Grip Spritz Alternatives - Help My Basketball Shoe Grip

Grip Spritz Alternatives

So, you don’t want to buy Grip Spritz? That's fair. Let’s explore some alternative options!

First, do you want to spend money or do you want a free option?

If you don’t want to spend any money improving the traction of your basketball shoes, see options 1, 5, or 7.

If you’re willing to spend money on this common basketball problem, see options 2, 3, 4, or 6.

Second, do you care if it ruins your basketball shoes in the process of improving grip?

If you don’t care about ruining your shoes for grip, see options 1, 2, or 4.

If you don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars on new basketball shoes just for grip, see options 3, 5, 6, or 7.

So choose your combination, how do you want to get better grip on your basketball shoes?

Free and harmful?

Free and safe?

Spend money and ruin your shoes?

Spend money and get better grip?

Option 1: Hand Sanitizer

This one got popular in the last few years but does it give your basketball shoes better traction?

This is a free option, assuming you have hand sanitizer at home or at the gym.

It is also an option that’ll ruin your shoes.

Hand sanitizer contains alcohol. It’s how it kills germs. Alcohol will also kill your shoes.

For rubber to be grippy it has to be soft and supple. Alcohol will dry out the rubber, deteriorate it, and inevitably ruin the shoes.

It creates a vicious cycle. You put hand sanitizer on your basketball shoes, you get a short-term grip but the rubber begins to dry out. It worked for a few minutes so you put more on. It works a little bit shorter. You do it again, it works less. Over and over until the shoes are ruined.

Where does hand sanitizer fall?

Free and harmful. Unless you don’t have any handy and have to buy it. Then it falls into the worst possible category. You paid for it and destroyed your shoes.

Option 2: Sand Paper

It’s really hard to fathom that this is a real idea basketball players have considered.

The idea is that by grinding down the tread of your shoes and exposing new rubber on the soles will improve traction on the basketball court.

A company released a product with a “scuff pad”, designed to do exactly this.

Not much explanation is needed here, it’ll ruin your shoes.

Conclusion: Free and harmful. Again, unless you have to buy the sandpaper.

Option 3: Basketball Sticky Pad

Finally, a product actually for basketball shoes!

This is great for teams. If you are an individual player, it’s not the best option. They’re pretty expensive (a few hundred dollars), they’re pretty big and tough to travel with.

You never really see players carrying one of these around.

It’s impractical unless you’re a coach.

If you’re a coach, you are familiar with how quickly the cost of these can add up. Each player wants to use a new sticky sheet. You’re constantly peeling them off while you’re coaching. It becomes a headache.

There is an alternative to sticky pads, however! It's half the price, zero in-game maintenance, and zero plastic waste. Check that out here!

Conclusion: Safe but expensive! If you coach and want to do something for the whole team, this can work! If you’re a player, it’s just not realistic.

Option 4: Other Basketball Shoe Grip Sprays

If you don’t want to use Grip Spritz, you probably won’t find the answer to slippery basketball shoes in other shoe grip sprays. Learn more about why.

If your complaint is that Grip Spritz is too expensive, it’s the lowest-priced option on the market.

If you think it’ll ruin the shoes, it’s the only basketball shoe grip spray without alcohol. As we said, hand sanitizer will ruin the shoes.

If you don’t think it’s reputable, it’s used by colleges, high schools, national camps, and pro basketball players. It’s endorsed by coaches at every level, state coaching associations, and the highest levels of AAU basketball.

Conclusion: You probably just don’t want to use a basketball grip spray, and that’s okay!

Option 5: Spit/Water

Every basketball player has been here! Who hasn’t spit on the court or licked their hand to clean their basketball shoes off?

Honestly, this is simple, free, and safe! Is it gross? Of course!

The downside with this method is that it isn’t a long-term fix for grip on your shoes. It might work for a possession or two but if the court is dusty, it’ll be a never-ending cycle.

With spit, that’s fine! With water, it’s a little tougher to reapply that without subbing out.

Conclusion: Safe and free! This is your best bet if you’re going to do anything but Grip Spritz. But, don’t expect it to really solve the problem.

Option 6: Pop

A lot of players think that using pop instead of water will make the grippy effect last longer on their basketball shoes.

The thought is that it’s sticky.

The issue is you want your basketball shoes to be grippy, not sticky.

If you’ve ever spilled pop and it’s dried, you know how sticky it is when you try to clean it.

Now, imagine the same super stickiness on the soles of your basketball shoes and there is dust and dirt all over the court.

You’re going to have a dust-covered, sticky, gross mess on the soles of your shoes. It won’t enhance the traction on the basketball court and it’s a headache to clean afterwards.

Conclusion: Free (kind of) and safe (kind of). You won’t ruin the shoes like other options but you will have quite the clean up afterwards for minimal effects.

Option 7: Your Hand

Similar to spit, just without licking your hand before wiping your basketball shoes off.

Again, something every basketball player has done!

Pretty much the same as spit, just a little less effective since you’re not removing dust from the soles like that little bit of spit does. However, it is 100% free and never runs out!

Conclusion: Free and safe.

So, the choice is yours! You have 7 alternatives to help get you better grip on your basketball shoes.

You also have an eighth option, use the most affordable, longest-lasting, and safest option to stop your basketball shoes from being slippery.

Option 8: Grip Spritz