E-Grip Cue Holder

ridewiththewind

♥ Hippie Hustler ♥
Silver Member
I recently decided to purchase a E-Grip cue holder after a cue of mine was knocked out of my old cue holder and sustained some dings in the butt, as a result. Due to the $75 price point, I felt it deserved an honest review.

The E-Grip is machined of, what I believe to be, aircraft grade aluminum, and has an attractive finish that will not show fingerprints readily. There is a thin rubber strip that runs the entire edge of the holder, to prevent dings. I knocked my cues around inside the holder, and sustained no dings whatsoever, so the product does work as intended.

It is designed to adjust to any table thickness up to 3.5"...which is handy when encountering various different tables' thicknesses at local taverns. The holder is secured to the table by turning a hook bolt...the hook being intended to be used to hang your case/purse/jacket...etc, off of. The hook managed the weight of my JB Cases Tough Love 2x5/3x4 leather case (which is admittedly heavy) quite well. However, in order to be able to hang the case off the hook, it requires that the cues be leaned at a greater angle, which puts the butts further into the path of foot traffic.





It should be noted, that one of the selling points is that it breaks down into two pieces, so that it can be carried in the pocket of most cue cases. My experience was that even broken down, it just barely fit into the pocket of my case, and required that I remove even the jump cue sleeve from the jump cue pocket. Talk about a tight fit! A reduction in size of even just .25" might make the difference between being pocket-friendly and not.

As previously stated....the E-Grip does do what is advertised, however...there are a few things I feel should be pointed out:

The first noticeable thing for me was that the rubber strip did not seem to be glued/adhered evenly throughout. At one point, there is an obvious 'glob' of glue between the rubber strip and the aluminum.





Another point of concern I have...and it may or may not be unfounded, is that the little 'lip' that vertical table adjustment point fits over, is awfully thin. I worry that this will eventually wear away during repeated use, thus rendering the holder all but useless.



As to the adhesion issue with the rubber strip...I have a plethora of adhesives available to me where I work, and I can probably get it evenly secured. Not much can be done if the other becomes an issue.

While I am impressed with how well the product works...at the price point it is being offered at...I expect darn near perfection when it comes to fitment of the components. One would not expect anything less from a higher-end cue...and one should not expect less from a higher-end cue holder.

Lisa
 

ridewiththewind

♥ Hippie Hustler ♥
Silver Member
That's pretty bad quality control for $75.

Damn shame too...because the product does work as intended...but pretty unimpressed with the fitment. Not happy about what I had to spend to get what I got...the application of the rubber strip should have been darn near flawless, and the 'lip' a bit more substantial...as I can see this being a catastrophic failure point, IMHO.

Until these 'issues' are addressed...I cannot, in all good conscience, recommend this product...even tho it actually works.
 
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DAVE_M

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Damn shame too...because the product does work as intended...but pretty unimpressed with the fitment. Not happy about what I had to spend to get what I got...the application of the rubber strip should have been darn near flawless, and the 'lip' a bit more substantial...as I can see this being a catastrophic failure point, IMHO.

I agree, it's a very well thought out design, but horrible execution. I was sold on it when I saw the hook for a case (or whatever) and I like the idea of fitting to multiple tables. However, $75 is a good chunk for an unnecessary item and QC should be a major factor.
 

ronscuba

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Everyone in my city uses the claw. I never liked it because it doesn't secure the cue. It's just something the cue leans on.

When I 1st saw the E-Grip, I like the concept, but not the price.

I settled on the Porper cue holder. More clunky than the claw, but my cue stays secure. It rotates vertical or horizontal depending on what you need to clamp to.

th
 

DAVE_M

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I'd give it another day.

We allow our clients 48 hours to respond to our projects. I usually grant the same time frame for product companies to respond about their warranty or information on their product.

Although, I do not expect them to respond at all in this case :(
 

ridewiththewind

♥ Hippie Hustler ♥
Silver Member
I'd give it another day.

We allow our clients 48 hours to respond to our projects. I usually grant the same time frame for product companies to respond about their warranty or information on their product.

Although, I do not expect them to respond at all in this case :(

I suspect you're right....although he was johnny-on-the-spot when I made my initial purchase inquiry...within minutes.
 

