IRON APE Figure 8 Straps for Deadlift, Weight Lifting, Shrugs, and Weightlifting. Heavy Duty Cotton, 4 Sizes

UPDATE: After just a few more weeks of use, these have really become the best deadlifting straps that I have ever used. The stiffness was completely gone after 3-4 uses (although scrunching them up between sets has now become an oddly satisfying habit!). The speed with which you can set up and adjust your grip just can't be beat by any other type of strap. The straps themselves are clearly well made and I expect that they will last for years. Unlike another reviewer's, mine did not have any smell at all.One tip - a lot of videos/articles/pictures demonstrating how to use figure 8 straps have you putting the part of the strap that contacts the bar well outside your hands and pulling up and towards the center before gripping the bar. This puts all the pressure on the insides of your wrists during the lifts which was very uncomfortable for me. This is not necessary. Gripping the bar closer to where the straps wrap the bar puts the pressure back across the whole wrist and top of the hand in a way that is very similar to other types of straps and much more comfortable in my opinion.ORIGINAL POST:I try to be as up front as I can when I write a review, so straight off I need to say that these are my first figure 8 style lifting straps, as well as my first cotton lifting straps of any kind. Prior to this I've used hooks, and lasso straps in leather or nylon.The current price on these is what drew me to them while searching. The look of them in the picture convinced me to give them a shot even though there were no reviews at the time that I bought them. They look the closest to the Giants Pro straps that Eddie Hall used to break the deadlift world record and which seems to have started the whole figure 8 style (and which are no longer for sale). Having received and used them twice, I am happy that I made the choice. They are every bit as sturdy and substantial as they look in the picture.I have only used them twice, and I'll update at a later date with more detail. However, my initial impressions:1. The cotton will take awhile to break in. They are thick (which is good), so they are stiff. I anticipated this based on my research for other cotton straps. I spent a few minutes repeatedly "scrunching" them after the first use, and this has already made a noticeable difference.2. You are locked to the bar with this type of strap. Dropping the bar is not possible. I anticipated this as well based on research, but I admit that it was somewhat disconcerting when ending my first few sets to remain bent over for a few extra seconds while I released instead of just letting go and standing up.3. More time than that is saved when setting up. The biggest advantage of this type of strap for me is the set up. It's very easy to get into, and more so than with any other type of strap, it's easy to adjust your grip width while strapping.For the curious, I'm using these for deadlift volume sets that are currently around 400 pounds. (I don't strap for my heavy singles, triples etc.)At this price, there is really no reason that I can see to buy any other brand.

Solid, strong, comfortable. You will NOT drop the bar with these... in fact, you probably can't, so don't use these for anything but deadlifts.They will especially serve you well with bars with good bearings, which will tend to want to turn in your hands a lot. Lasso-style straps weren't cutting it for me anymore around 500lbs, but these don't care if the bar wants to roll, or even if your hands are firmly on it at all.They run large. If you are near the boundary between two sizes, order the smaller one. It's possible to use them even if they run large on you.After having obtain a second pair for my girlfriend (who is much too tiny to use mine), I can only conclude that the horrible chemical stench (seriously, it's enough to make you light-headed) is something that new ones have, and lose as they sit on the shelf for a while.I hope.

Before you buy these, really pay attention to details regarding what you’re training for. These are definitely not allowed in powerlifting meets. It’s not up to distributors to say “these aren’t allowed in your sanction of whatever category of strength training you do.”These are great for what they’re intended to do. For me, it’s great to push my lower back with heavier rack pulls. My max 18” rack pull is 585lbs with chalk. With these figure 8 straps, I can pull 725lbs. Please understand that figure 8 straps completely take your wrists out of the equation. If your raw deadlift goes up 100lbs with these, it’s not going to stay that way at a powerlifting meet, for example, where you can’t use them.These figure 8 wrist wraps are great for overloading the back without using your wrist. I definitely recommend them. But, don’t use them if you’re going to use them every set. These are great for certain things. They shouldn’t be used senselessly.

Holy crap do these ever work! I’ve been using traditional straps for years but recently, while doing snatch pulls, I thought to myself, there has to be a better way.Well this is it! I was skeptical the physics of these would even work, but somehow it does. Also you’re grabbing the bar directly instead of the strap wrapped around the bar. So you can hookgrip with these straps if you want.In any case, I was able to go from struggling with 3 snatch pulls to an easy 5 reps with these. Never going back to the long wrap around straps. Also locking into the bar is much faster and always even tension on both hands.I have a 7.5” wrist and got both large and medium. Large is definitely the right size. Also works over my wrist wraps so I can easily transition from pulls to other overhead exercises.

Bought these because my previous straps bit the dust and was pleasantly surprised that I took them. It's a bit of an adjustment period if you've never used figure 8 straps before but once you get the hang of them it's a sizable difference. These feel more natural when grabbing the bar, great balance of the straps helping but not doing the work for you. Material is great as well. Pretty mad I lost my set recently, so looks like I'm getting these boys again.Definitely a re-buy (clearly)

The straps are thick, durable, and are very well made. However, the smell is awful, very very mildewy to the point that my hands still smelled like the straps after using them. They definitely do what they're supposed to, however.EDIT: smell definitely lessened after a few uses, Iron Ape reached out about the issue and more than made up for it. Top notch company, will buy from them again

As others have indicated, these do run large. I have 6.75" wrists and I was swimming in the medium. I really tried to make them work, but no luck. They otherwise appear to be solidly made. I was really hoping to be able to use them to assist me in my pull down exercises.