Gymnasts at a certain level—those participating in major competitions—should always have a spare pair of grips already broken in. Imagine you’re at the competition of your life, and during warm-ups or even while performing in front of the judges, your grip completely tear. Without a broken-in backup pair, you’ll either have to compete without grips, borrow a pair and adapt to unfamiliar or already broken-in grips, or abandon the routine altogether. Why not simply avoid this disaster and unnecessary stress?
The reasons for a grips failure can vary, and like any consumer product, defects or wear and tear can lead to unexpected incidents. Unfortunately, this unpleasant situation can happen even to the best in the sport and has nothing to do with the quality of the grips you’re wearing!
While purchasing two pairs of grips is admittedly more expensive, if the athlete's hands have stopped growing, the two pairs will last almost as long as buying two pairs consecutively.
It’s equally important that if a gymnast has a backup pair, they should already be broken in to ensure they’re ready in an emergency. This means occasionally wearing the spare pair and ensuring both pairs are used alternately. Especially if the grips are made of thick leather, which is harder to break in, having an unbroken-in spare pair is almost as useless as having no backup at all!
Maybe something to consider....