What's your favorite handle material?

Are you a traditionalist and prefer cork? Maybe you like the tacky grip of the Winn handles. Maybe a plain black EVA is more your style. Have you gone to the dark side and built with carbon fiber materials?

Let's here some of your favorite handles and why you like them!
Feel free to post opinions on handle materials you don't like too!

Only cork.
Herb

I'm stuck in the middle of the fence between better grades of cork and CFX Carbon grips. Clear cork is so attractive, comfortable, and familiar, but it's getting hard to find and very pricey. CFX Carbon grips have a nice, sensitive, secure feel and are well shaped. I really wanted to like the solid carbon grips, but after building and fishing one, I'm still not there. Mine doesn't feel like a comfortable or secure grip when when I cast. I'm going to continue using it and see how long it takes to get past how different it is from everything else.

I've never built with Winn because every used rod I've seen with them looks shaggy and worn. EVA has a good feel for fore grips on salt rods when some cushioning is desireable. It's probably okay on an inexpensive spare rod, but the foam just seems a bit out of place on non-economy builds.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/07/2020 02:39AM by Kendall Cikanek.

Cork. Period.

No! Wait!

I am actually thinking about using a carbon grip on one of my next rods, though not on fly rods. Fly is cork hands down.

I love the foam core carbon fiber grips. Super durable, lightweight and look cool. Easy to clean too.

The Winn grips feel really good but I worry about durability. My Winn golf club grips wear out really fast.

All my salmon trolling rods have texalium or carbon fiber tubing, it's easier getting them out of the rod holder.

I guess Cork. Although I've made so many changes I can hardly count them all.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/07/2020 06:24AM by Tom Harder.

Cork for the rear grip.
Foam core carbon fiber for the fore grip.

Since I like to get specific shapes of my design I prefer burl cork. Easy to turn to shape, comes in a lot of different looks, is attractive, is durable, and when treated, is easy to clean (and keep clean).

Depends on the rod type.

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

Cork is my favorite.

Not sure about "the dark side" - But carbon fiber is my go to for most applications.

[www.americantackle.us]

_______________________________
God Bless, Don Morse

800-516-1750 ext. 1207 / don@americantackle.us

Rod Building..... It's What We Do.

My absolute favorite look is birch bark, birch bark cork mix.

toss-up between flocked or textured cork grips..

Hello All.

I'm with Tom it depends on the rod type, I like cork or wood on ultra-light too light, EVA or CF on medium, and Tuff-Butt or Aluminum on heavy.

P.S. Salt Builder.

Tight Wraps & Tighter Lines.

Bob,

New Bern, NC.

Carbon tube, or Texalium for rods that go in rod holders, self made foam core carbon sleeve or cork for rods I hold. The new carbon grips like the ones from AmTack came out, no one has mentioned their weight, When the tube grips mentioned above and the carbon sleeve over foam grips came out there were lots of discussion about weight and sensitivity. Have heard nothing about the newer stuff and their bling rings, etc. Still can't get my head around why I would want to use a Minimal spinning reel seat, or go back to the dinky 16 mm pipe reel seats, they were uncomfortable before and still are.

Spencer, agree wholeheartedly with your last sentence.

Only build fly rods, and almost never us e cork anymore. I make exotic wood grips as my specialty and very much like carbon fiber grips if not my wood.

Cork for me. Easy to replace and easy to customize. I end up replacing the cork some my saltwater spinning rods after 3 years or so. Fly rods and spey rods far less frequently. If I did not have the ability to build my own I would probably experiment with other materials.

Here is how I look at it: Natural cork is the lightest material available but also good Flor grade cork is expensive. It is categorized in many different ways but generally Flor Grade is the best quality and it is expensive. Foam core Carbon Fiber is probably the next lightest followed by EVA. Winn has been in the grip business for well over 20 years, with my first experience with it in golf club grips. It has always been a temporary solution because it deteriorates somewhat rapidly; Cork, EVA and Carbon will out last Winn grips more than twice as long or better. Burl cork has good longevity but is heavy compared to natural cork, with rubberized cork being almost indestructible but being very heavy. Burnt burl is probably lighter than regular burl but still not as light as natural cork. In using the weight of the material, it is best to put heavier materials in the butt end of the rod. The heavier weight in the very end of the rod creates a fulcrum where the hand and the grip interface, this being with the reel mounted. The butt weight moves the balance of the entire rod, so by adjusting it you can make a better balanced rod (Captain Obvious). Good luck, hope this helps. Please remember that what is going right now is the suppression of our freedom and liberties. America needs to go back to work as well as the entire world. This virus is not going away and some point you will be exposed. People that have a compromised immune system, should stay out of the public and take the necessary precautions and use PPE, the rest of us need to go along as we would normally do. I would not usually post something like this but I believe we are reaching a point of "no return" and if we do not do something, all of our lives will be affected or changed much greater than any virus could do.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/07/2020 10:29PM by Lance Schreckenbach.

all great points Lance, top to bottom..Thanks..