Forum Members,
I am about to start my very first rod build project and I have been trolling the site for as much information as I can gather without taking up your time asking questions that have already been asked and answered. I have ordered two St Croix 5SW70MF for a pair of Inshore rods, one spinning and one Baitcasting mainly for speckled Trout. I want to go with the split handle grips and have looked at the Carbon Fiber and wondered about comfort on a long day of fishing. The last thing I want is blisters from my rod.
I started this little hobby by repairing some rods I had in the shed then I started asking all my friends if they had broken rods that I could fix and got a kick out their surprise when they could tell where I had replaced guides and tip tops. So now I have caught the fever and am ready to go big or go home. Your guidance will be greatly appreciated!!

Bruce
Have been building/ using rods with carbon since 1979
Fishing many multi 4 and 5+ day tournaments, and have never had a blister from one.

have had the heel of my palm get a little sore after 4 or 5 days, but never bad enough to affect my fishing.

Keep in mind that I always use/create a smooth finish. because of the concern that a rough finish would cause the concern you have.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/28/2019 09:07PM by Steve Gardner.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, big fingers sorry

William Sidney
AK



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/28/2019 09:10PM by Bill Sidney.

Go for it they are very comfortable you should not have a problem , I know I did not, a plug in the end ?? try AUTO plastic plugs , can be had at the local auto parts store , as well as the
big box hardware the BLUE ONE has a few put the AUTO parts store has a book with about 100 different styles an a few different colors ,

William Sidney
AK

SORRY >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

William Sidney
AK



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/28/2019 09:11PM by Bill Sidney.

I bet you'll not find one negative post about comfort here, it's a non-issue in my opinion. If your worried about it just sand the skin a bit to smooth it and give it a couple coats of Permagloss and you'll have a smooth surface to work with. No it won't be slippery.

I really like the carbon fiber foam core grips, I put a coat of Permagloss on them just to give them a little sheen. I find them quite comfortable. However, they are very hard, and some people don’t like them because of this. Some prefer cork which is not quite as hard, and can be sanded to fit your hand if needed. Others like a softer grip such a EVA or Winn grips. The nice thing about building your own rods if you don’t like them, you can just cut them off and try something else, but I don’t think you will.
Norm

You won't get blisters but... you will experience hand cramping on your first few uses because you'll be applying the same grip pressure to these as you have your EVA and cork grips and quite simply - it's not required. These grips are so much more efficient that you can grip the rod just as securely with far less hand pressure. Once you get used to them, you'll find that far less effort is required to cast and manipulate the rod due to the grip's much higher stiffness to weight ratio. This becomes particularly apparent on fly rods. Suddenly casts are longer with less effort because more of your imparted energy goes into the cast rather than overcoming the slight "give" inherent in EVA and cork grips.

..............

Wow, those are some bold statements by Tom , i'm going to have to give these grips a shot if they're that ridiculously good .

I love carbon grips so much ,between those and winn grips I will likely never go back to cork.

Permagloss them and enjoy. They are comfortable and have plenty of grip when your hands get wet/slimy.

Most of the post here have already hit the nail on the head, just my 2c...Biggest change is texture, most cases hand is resting on the reelseat/ reel so the density change is really a non factor (to me at-least). I like the rough grain on the CFX grips, but as many have said if you prefer smoother apply a top coat.

Kind Regards,

Brook Oliva
Mud Hole Custom Tackle, Inc.
brook@mudhole.com
(866)-790-RODS

Decision is made, Carbon Fiber it is!! Thanks for the input and I’m sure I will be back with more questions!!

Thanks



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/29/2019 02:57PM by Bruce Creel.

So can you just use the Carbon grips as is? Or do most people coat them with Permagloss? Can you use 2 part rod epoxy also or just Permagloss?

Epoxy is the heaviest option, it yellows, etc., but you can use it. Yes, you can use as is, I bet most do.

personally do not use finish, and when buying carbon tubing most of the time remove the finish

Without trying to open a subject that is often discussed on this web site, I'll just say that weight, if it has a purpose, is not a bad thing. Where the weight is located determines how detrimental it is to a rod's performance.

One word of caution / consideration when epoxying carbon fiber grips. Let me share an experience I had with a carbon fiber grip I installed on a returning tournament fishing customer's rod.

As I recall the blanks was a Rainshadow Eternity, (back when they were colored blue). My customer had seen a carbon fiber grips on a web site and he wanted to "pop" the extra money to have one installed on his Eternity rod blank. 'Not being familiar with the construction of one, I contacted a former sponsor on rodbuilding.org and order a metallic blue split grip with fighting butt. When it arrived I was really impressed with how beautiful the grip was, as was my customer.

Not more than a month later he returned and ask me to cut off the carbon fiber grip and install a cork grip!!! I asked him why, and he said the grip was so slippery that he almost threw his rod, (with a very pricey Shamano reel), into the water when casting. It nearly broke my heart using my dremel tool to cut off that beautiful grip, but it just was not practical ....beautiful; but not functional!

Since that time I have installed numerous carbon fiber grips available from Mudhole and I love them. They are uncoated, very light and durable, ream extremely easily and are piece of cake to install.

Don Campbell
don@sensorfishingrods.com



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/30/2019 01:28PM by Donald R Campbell.

I have found these grips, when coated with Permagloss, to be so tactile (for lack of a better word) that in order to shift your hand the last bit, you have to greatly relax your grip. No slipperiness whatsoever when wet.

Those wanting to learn more about static friction coefficient experiments done on tool handles and materials, dry and wet, would do well to consult the RodMaker article on grip ergonomics (Vol. 20 #1) including the study performed at the University of Australia. Smooth surfaces did not become slippery simply by the addition of water. There was no difference in friction found between dry and wet hands. There is more but you can consult the entire article for the specifics.

When Al Jackson was working on the carbon skinned grips for NFC, he consulted with me over several hours on that project and agreed with me that the smooth finished grips were "grippier" than the textured ones. However, he believed, and I agreed, that consumers would think just the opposite and that the textured models would have greater sales appeal.

I'm not saying that any such "slipperiness" issue pertaining to smooth finished carbon skinned grips is solely in the mind of the user, but research would indicate that it largely is. I certainly could not have used them these past dozen years in the environments where I fish if they were at all slippery when merely wet. It takes an additional component added to the water to make them slippery.

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