Soft or Hard Handles for Rig

P

pomoville

Well-known member
I've got a Gini shoulder rig which came with ergonomic aluminum handles, and I'm kind of curious if I'd be better off with something made out of rubber or foam -- it seems like a soft material would absorb bumps more smoothly.

Another negative to the aluminum handles is that they hold and transfer cold really efficiently, which is actually pretty brutal when shooting in icy weather. Even with layered gloves it digs in after a few minutes.
 
ive used a bout a half dozen of the leading rails, shoulder, grip rigs from $100 to $3000 and they are ALL fundamentally flawed.
there are a couple of screamingly obvious things they have overlooked. and your observation is ONE of them.

im currently working on a new rig and hope to have something for folks to look at by mid summer...
 
Speaking from our experience, when we offered the foam grips even though they cost three times the price of the rubber they did not care for them. So we stayed with the rubber. From an element standpoint our rigs are awesome in cold and hot weather as they are non conductive. I would suggest a rubber grip, most rigs are 7/8 diameter. Swing by your local bike shop, they might be able to hook you up. If nothing else you can try a few out to narrow your options.

Steve
 
I would do that, but my handles are contoured to the hand like pistol-grips. I could switch to simple rod handles but I'd have to buy a few extra rods and clamps. I think I'll try plasti-dip or something similar, and see how that goes. Thanks for your advice.
 
I remember reading somewhere that a person who DIY'd their own counterweight for their rig took it to a local shop to have it rubberized for a few bucks. I'm sure you could have it done on the cheap, but I'm not sure what type of shop does that sort of work.
 
Put some plasti-grip on there -- I don't think it'll do much for shock absorption, but for insulation I think it'll work pretty well.
 
Good idea. The plasti-dip is pretty comfortable, so I'm satisfied, but those options would probably work out better for shock absorption.
 
CPM Film Tools said:
Swing by your local bike shop, they might be able to hook you up. If nothing else you can try a few out to narrow your options.

Steve
Click to expand...

+1

I built my rig from scratch, and my handles are 3/4" copper pipe. I grabbed some bike grips from WalMart for $6, made an incision down the side (they were a millimeter or two narrow for the pipe), shoved them on, and zip-tied the top. They have some decent cushion, so whenever my hand shakes or my fingers change position, or if I'm walking on something unstable like gravel, the absorb a little of that impact. (FYI, the seam is at my fingertips when I put my hands around the handles, so it stays comfortable.)

The grips are a kind of synthetic rubber, so I don't know how they would stand up to 90+ temperatures (although I will find out soon, as today's high was 85), but they were nice and comfortable in 40 degree weather, wearing fingerless gloves.
 
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