Brandon Gramse

Registered
Lisa,

I want to first and foremost thank you for an honest and well thought out review of my E-Grip pool cue holder. I've gotten a great deal of feedback on the product since it was officially released almost two years ago but yours is the first review that has offered such specific and actionable points of criticism. It is your kind of criticism that I most appreciate since it helps me to improve the E-Grip further.

I will admit that I waited a few days to respond to this thread, specifically because I felt it deserved my full attention. Now that my weekend is finally winding down, I've been able to sit down and respond in a way that is (hopefully) helpful and useful.

I care about protecting cues from damage and I want to provide the very best product to as many people as possible. I have put a great deal of thought into the design of the E-Grip and it is my hope that the reasoning I explain below will clear some things up.

The first thing that I notice from your review is that the glue holding the rubber bumper onto your unit is definitely not performing as it should. I agree that if I paid for a high-end product, I would expect nothing less than perfection. To that end, the glue used on your E-Grip has clearly not delivered on my goal of providing "The World's Best Pool Cue Holder". I apologize for that.

The glue has been mentioned to me once before by a customer, though he mentioned that it only came loose after he deliberately pulled it away from the metal as a test of it's strength. In general play, I've never experienced the glue coming loose on its own.

The next point you mention is the idea of making it smaller to fit into your pool bag pocket. When I was designing the E-Grip, I started first with the goal of providing the best possible protection for the cues inside of it. Thus the E-Grip's eventual width was decided on by finding the minimum size that two cues would comfortably rest inside of it. The reason for the E-Grip's width might not be immediately obvious to a casual user, but there logic to it.

As most players know, different tables are different heights. A pub table is somewhat high off the ground and that means the E-Grip is coming into contact with the thinner of the shaft. But when the E-Grip is attached to a dining table, which is lower to the ground than a pub table is, then it is closer to the joint of the cue which is a significantly thicker part of the shaft. I had ensure that the E-Grip was going to be useable in as many environments as possible and that meant accommodating even very low-to-the-ground tables. Hence, the E-Grip’s width is the smallest it can be without compromising its cue holding ability.

I did test the E-Grip to make sure it could fit into a large number of pool cue holder's side-pockets. I stock over 30 different styles of pool cue cases at my retail store and I was able to fit the E-Grip into 24 of them, which is 80% of the cases I tried. Although far from being compatible with "every" pool cue case, I felt that compatibility with approximately 80% of cue cases was a majority.

Though not as elegant as simply packing it away in a side pocket, I specifically designed the E-Grip so that it is possible to clamp the device to the strap of a pool cue case. This is a workaround for those cases with either no pocket or simply pockets that are too small to hold the device. Again, not quite as ideal as putting it safely in the pocket, but certainly better than having to carry it by hand into a pool hall.

Moving on to the idea of the registration tooth inside the E-Grip, that part of the device is actually there for the benefit of the user and not as much for the E-Grip itself. In fact the cue-holding part of the device can be flipped upside down so that the tooth doesn’t engage at all and the device will still lock on just as tight. The tooth’s purpose is mainly to hold the E-Grip in place until you’ve found your desired height. Once you’ve tightened the device down, the tooth is not really used at all.
Additionally, the tooth’s current width is small but the manufacturing is of a high enough quality so it will not break even under stress. I’ve never had reports of users breaking it.

Finally, your mention of not being able to fully fit your larger bag under the counter is one that has been mentioned before. Unfortunately, there’s no solid workaround for that with the way the E-Grip is currently manufactured. The reason for the foot's current size is so that it is able to clamp onto other things besides just tables.

For example, sometimes I’m at a pool hall where all the tables have cushions around them, so I’ve actually attached the E-Grip to something called Chair-Rail Molding, which are the horizontal molding in the middle of the wall. Even though that molding is only 1/2 inch out from the wall, the E-Grip is still able to clamp onto it securely. If the E-Grip’s foot stretched back further than it presently does, this would not be possible.

That being said, I have been considering selling an add-on that would stretch the foot of the E-Grip further back than it currently does. I don’t like the idea of confusing users with more options than they may actually need, which is one of the main reasons I haven’t fully developed this add-on. If this larger foot was something that enough people showed an interest in, I would certainly consider it.

All in all, I want to make it clear that I care very much about what E-Grip users think of the product. I am very thankful that you are able to bring these points to my attention and allow me the opportunity to give a proper explanation of why certain aspects are the way they are.

