iQGrip vs Hesacore vs TriggerGrip Pro vs Extra Overgrips
If your paddle handle does not fit your hand, there are four genuinely different products that claim to fix it. They work in different ways, and the right one depends on what is actually wrong.
This page is written by iQGrip, so read it accordingly. We have tried to be straight about where the alternatives are the better buy — because for some players they are, and telling you otherwise would waste your money and our reputation. Where we describe another company's product we have kept to what that product is; for installation specifics, check their own instructions rather than ours.
At a glance
| iQGrip | Hesacore | TriggerGrip Pro | Extra overgrips | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Multiple shaped inserts plus an overgrip | A one-piece hexagonal sleeve | A single index-finger ridge | Thin tape wraps |
| How many shaping pieces? | As few or as many as you want — two sizes | One | One | None |
| Shapes the handle… | Only where you place it | One preset shape, whole handle | At one point | Not at all — uniform thickness |
| You choose the placement? | Yes — every insert, independently | No | Limited — one position | No |
| Repositionable afterwards? | Yes | No | Limited — one position | No |
| Overgrip included? | Yes — iQGrip overgrips in every kit | Varies by pack | Sold separately | N/A |
iQGrip — multiple inserts, placed where you choose
The structure under your overgrip — base tape, foam, moulding — stays exactly where it is. You place the shaped inserts on top, where you want support, secure them with the included adhesive strips, and wrap an overgrip over the top — or skip the teardown entirely and build right over your existing overgrip. The standard install leaves everything that shapes the handle exactly as it was, and you can move the inserts whenever you like.
You decide where the support goes — under the heel of the palm, along a finger, low near the butt cap, wherever your hand is not making contact. Each insert does two jobs: it fills the gap for comfort you notice right away, and it gives your hand a reference point it learns to return to — consistency that builds over your first few sessions. There are common configurations, and high-level players regularly arrive at their own.
Insert sizes: small is 1.125″ × 2″ (29 × 51 mm), large is 1.75″ × 2.125″ (44 × 54 mm). Kits run from 3 inserts on one paddle up to 24 across as many as eight paddles, and you can add extra inserts any time — every kit includes iQGrip overgrips so you have everything needed to finish the job.
Infinite configurations
Two insert sizes, as few or as many pieces as you want, and free choice of where every single one goes. There is no fixed set of iQGrip setups — there is your hand, your grip style, and the configuration that suits both. A nine-insert PRO Pack offers more arrangements than you could work through in a season.
And nothing is permanent. Small hands, large hands, a two-handed backhand, a habit of choking up, a sore spot at the base of the thumb, a new paddle with a different handle — all of it is a matter of moving inserts, not buying a different product. Your grip changes as your game does.
Low commitment to try
Everything that shapes your handle stays where it is and the inserts sit above it, so trying iQGrip does not mean rebuilding your handle. Peel back an overgrip, move an insert, wrap it again — that is the whole operation, and it takes minutes. If you decide it is not for you, the paddle goes back to exactly how it was. And the kit can go back too — 30-day free returns, with a full refund including your shipping.
That also means the shape and the surface stay separate choices. Wrap the iQGrip overgrip that comes in the kit, or keep using whichever grip you already like the feel of.
The structural difference
Look at the table above and the difference is structural rather than a matter of degree. Every other option on this page gives you a shape somebody else decided on.
- Hesacore gives you one preset shape across the entire handle.
- TriggerGrip Pro gives you one ridge, in one place, for one finger.
- Extra overgrips give you uniform thickness and no shaping at all.
iQGrip is the only system here built from multiple independently placed inserts — which makes it the only one that is genuinely fitted to your hand, rather than asking your hand to adapt to a shape somebody else decided on. Every other product on this page is a fixed answer. iQGrip is an adjustable one.
That is also why it rewards a session or two of experimenting: you are not installing a finished object, you are fitting one. Players who enjoy dialling in their equipment tend to get the most out of it.
Shop custom-fit pickleball grip insert kits → · See the configurations →
Hesacore — one preset shape across the whole handle
A moulded hexagonal structure that gives a consistent textured surface around the handle, with some contouring built in toward the top and bottom. It has the strongest reputation and the most professional visibility of anything in this category, and it is a genuinely well-made product.
Better than iQGrip if: you want a uniform texture change across the entire handle, you like the honeycomb feel, and you would rather not make placement decisions. It is a considered, finished product and the fit-and-forget option.
Where it falls short: the shape is moulded in at the factory, so you get the contours Hesacore designed rather than the ones your hand asks for. You cannot add support in one place and not another, and you cannot adjust it later if your grip or your game changes.
TriggerGrip Pro — one ridge for your index finger
A single silicone ridge placed on one side of the handle, under your overgrip, so your index finger lands in the same place every time. The company publishes its weight at 0.2 oz and it installs in seconds.
Better than iQGrip if: your problem is specifically index-finger consistency and paddle-face awareness rather than overall handle fit. It is the simplest, fastest change of anything on this page, and simplicity has real value.
Where it falls short: one ridge in one place. It does not address a handle that is too small overall, palm-side pressure, choke-up positions or two-handed backhands.
Extra overgrips — the cheapest thing that works
Each wrap adds roughly 1/16″ to the circumference, evenly, all the way around. Two gets you about a full grip size.
Better than iQGrip if: your handle is uniformly a little too small and nothing else is wrong. Genuinely — if one overgrip fixes it, buy the overgrip. It costs a few dollars and takes two minutes.
Where it falls short: stacking more than two starts to feel dead and muffled, and no number of uniform layers will support a specific part of your hand. Uniform layers make the whole handle bigger; they do not change where your hand lands on it.
Which should you choose?
| If your problem is… | Start with |
|---|---|
| Handle is uniformly a little too small | Extra overgrips |
| You want consistent texture and grip everywhere | Hesacore |
| Your index finger wanders; paddle-face awareness | TriggerGrip Pro |
| Specific spots are unsupported; you squeeze to compensate | iQGrip |
| You have already tried overgrips and it still is not right | iQGrip |
| You want to keep adjusting the fit as your game changes | iQGrip |
| Different players sharing or swapping paddles | iQGrip |
What we have not measured yet
In the interest of being straight with you: we publish our insert dimensions above, but we have not yet published total added weight per kit or finished handle circumference for a typical configuration. Some of our competitors do publish those numbers, and they are fair things to want before buying.
We are measuring them, and they will appear here and on each product page when we have figures we are confident in. We would rather leave a gap than quote you something we have not verified.