Since a lot of you now have experience with the carbon fiber sleeved grips I wanted to ask what was the consensus on there handling. Slippery when wet? When dry? Scratch easily? Thank you in advance.

When done properly they are very smooth, but never slick nor slippery. I like to call them "grippy." And this only increases as the grip surface gets wet.

I have several on fly rods now and will never go back to cork. They offer too many advantages where firmness and casting control are important. They best cork in these regards pretty badly, and cork is no slouch as a grip material.

My only complaint thus far has been that they are so "grippy" that shifting hand position requires that you release your grip noticeably and then reposition your hand. On cork or EVA you can sort of slide your hand around without even thinking about it. Not so with the carbon fiber skinned grips. You can do it, but it requires more effort. Not enough for me to give them up, however. Casting a fly rod with one of these grips requires far less effort than casting one with cork. Of course, if you're not actually using the grip for hand contact while casting, you can discount this advantage.

I've not really scratched mine up to any real extent in the 3+ years I've been using them. But if they ever get to the point where they need to be refinished it's just a simple matter of a light scuffing with Scotchbrite and then a single thin coat of urethane applied right back on top. When you come down to it, these will be far easier to repair and refinish than cork or EVA. Unless, of course, you actually do something to crush or carve a chunk out of one. You can destroy any grip, including carbon fiber skinned grips, although these aren't at all fragile or easily damaged.

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Been using the pre-made graphite tubing since the eighty's when Loomis came out with the Graphite tube Tennessee handle and the carbon skinned grips ever since Andy and Mr. Kirkman started promoting them.

Never have scratched one up enough for it to be a problem.

As far as slippery;
The only time I’ve had a challenge is when using a Vaseline or oil based fish formula and have been careless getting it on my hands, but the same is a challenge with cork also. Once I wipe my hand on my pants all is good to go
Fish slime has not has not been a problem, probably because it is water based.

My only complaint is that when fishing in the boat and the rods have been laid out on the deck in 90+ weather, they can be hot when first picked up, kind of like sitting in a hot boat seat.
But in twenty or so years never been a big enough complaint to stop them from being used.

Thank you. One final question. If a person was to cover a regular cork or foam grip with the carbon sleeve, would it make those grips harder? I assume it would. Maybe not as hard as those done over the hard urethane foam, but surely harder than uncovered cork or foam. Right? I'm thinking the carbon sleeve is stiff and so would add some stiffness to these grips when they are used as an underlayment.

How firm the grip will be is combination of the core material and/or the thickness of the carbon skin.

For instance, you can make a hollow tube with the carbon skin, no core at all, and it can be hard as a rock. To do that you'd use a heavier skin or multiple layers of thinner skins over a tube that's removed once the skin is set.

When skinning a rigid urethane core, you can get by with a single layer of thin carbon skin and the result will be a perfectly rigid grip. If you put that same single layer thin skin over a piece of cork or EVA, it will certainly add some additional firmness, but with enough pressure there will be some give. However, if you were to use a couple layers of skin, or a heavier single skin, you could easily make them absolutely rigid.

There are a lot of ways to use this stuff. I try to focus on what I need to do to get the firmness I desire at the least amount of weight possible.

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Thanks. Makes sense.

While many like the very smooth (glossy) finish, I prefer leaving a slight bit of the fiber texture for the surface. It seems to me to make it a little more comfortable. and it does make it easier to shift your grip. Hadn't thought of that benefit until Tom mentioned it.

I have not had a slippery problem at all and I fish the rocks in NJ. I have beat my rods up pretty good and really the scratches aren't all that bad, Mostly just the top finish never had a dig tear into the carbon or glass.

I don't know if any one will read my reply to carbon fiber grips because this thread is a few years old.... Bu Just a heads up... I am pioneering a brand new design for grips out of carbon fiber..... They are almost three times stronger than steel and lighter than cork. I engineered my hollow grips to have 4 contact points two in the fore grip and two in the rear grip hence the blank bends through down to the but. I am a commercial artist and worked in human factors and industrial design in RCA and a engineering model maker at Boeing for many years and know more about composites than most any one on the planet. Check them out at blueheron-rods.com.

hope this helps.

I don't know if any one will read my reply to carbon fiber grips because this thread is a few years old.... Bu Just a heads up... I am pioneering a brand new design for grips out of carbon fiber..... They are almost three times stronger than steel and lighter than cork. I engineered my hollow grips to have 4 contact points two in the fore grip and two in the rear grip hence the blank bends through down to the but. I am a commercial artist and worked in human factors and industrial design in RCA and a engineering model maker at Boeing for many years and know more about composites than most any one on the planet. Check them out at blueheron-rods.com.

hope this helps.