The GAMMA Supreme is the overgrip to buy first — three wraps for very little money from a brand that also makes paddles. The Senston five-pack is the better answer for sweaty hands, and the Hesacore is a different thing entirely: a moulded replacement grip for players whose arms hurt.
Overgrip or replacement grip?
These are two different products and the distinction matters before you buy.
An overgrip is a thin wrap that goes over the grip your paddle came with. It is a consumable: you peel it off when it goes slick and put a new one on, and it adds almost nothing to the handle's circumference. This is what most players want most of the time.
A replacement grip removes and replaces the original grip entirely. It is thicker, lasts far longer, costs more, and changes the feel and often the size of the handle. If you want a structural change — a different shape, a different texture, a bigger handle — this is the category.
What an overgrip actually fixes
One problem, and it fixes it completely: a handle that has gone slippery. A grip that slips makes you squeeze harder to hold on, and squeezing harder is both slower in a hands battle and a direct contributor to forearm and elbow pain. A fresh wrap costs a few dollars and removes the cause.
What an overgrip does not fix is a handle that is the wrong size. A single overgrip adds a fraction of an inch at most — if your grip is genuinely too small you need a replacement grip or a build-up sleeve, not three overgrips stacked on top of each other, which produces a lumpy handle that feels worse than the original. Our grip size guide covers measuring your hand properly before you try to solve it with tape.
How we ranked them
Grip in hand, dry and damp. Sweat handling, which is the variable that actually decides which grip suits you — tacky grips feel best on dry hands and turn greasy on wet ones, while perforated absorbent grips stay usable when you are sweating and feel less tacky when you are not. Comfort, durability and value, with value weighted heavily because these are consumables and cost-per-wrap is the number that matters over a season.
Which one is for you
Dry hands, indoor play: a standard tacky overgrip. The GAMMA or the Wilson Pro. The Wilson is the most widely used overgrip in racquet sports and it is easy to find refills of anywhere.
Sweaty hands, humid or outdoor play: the perforated, absorbent Senston. Also the right answer if you re-wrap often, because the five-pack has the lowest cost per wrap here.
Arm pain, or you grip too hard: the Hesacore. Its moulded pattern gives your fingers something to locate against, which is why it keeps coming up among players managing elbow trouble. It is a considered purchase rather than a consumable — and if arm pain is your main issue, the paddle matters more than the grip, so read our tennis elbow paddle picks too.
How often to re-wrap
When it stops gripping, which is a feel test rather than a schedule. A player who plays three times a week and sweats will get through wraps considerably faster than someone playing indoors once a week. The tell is that you have started squeezing harder without deciding to.
How to wrap one
Start at the butt of the handle with the tapered end, keep the tension light but consistent, and overlap each turn by roughly an eighth of an inch as you spiral up. Finish below the paddle face and secure it with the finishing tape in the pack. If it looks lumpy, unwind and redo it — an uneven wrap creates pressure points that cause blisters.
Overgrips change your grip size slightly
A wrap adds a small amount of circumference, so if you are between grip sizes, that can work in your favour. It cannot bridge a full size. If you are consistently between sizes, size down and add a wrap rather than sizing up.
Do not stack them
Peel the old one off before you put a new one on. Layered overgrips grow the handle unevenly, deaden the feel of the paddle, and hold the sweat and grit from the wrap underneath — which is the opposite of the reason you re-wrapped.
Grip and paddle care go together
A clean paddle face and a fresh grip are the two cheapest things you can do for how a paddle plays. Our paddle cleaning guide covers the face side of the same habit.
