 2005 #3 290 lbs
40. GM3 cert gripper
41. RB300N
42. HG350
43. .277 RB260
44. .295 spring, 1/4″ mount, 2.75 width MMG1 * 306 lbs
45. .295 spring, 3/16″ mount, 2.75 width MMG2 * 315 lbs
46. .295 BB Elite 320 lbs
47. .294 COC 2006 #3.5 323 lbs
48. RB330N
49. .306 spring, 1/4″ mount, 2.75 width MMG3 * 335 lbs
50. .295 RB300
51. .306 spring, 3/16″ mount, 2.75 width MMG4 * 345 lbs
52. .306 BB Super Elite 345 lbs
53. .312 BB Grand Elite 365 lbs
54. RB330
55. .312 COC #4 365 lbs
56. .353 HG500
57. RB365
58. .331 BB Pro 430 lbs
59. .345 BB World Class 470 lbs
60. .353? BB Galaxy 565 lbs
61. .362 BB Super Galaxy
62. .375 BB Grand Galaxy
63. RBWT

Source: Here

Remember, some grippers will turn out weaker than others due to inconsistencies in the manufacturing process, but this gripper scale is a very accurate guide to how grippers line up according to difficulty.

How well you keep them conditioned is also a factor. For years, I never cleaned any of my grippers, and because of this, they have gotten rusty which gradually makes them harder to close because the spring binds up somewhat.
As you can see, there is a variety of terms on this list. Here is a legend for all of the descriptors used.

The 3-place decimal number = spring size measured on a micrometer, expressed in thousandths of an inch.

RB – Robert Baraban Gripper
IM – IronMind Captains of Crush
HG – Heavy Grips Gripper
COC – IronMind Captains of Crush
PDA – Piedmont Design Associates (made and sold grippers up until about 2004.)
PDA285, PDA262 – These numbers dictate spring size. PDA sold their grippers by spring size. The numbers represent thousandths of an inch.
GM – Grippermania.com Certification Gripper (The number tells you the level)
N – Narrow. RB will make grippers with a narrow or wider handle spread.
BB – Beef Builder

Again, this information came from a thread started on the Gripboard by StalwartSentinel at this ADDRESS. I appreciate the effort he put forth in putting this list together.
Recently, there was an innovation put together by Greg Amidon and Dave Morton that tests the amount of weight needed to close a gripper, called the Redneck Gripper Calibrator. Click the link to read a .pdf about this device.

In the future, I plan to get one of these devices to begin rating my own grippers, but at this time I do not have any information to contribute about it. Look for more down the line.