I had searched everywhere, and WOW i never thought i was going to find the 500lb gripper!!
i am literally buying one right now.
The 500lb gripper came in the mail today.
interesting, i figured it would be just like my 400lb md gladiator grip but with larger spring. The springs are both the same 9mm thickness but this 500 pounder has the handles much closer together. my hands are strong but they are small/average sized in length, ect. although they are so thick that they look like they are swollen up from some infectious snakebite. The 400lb MD gladiator has it's handles so far apart that you really need to have huge hands to be able to hold it somewhat comfortably, and it feels nothing like the 350, it feels 3 times as hard. SO i really think that there isn't much standardization in the way that these springs are measured for torque, hence the variation from brand to brand. anyway the handles on this gripper are chrome plated and i really like the looks of it.
I like to train with stuff that looks hard and cold, solid steel and chrome, ect. Think medievil and chains and crazy viking stuff. This gripper fits into that sort of classification. It looks tough, like something that is used to punish. so mentally i feel i can push a little harder and enjoy it. I am describing something like the difference between training with some vinyl coated dumbell that looks like a toy, or a cold handled solid iron hex.
I can crunch the 500lb about half way. so one day i will actually be able to close it
People say that the captains of crush are a lot harder, at a local place i tried out a number 2. It wasnt hard. I would say that they are a small amount tougher than what you would expect from the heavygrips, but still a trivial amount. other than that the COC are built with a slightly higher quality finish, just looks but their cost is around twice that of the heavygrips. I think that the MD gladiators are the cheapest, 9.99 a piece is good for me.
I'm very happy with this thing.