Get A Grip handle slips up in professional testing

Get A Grip is a portable plastic handle with spring-loaded suction cups at both ends. According to the infomercial, it’s designed to function as a safety handle and users can securely attach it to almost any smooth surface with a firm push. Since it’s suction-powered, no tools are required to install it or remove it.

However, many reviewers dispute the claims made in the infomercial, which promotes the Get A Grip as a safety handle that can be used in the shower to prevent falls. Contrary to the advertisement, the product’s instructions clearly state that it should not be used to support body weight or to maintain balance.

Harry Sawyers of Popular Mechanics attempts to attach Get A Grip to a variety of surfaces, but he’s able to yank it off every one of them without much effort. Because the Get A Grip can be removed so easily, Sawyers concludes that it’s not secure enough to function as a safety handle. "We'd feel much better knowing our grandmothers were hoisting themselves on an elegant, strong built-in rather than a pair of plastic suction cups with no mechanical connection," he says.

Reporting for KDKA (Pittsburgh),  Yvonne Zanos and John Seitz put Get A Grip through a series of tests over a three-week period. Seitz attaches it to several surfaces, including a painted wall and a fiberglass wall. He is very disappointed in the results. Although the Get A Grip appears to attach securely initially, he’s able to pry it off the wall with minimal force. In a separate test, Get A Grip stayed on the wall for three days before it fell off on its own.

Jeff Jumper, a reporter for KPLC (Lake Charles, La.), brings Get A Grip to a local assisted-living facility and determines that it is useful for other purposes. It’s attached to a toilet lid, a garbage can and several pieces of kitchen equipment as a makeshift handle. They determine that Get A Grip works great as a temporary accessory handle, but it should never be used a permanent safety bar.

Although Get A Grip is not recommended as a safety device to prevent bodily injury, it can be used as an accessory handle for those with limited hand strength. For example, a user at Sears.com mounted Get A Grip to a sliding glass door in his home so that his mother, who suffers from arthritis, can open and close it more easily.

Want to see whether other As Seen On TV products deliver on their promises? Check out our section on Infomercial Gadgets and Gizmos, which includes reviews on over 100 products.