Although you mentioned that you planned to fix the rubber/glue issue yourself, please feel free to return your E-Grip to me and I will personally fix the issue you are having with the glue adhesion.

Thank you again and I hope to keep this post active with any further E-Grip thoughts, criticisms, or questions. I am always happy to have a discussion about it.

Brandon Gramse
-Inventor of The E-Grip.
 

CocoboloCowboy

Cowboys are my hero's
Silver Member
Lisa you took the time to critique a product that from your critique has some bugs. Thank for your effort, and silence is golden. Maybe people not telling you off for honesty is good, and they just forgot to say thank you for saving em 75 CLAMS.
 

ridewiththewind

♥ Hippie Hustler ♥
Silver Member
Lisa,

I want to first and foremost thank you for an honest and well thought out review of my E-Grip pool cue holder. I've gotten a great deal of feedback on the product since it was officially released almost two years ago but yours is the first review that has offered such specific and actionable points of criticism. It is your kind of criticism that I most appreciate since it helps me to improve the E-Grip further.

I will admit that I waited a few days to respond to this thread, specifically because I felt it deserved my full attention. Now that my weekend is finally winding down, I've been able to sit down and respond in a way that is (hopefully) helpful and useful.

I care about protecting cues from damage and I want to provide the very best product to as many people as possible. I have put a great deal of thought into the design of the E-Grip and it is my hope that the reasoning I explain below will clear some things up.

The first thing that I notice from your review is that the glue holding the rubber bumper onto your unit is definitely not performing as it should. I agree that if I paid for a high-end product, I would expect nothing less than perfection. To that end, the glue used on your E-Grip has clearly not delivered on my goal of providing "The World's Best Pool Cue Holder". I apologize for that.

The glue has been mentioned to me once before by a customer, though he mentioned that it only came loose after he deliberately pulled it away from the metal as a test of it's strength. In general play, I've never experienced the glue coming loose on its own.

The next point you mention is the idea of making it smaller to fit into your pool bag pocket. When I was designing the E-Grip, I started first with the goal of providing the best possible protection for the cues inside of it. Thus the E-Grip's eventual width was decided on by finding the minimum size that two cues would comfortably rest inside of it. The reason for the E-Grip's width might not be immediately obvious to a casual user, but there logic to it.

As most players know, different tables are different heights. A pub table is somewhat high off the ground and that means the E-Grip is coming into contact with the thinner of the shaft. But when the E-Grip is attached to a dining table, which is lower to the ground than a pub table is, then it is closer to the joint of the cue which is a significantly thicker part of the shaft. I had ensure that the E-Grip was going to be useable in as many environments as possible and that meant accommodating even very low-to-the-ground tables. Hence, the E-Grip’s width is the smallest it can be without compromising its cue holding ability.

I did test the E-Grip to make sure it could fit into a large number of pool cue holder's side-pockets. I stock over 30 different styles of pool cue cases at my retail store and I was able to fit the E-Grip into 24 of them, which is 80% of the cases I tried. Although far from being compatible with "every" pool cue case, I felt that compatibility with approximately 80% of cue cases was a majority.

Though not as elegant as simply packing it away in a side pocket, I specifically designed the E-Grip so that it is possible to clamp the device to the strap of a pool cue case. This is a workaround for those cases with either no pocket or simply pockets that are too small to hold the device. Again, not quite as ideal as putting it safely in the pocket, but certainly better than having to carry it by hand into a pool hall.

Moving on to the idea of the registration tooth inside the E-Grip, that part of the device is actually there for the benefit of the user and not as much for the E-Grip itself. In fact the cue-holding part of the device can be flipped upside down so that the tooth doesn’t engage at all and the device will still lock on just as tight. The tooth’s purpose is mainly to hold the E-Grip in place until you’ve found your desired height. Once you’ve tightened the device down, the tooth is not really used at all.
Additionally, the tooth’s current width is small but the manufacturing is of a high enough quality so it will not break even under stress. I’ve never had reports of users breaking it.

Finally, your mention of not being able to fully fit your larger bag under the counter is one that has been mentioned before. Unfortunately, there’s no solid workaround for that with the way the E-Grip is currently manufactured. The reason for the foot's current size is so that it is able to clamp onto other things besides just tables.

