How is Grip Spritz different than SlippNott?

If you've ever played basketball before you know how frustrating it is when you show up to the gym and the court is covered with dust. It makes it almost impossible to play a competitive game. When you're trying to play as hard as possible, it's annoying constantly slipping and sliding and it can be a huge risk for injury.

Unfortunately, this is the common shape of basketball and volleyball courts all over the country.

During the high school season, the school gym is used for plenty of things from gym classes, dances, assemblies, whatever it is, dirty shoes are going to be all over the court. When it comes time for the sports teams to use it for practices or games, it's a dusty, slippery mess.

During the AAU/Travel season, games are often played at a combination of schools, field houses, rec centers, and sometimes even convention centers. On the smaller scale, schools and rec centers are no different than what the high school teams deal with. They're used by the community for dozens of other events and they aren't kept up.

When you get to the larger AAU events at convention centers, there can be over 100 courts and the most cost-effective option is to use those drop-down, tile, sport courts. These plastic courts are old and perfect for static electricity to draw more dust too.

Obviously, for safety reasons as well as the overall flow of the game, something had to change! 

Sticky Pads Enter The Game

If you've played basketball and dealt with dusty courts, then you've also probably seen or used a sticky pad to try and help.

Here Comes Grip Spritz!

Grip Spritz started as a small spray bottle that players could use to get better traction on their basketball shoes whenever they knew the court would be slippery. What we called, 'Traction in a Bottle'!

As more and more players began to use it, coaches took notice and mentioned how they had wished it were a traction mat they could set courtside next to the bench for the whole team. The more talked with coaches, we started to learn why they wanted to switch from the sticky pads so badly. 

We took all of their pain points associated with the sticky mats and decided to create our own Grip Spritz Courtside Traction Mat!

1. They're expensive
2. Kids want a new sheet every time they go into the game because it doesn't last longer than a few possessions.
3. I don't want to have to peel off sticky sheets and find somewhere to throw the used one while I'm trying to coach
4. I don't want to let the kids peel off their own sheets. They accidentally take off six instead of just one.
5. They're a pain to travel with because everything sticks to them and they're heavy.
6. If you leave it in a hot car, the plastic warms, and then it doesn't lay flat.
7. If we leave the doors open in the summer (Southwestern US) when the wind blows in dust, it sticks to the top sheet and it's wasted.

We thought, great, let's fix all of it!

1. They're expensive: They are. For a basketball team, to get the initial board, and enough sticky sheets to get through just games, you're going to spend around $300. This is huge for high school athletic directors who are constantly under the pressure of a budget. This makes them make a tough choice between spending about $700 for the boys' and girls' teams to each have one or making them share and hope schedules don't conflict. We wanted to make sure schools would be able to get both the boy's and girls' basketball teams each a Grip Spritz Traction Mat for less than the cost of one sticky pad. Each with enough solution for about 64 games/practices, so you don't need to order throughout the season and don't only get a fix on game day!
2. Kids want a new sheet every time they go in the game because they don't last more than a few possessions: As mentioned earlier, this takes the dust off the soles of the basketball shoes but isn't stopping them from collecting more, it may be encouraging it. Grip Spritz uses no adhesives. Instead of making the shoes sticky, we're making them grippy by softening and rehydrating the rubber soles of the basketball shoes. Even if the court is dusty and dirty, you'll still have great grip.
3. I don't want to peel off sticky sheets and find somewhere to throw them away while I'm trying to coach: Basketball coaches want to coach, not be cleaning up. Since it lasts much longer, players aren't needing to reapply over and over throughout the game. You can set it up pregame, let them reapply if they need to at halftime, and forget about it! 
4. If the players peel off their own sticky sheets, they accidentally pull off five instead of one: Since they only need to use it once or twice a game, neither the coach nor the player needs to worry about it. Even if they pour a bit too much solution, it's not as costly of a mistake as peeling off six sheets!
5. Sticky pads suck to travel with: Sticky mats are heavy. They have to be, so when you step on them, they weigh enough to stay in place. When you travel, papers stick to them, and dust attaches to them as you walk, it's annoying. Grip Spritz comes with a tote bag big enough to carry all of your coaching equipment. By the time the game ends, you can just pack up the traction mat, it won't leak, it won't remain damp, and it won't ruin whatever is in the bag with it!
6. I left my sticky pad in my hot car and it's ruined: We were shocked when we heard this one. A few basketball coaches had left their sticky mat in their car and the intense heat warped the plastic and left it slightly curved. Obviously, this isn't ideal to set on a court or easy for basketball players to step on and properly remove the dust on their shoes. You don't need to worry about that with Grip Spritz. We also stand by our mats and give a full season-long warranty! 
7. Dust sticks to the sticky pad: Same region of the country, different problem! Thankfully, Grip Spritz isn't sticky so nothing will stick to it! So open those doors up in the hot summer to get some air in the gym and don't worry about slipping or ruining your traction mat!

We let basketball coaches build their ideal product! We listened to all their complaints and designed exactly what they wanted!

If you have more questions about other key differences, check out Grip Spritz vs. Sticky Pads!

You can also reach out to us with any questions you might have!