Lifting straps take your grip out of the equation on heavy pulls, so you train the pull and the hip drive rather than your forearms. They’re a must-have once your snatch and clean pulls climb past what your hands can hold — here are the ones we rate, and how to choose.
What to look for
- Type. A simple lasso or closed-loop strap is all a weightlifter needs. Figure-8 straps lock you in hard — great for deadlifts, but you don’t want that on anything you might need to bail.
- Material. Dense woven cotton or nylon that can take a knurled, sharp bar without shredding.
- The loop. On cheap straps, the little loop you thread through is the bit that frays and snaps first. The pairs we rate avoid that weak point.
Our picks
Gymreapers Lifting Straps — best all-round
No loop to thread through — which, on every cheap pair we owned, was exactly the bit that frayed and snapped. Durable, grippy, and a fraction of the price of the premium names. This is the pair we actually reach for.
No loop to thread the strap through — the bit that always used to break on me. These are durable and reliable.
Check price on AmazonEleiko — best premium
Lovely straps — densely woven, hard-wearing, and priced like everything with Eleiko on it. If you want the very best and don’t mind paying for it, they’re superb.
Read our full Eleiko lifting straps review.
When to use straps
Straps come into their own on your pulling work — snatch and clean high pulls, dead pulls and heavy pulls from the floor, plus hang snatches. You won’t use them for the competition lifts themselves (you need to let go to turn the bar over), they’re not allowed in competition, and for safety you should never strap in on cleans — you have to be able to bail.
New to them? See our walkthrough on how to use pulling straps, and the rest of the kit we train in on our recommended gear page.
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