The argument over which griptape is the best has been ongoing ever since I got my first board. Personally, I’ve been a Jessup fan since I started skating. I can remember asking the guy at the skateshop early on what was best and he told me Jessup was pretty much the standard go-to for grip. That was enough for me and I have pretty much stuck with it ever since.
Over the years, I have varied it up and tried different grips: Monkey Business (Who remembers that, huh?), Black Magic, Ironhorse, and Mob among others. It may just be a mental thing but nothing feels better to me than Jessup. It’s different for everyone, but I think whatever we start with sometimes just feels like our natural go-to.
I can distinctly remember the last time I tried Mob, it was the winter of 2012. I had just moved back to NYC and set up a fresh deck to go skate LES on a 18 degree day. Similar to what happened to George here in the video, the grip just wouldn’t adhere right and ripped off on me mid trick. It was like in Mortal Kombat when Sub-zero would freeze Scorpion and then deliver the finishing block breaking his opponent into pieces. I’m sure it was just circumstances of the cold and just putting it on that day, but that was it for me. I could always trust Jessup, so why stray?
Skateboarders are weird creatures of habit. Whether its griptape, board shape, size, or the type of material on a shoe…we just have to have every minute detail to our liking. Gimmicks will come and go over time ( anyone remember Ollie Pop Bubble gum?) but we tend to stick to what we’re used to.
