Handrail Cover for Pool and Spa - 6' Foot

We purchased this sleeve (6-foot) on a Wednesday, received it on Thursday and my wife and I installed it on Saturday. We like it now that it's on, however it goes on with some difficulty and takes work to install. I searched the reviews looking for techniques and tips that others discovered when they installed theirs, hoping to avoid their missteps and save some of our time in the process. I did find a few tips and some advice.Here are some of the things we discovered and some of the things we did (your-mileage-may-vary):1. We left the sleeve in direct (Florida) sunshine for about 2 hours before we started the install. That softened the sleeve and made it more pliable. We didn't try soaking it in warm water as the instructions suggested.2. Used small vise grip pliers (6" size) to clamp onto and pull the zipper. I know the instructions say not to do this but it worked like a charm and the zipper suffered no apparent damage. The vise grips made a very good handle for the zipper pulling. We rated this a 5-star tip.3. We placed a few drops of dish soap on a wet/damp sponge and used that to wet the rail. The addition of the soap made the sleeve move easily and we were able to slide the sleeve around the rail and position it without difficulty.4. Getting the zipper started was the hardest part of the install. The zipper leg refused to enter the notch on the other side and it took us about 10-15 tries of simultaneously stretching the sleeve and pushing on the zipper before it got started. I think the next time we do this -- if we do it again -- we'll put a few drops of dish soap in the notch before trying to insert the other leg.5. Moving the zipper on the straight section of the rail was easy and straightforward. The vise-grips helped.5. We found the zipper bunched up quite a bit when following the inside of a tight bend in the railing. I think if we had pulled the sleeve horizontally along the soaped rail at the same time as stretching it around the rail, it might have reduced the bunching of the zipper. I think this zipper is designed to bunch up no matter what you do -- all you can hope to do is minimize the ugliness.6. When we were done, I placed a plastic zip-tie through the zipper and around the sleeve to keep the zipper locked in place and preventing it from coming undone.All told, the two of us spent about 30 minutes of concerted effort to install the sleeve. In the hot Florida sun it was not much fun. Although it looks good and dresses up the plain stainless steel railing, I don't look forward to removing it for cleaning. If it comes off now, it will have to do it on its own.

Looks great, works great! I was a bit concerned about the difficulties of installation that some people experienced in earlier reviews but I had no such problems. Maybe the Fibropool handrail I just purchased and installed has a smaller diameter tube than some but this combo works beautifully. There is a little bunching up around the bends but that's to be expected. It has a good snug fit with no slipping of the material. As for durability, I'll have to wait and see how it holds up to the Arizona summer heat before I can leave a comment about that. If I can get a couple years of use out of it I'll be ecstatic.

This our 2nd KoolGrips Cover. The first one lasted over 3 years in the Arizona sun. So glad to be able to purchase the same brand, size, and color. LOVE this cover. Very classy. High Quality. Solid zipper.

So much better than burnt hands in the summer. The 6 foot did the job for my entrance steps hand rail. Slightly tight to get on but that only aids in how little they slip. Strong zipper and nice mesh/neoprene construction. The aqua fits nicely with our theme on the pool deck.Will probably buy some 4 footers for the ladder at the deep end.Update:Lasted about 2 swim seasons, which is what I expected. Could have made it last longer by removing it during the winter months. The neoprene eventually gave out and started ripping.Ordering another one.

Works as advertised, nowhere near as hard to install as some other reviews state, Just keep cover and rail wet, installed by myself in less than 10 min..Durability yet to be determined ??

Ordered 2 6' covers. Received 1 6' and 1 4' by mistake. I waited 2 months for help putting them on (handyman fixing odds and ends) to replace old ones. I realized the mistake at that time and contacted seller. They immediately sent the 6' replacement after receiving a photo. No problems at all. Excellent customer service. These were actually easier to put on than my older set.

I soaked the grip in the pool and made sure the rail was wet too. It made the installation go very smoothly! It looks great and is so nice when the sun is beating down on it. No more burning my hand on the bare metal rail! I'd definitely buy this again! (Although I hope I don't have to for a long time!)Update - I installed this about 10 months ago. Through hot Texas summer and freezing winter, the handrail cover still looks great and is in superb condition for the upcoming pool season!

Installed in Aug 2022. Worked great, looked good. But by August 2023, had started deteriorating, causing outside casing to crumble. Bought a different type to replace.