Gripper Brands > Captains of Crush

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Captains of Crush Grippers

Captains of Crush (CoC) is IronMind's fixed-resistance torsion-spring gripper line, designed and manufactured in the United States. The modern grippers use knurled aluminum handles and the company's GR8 springs.[1]

Captains of Crush Grippers

Product photograph: IronMind.

Construction and development

IronMind dates the introduction of its knurled aircraft-grade aluminum handles to 1995 and its GR8 spring generation to 2005.[1]

Handle stamps

Older examples are commonly described by their handle-end markings:

  • Single stamp: the model number appears on the bottom of one handle.
  • Double stamp: the model number appears on the bottom of both handles.

These terms describe the markings. They are not an RGC rating or a guarantee that two examples have identical resistance. Collector measurement records explicitly identify single-stamped examples alongside later grippers.[2]

Model range

IronMind lists eleven strengths. The following are its approximate advertised pound ratings, not RGC values:[1]

Model IronMind rating
Guide 60 lb
Sport 80 lb
Trainer 100 lb
No. 0.5 120 lb
No. 1 140 lb
No. 1.5 167.5 lb
No. 2 195 lb
No. 2.5 237.5 lb
No. 3 280 lb
No. 3.5 322.5 lb
No. 4 365 lb

Ratings and comparisons

Cannon PowerWorks publishes independent measurements of individual grippers and aggregated model statistics. Its method loads a gripper until the handles touch, and its comparison table includes only new, unfiled grippers. Manufacturer labels and these measured ratings should not be substituted for one another.[3]

For example, Jason Steeves' 2012 collection records include several CoC No. 3 grippers with differing measured ratings, including a single-stamped specimen. Such records are useful for documenting particular grippers, rather than assigning one exact resistance to an entire production era.[2]

See RGC rating for context and the Cannon PowerWorks ratings table for the maintained comparison data.

Commemorative examples

CoC grippers have also served as personalized competition mementos. David Horne's collection inventory records a No. 4 inscribed British Grip Championship 2002 Open 1st. This documents an individual commemorative example; the inventory does not identify it as a separately marketed IronMind model or give an edition size.[5]

IronMind also makes the reverse-wound Left-Turn, short-handled IMTUG and smooth-handled Zenith. Their separate pages cover the design differences.

The manufacturer's CoC instruction booklet and training, care and certification FAQ provide further product-specific guidance.[4]

References

  1. IronMind, Captains of Crush Grippers, construction, development dates and model range. ↩
  2. Jason Steeves, My RGC Rated Grippers, May 2012 collection measurements. ↩
  3. Cannon PowerWorks, Ratings Data, measurement method and sample criteria. ↩
  4. IronMind, Captains of Crush Grippers FAQ.

    ↩

  5. David Horne, Gripper Collection, IronMind entries, inscription on a commemorative No. 4. ↩

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