KoolGripsHandrail 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.

This was perfect for our pool rail.

Fits perfectly, great product!

I have purchased two of these I the past directly from a pool supply company on-line for my two pool rails. The 6 foot one had lasted about 4 years and finally developed a split in the foam across the top. It will last longer if you remove it at the end of the pool season and reinstall it the next year. It's a tight fit and so I use a pair of pliers to pull the zipper closed around the curved end of the pool rail. It does not slide on the covered rail. Will buy this again in the future.

Looks great on. Make it possible to use the bar during the summer.

Why did you pick this product vs others?:I hope this one doesn't fade like the others have. I was disappointed that it was getting all white because part of the railing touches the water.

looks great, so far holding up well in the AZ heat

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.Update: After surviving the Arizona summer heat for almost 4 full swim seasons, a small tear in the backing and fabric became noticeable. I am totally happy with that kind of longevity! I will definitely purchase this again as a replacement. I do remove it and store it after each swim season.