Tuff1 grip covers, it is the little things
I was offered a chance to test some Tuff1 grip covers over a month ago. If you are unfamiliar with the Tuff1 Grip Covers, they are a rubberized, once size fits most, flexible sleeve that is stretched over the grip of your firearm and are made in America. The advantage is additional grip surface on firearms that may be lacking or even toning down an overly aggressive grip pattern such as some would say the new Gen 4 Glocks. Tuff1 was good enough to send me plenty of test samples so I passed a few out to my friends Gabriel Nelson (fellow shooter and photographer) and Clinton Jamieson (fellow shooter and reviewer) and John Carter (guest reviewer) so they could try them on different guns and tell me what they thought. I will get all of our thoughts together and report back.
The old stand by trick is grip tape but truthfully that is less than idea for enhancing the grip on a firearm. It can be overly aggressive, not so easily removed, and is not great for the finish. Tuff1 came up with a better option of this sleeve that can be installed or removed without tools or damage to the firearm. I will be honest, the first firearm I tried the Tuff1 Grip Cover on was my EDC, a Gen 3 Glock 20 and it took a little doing to get the grip cover on and in place. The G20 is chambered in 10mm Auto and with the Gen3 grip surface less than ideal I thought this pistol was a great candidate. Once it was on though it stayed in place from day to day carry and firing.
It is really tough to describe how it changes the feel of the firearm. It is one of those things I can show you better than I can tell you. It does not add enough girth to really make any difference but it does give it a little softer, slightly squishy feel. The additional grip does however give you a noticeable difference in controlability. When shooting warm loads I do believe they also add just a bit of perceived recoil reduction.
The firearms we tried them on are as follows
Gen 3 Glock 20, Barnes Precision CQB Pistol, Kel-Tec PLR-16, Ruger GP 100, Ruger LCP, Hi-Point 45 Auto, Diamondback 380, Walther PPK, Ruger SR-22, Ruger MK II, and Glock 23 Gen 4.
Here you see from top left the Diamondback 380, top right Ruger SR22, bottom left Ruger LCP (top) and Hi-Point 45,(bottom) and bottom right Walther PPK
Here you see on the top left the Ruger GP 100, Kel Tec PLR 16, middle is the Barnes Precision CQB Pistol, bottom left is the Glock 20 and bottom right the Ruger MK II
and lastly the Glock 23.
Truthfully the Tuff1 made a difference in all but some more than others. The G20, Hi-Point 45, GP-100, Diamondback, and Walther showed the biggest difference. I expect this was due to the larger handguns being chambered in powerful cartridges and the smaller handguns being small and lightweight. So in all these examples recoil is a factor.
Tuff1 grip covers also work well with pistol grips on rifles,vertical forgrips, and magazines but are not recommended for pistols with grip safeties. They could unintentionally disengage the grip safety as the grip cover holds on pretty tight.
They are available in three patters, the Boa, Double Cross, and Death Grip as well as plethora of colors. Out of the ones I tried my favorite were the black Double Cross but for no real reason other than I liked that look the best. As far as function for me they were all very similar.
Since the Tuff1 grip covers are not very expensive, at $16.95 straight from their website they are for sure worth a try. Like I said they seemed to make the most difference with small handguns or handguns with a lot of recoil. For the others like the BMP CQB Pistol it added more comfort than anything. They can be trimmed to fit if need be. Gabriel, Clinton, and John all agreed that the Tuff1 grip covers do add a bit of controlability to firearms, especially hard kicking ones. They are a great option to aid in your shooting but will not make up for poor form or lack of practice.
Oh and the test samples I passed out never made it back to me but I kind of figured that would be the case.
Acknowledgments
Tuff1
Gabriel Nelson
Clinton Jamieson
John Carter