For example, sometimes I’m at a pool hall where all the tables have cushions around them, so I’ve actually attached the E-Grip to something called Chair-Rail Molding, which are the horizontal molding in the middle of the wall. Even though that molding is only 1/2 inch out from the wall, the E-Grip is still able to clamp onto it securely. If the E-Grip’s foot stretched back further than it presently does, this would not be possible.

That being said, I have been considering selling an add-on that would stretch the foot of the E-Grip further back than it currently does. I don’t like the idea of confusing users with more options than they may actually need, which is one of the main reasons I haven’t fully developed this add-on. If this larger foot was something that enough people showed an interest in, I would certainly consider it.

All in all, I want to make it clear that I care very much about what E-Grip users think of the product. I am very thankful that you are able to bring these points to my attention and allow me the opportunity to give a proper explanation of why certain aspects are the way they are.

Although you mentioned that you planned to fix the rubber/glue issue yourself, please feel free to return your E-Grip to me and I will personally fix the issue you are having with the glue adhesion.

Thank you again and I hope to keep this post active with any further E-Grip thoughts, criticisms, or questions. I am always happy to have a discussion about it.

Brandon Gramse
-Inventor of The E-Grip.

Thank you, Brandon. I very much appreciate your very detailed explanation of why you did as you did in the design concept. I also very much appreciate that you did not get immediately defensive, as is so often the case here on AZB. Kudos to you, sir!

As I did state, and will again, that I feel that the product does absolutely work as intended...which is first and foremost, and the primary reason I chose to pay the higher asking price. The other selling point for me was the ability to adjust through a wide range of table thicknesses. Where I live and play, the thicknesses of tavern tables vary wildly....so this works out well for me.

Thank you very much for explaining why you did the registration tooth as you did, and that it is not, in fact, integral to the proper functioning of the product...and thus, failure is not a worry. I very much appreciate that!

While I suspect I could address the issue of the too much glue is some places, and very little to none in others, (where the rubber strip appears to be pulling away from the unit itself), I must admit that I would prefer to not dink around with it myself, for fear of possibly damaging the rubber strip in the process. It is why I have not tried to do it myself to date. You obviously know better than myself exactly how it's supposed to all go together as a cohesive unit. To that end, I will be sending it back to you, so that you may inspect it and affect a proper re-application of the rubber strip.

Do please PM me with the appropriate address, so that I may get it off to you in the mail.

I am kind of a cue holder 'junkie'...and there have been frankly, very few that have been able to impress me. I have a couple of favorites...but this one has gone to the top of my list, because it really does perform as stated. Honestly, it was why I was disappointed in the QC of the rubber strip adhesion....because I really am kind of enamored with it. :yeah:

Thank you again, and I hope to hear from you soon!!

Lisa
 

CueCaps

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Review and Revise

Lisa,
This was a good example of a review and very well addressed, explanatory reply.

Brandon, your thoughts , explanations, and concerns and are well described.

Both of you let us see the real world facts and understanding of the products intent purpose/function, and, how/why it was designed or thought out to address those little idiosyncrasies that we don't think about.


Brandon, congratulations on your invention.. :)

Thanks Lisa and Brandon.

Alton - Cue Caps :)
 

WRichieX

Registered
Anyone know if the QC issue has been resolved? I do want one but if it's like how it is from the original review then I don't.
 

dvs

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Hi

Can someone post a picture of this holder and is it still available

Thanks

Dave
 

Richard Kapela

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
It is available: http://egrip.com/. I love mine, I get questions and compliments on it every time I use it.

However, you do have to make sure that it clamps properly to the table. Occasionally it takes some adjusting. But definitely not a reason not to buy.
 

ridewiththewind

♥ Hippie Hustler ♥
Silver Member
So...I wrote the original review and thought I would provide an update 3.5 years later.

First off...while Brandon was willing to address the issues with my E-Grip...it works so well, that I never sent it in. I honestly did not want to part with. The issues I had did not affect the holder's function...and no further detachment of the rubber bumper has occurred.

Overall...this product has performed as advertised, and has been a constant companion whenever I play. It's up to you to decide if it's worth the $$.

LisaT

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk
 

mooseman

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
My family brought me one for Christmas. A little too big to fit in my cue case. It does tighten around the strap for carrying.

I usually use my case with the cues assembled. Still some people manage to knock the case over with the shafts hitting a chair or another table.

Definitely expensive but as a gift....... can't go wrong!!!!

Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk
 
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