Hasta La Ideas

As with the EDC market, the fitness market is awash in gizmos with curious forms. Like these things:

Those are called Swissies, and if they were to survive for centuries, future archaeologists would have fun trying to figure out what they were used for.

Perhaps they could guess by inspecting them. The surface has been modified in two areas, one with knurling, the other with rubber strips.

They hew to form-follows-function, though the function might not be obvious to non-gym-goers. Their purpose is to rotate the orientation of one’s grip on a rod, to target different muscle groups from those worked by the standard grip. The knurling is to increase purchase for one’s hands, while the rubber strips are meant to grip rods ranging from 25mm to 34mm in diameter.

And since they’re loose, they can obviously be set to any desired width.

They’re made of a nylon-fiberglass composite, and this materials choice was purposeful. “You may be wondering why didn’t we make it out of steel or aluminum,” writes manufacturer Kensui Fitness. “The answer is 3-fold. Nylon is much more lightweight. The Swissies weighs 1lb. If it was made of metal it would be closer to 5lbs! Secondly, Nylon is much easier to grip without slipping. Lastly, it’s more comfortable as it’s not cold to the touch like metal is.”

These run $30 a pair, and if the reviews are to be believed, target users love them.