Hey now fellas, I’m fishing as we speak and am using voice to text so bare with me.
It’s a peaceful morning (6:10am) where I am. I’m fishing for lake sturgeon.

This is for thst walleye build I post about. So I was looking at grips. Basically what I’m wondering is how much of a difference does it genuinely make if I go Fuji or American Tackle. I’m not super picky with reel seats. Does it really make a difference between carbon fibre and graphite for the reel seat? Originally I was gonna go with a sk2 or a VSS. But I spoke to my rod builder and he likes American Tackle. I know this purely personal. Also, does a reel seat like the sk2 provide more sensitivity because it is split as opposed to one piece with a traditional one piece?

That being said, if I stick with Fuji, Is mud hole my only outlet for buying carbon fibre grips? Because there doesn’t seem to be a lot out there. I found cool things in the uk, but would love to buy American made (I live in Canada, but am a super proud American). So I found some cool things on NFC’s site but read The grips for the VSS don’t fit very well. Are there any custom handle shops?
If I decide the carbon gets to cold or slippery, and I put grips that are heat shrunk over them, does it destroy the sensitivity? Common sense tells me it does, but I’m just not sure to what degree.

My rod builder lives in the USA and I want to make sure I do this right.
Shipping from the US to Canada is not cheap, esp with duty Fees etc.

If I can think of anything else I will post it here. Thanks in advance!

David, as it's a spinning rod build, I personally would not go with a split seat like the SK2. When you grip a spinning rod, you're gripping the reel seat, and IMO that gap between the sections becomes very uncomfortable. I'd go with a full body reel seat or a skeleton seat with an insert between the two hoods.

As far as Fuji or American Tackle for reel seats go, I can't help there. I haven't used either. I have used a Forecast skeleton reel seat with an insert for my spinning rod builds. I am sure others will comment on that question. As far as carbon fiber or graphite reel seat composition goes, On my casting rods I have used reel seats that are said to be graphite, and reel seats that are said to be carbon fiber. I personally can tell no difference in sensitivity. The only difference I can tell is when the seat has a cut out in it for direct contact with the blank. Personally, I don't use a fore grip on my rods so I have no problem contacting the blank with my fingers on a spinning rod. So for me, I have no use for a spinning reel seat that offers direct contact with the blank. You or others may feel differently.

You choice of carbon fiber grips is in part going to be determined by which reel seat you choose. If you choose a seat that is designed to have a fitted grip, your choices go down. If you choose a reel seat that doesn't need a fitted grip, then your choices expand greatly. As for myself, if I am building the rod with a split rear grip, I use a 2" - 2 1/2" tapered fore grip mounted backwards for the rear grip against the reel seat. Since you're gripping the reel seat when holding spinning gear, you really don't need a real long grip in that area.

I have spinning rods I've built with split rear grips, and ones I've built with full length rear grips. For the full length rear grips I have used foam core carbon fiber sleeved grips from CFX, and Alps. The ones from Alps seem to use a little more dense foam, but I can't be sure. Both are very nice grips. For the split grip rods I've built I've used EVA, cork, and carbon fiber grips. As far as one feeling more cold than the others go, as I mentioned above, you're pretty much gripping the reel seat when holding spinning gear, so I don't know how much the grip feeling cold is going to play into it. With that said, there is no doubts that carbon fiber grips feel more cold. At least for the ones I have used. The soft touch ones that NFC offers may be different. Again, I am sure others with experience with them will offer their thoughts on the subject. And the carbon fiber grips are not slippery. I personally think they offer a better grip when simply wet. If you have fish slime on your hands they're going to be slippery, but so is any other grip. So just wipe the fish slime off your hands. lol

The Alps carbon fiber grips I mentioned are available through Batson dealers. There are several listed in the sponsors column to the left. Myself, I get all my Batson stuff from Utmost Enterprises. They're an awesome place to deal with. Top notch all the way.

On a spinning rod, I personally prefer using a Fuji IPS or VSS 17 reel seat matched with the appropriate NFC carbon fiber grip. Both the IPS and VSS seats become an integral part of the grip, with both having an OD of about 27 mm where you hold the reel. This makes them then very comfortable to use. For the IPS seat you have the option of using either the NFC regular or soft touch carbon fiber grip. For the VSS17 seat the only choice is the regular carbon fiber grip, although NFC does have both a regular and soft touch grip that fits the VSS16. As far as fit is concerned, I have never had a problem with NFC grips fitting the IPS or VSS seat, and I have used a lot of these seats and grips. The fit has alway been perfect. I have not found the carbon fiber grips to be cold, hot or slippery. They are very light, comfortable, and extremely durable (almost bullet proof). Plus they look great, and are very easy to clean. When using the IPS or VSS based grips, I first epoxy polyurethane foam arbors into the reel seat. Then ream the grip and reel seat to fit the blank, and then epoxy the grip and reel seat together, to get a perfect fit. Finally, when cured I epoxy the grip/reel seat unit to blank. Works well for me with no problems. I’m not a fan of the SK2 spinning reel seat, or the pipe type of reel seats; not nearly as comfortable.
For guides, I prefer using the Fuji KR concept guides.
Norm

I agree with Norm on the IPS or VSS 17 seat. I don't think there is a quality concern with any brand of reel seat, but I find those the most comfortable. I give a slight preference to the IPS because the pre-cut cork requires a bit more fine tuning for the VSS vs IPS. Carbon fiber vs cork is a personal thing. They are equally not slippery. Fish slime is the slippery part. I'm fine with both, but since I have about 30 rods with cork I just keep building them that way. Stubborn I guess. I think SK2 seats are extremely uncomfortable, as do most people. However, some people love them. Most of the reel seats we use can be found on factory rods, so you can go to a store and check them out before you buy.

Wow, lots of great info! Thank you very much!

I've tried a few different reel seats and found the palm swell style the most comfortable. It's a little heavier than others.

I strongly dislike the split spinning seats for all the reasons David Baylor outlined above...hand cramping comes to mind lol. but of the 2 id say vss although i never used one, but have used the ips

I also opt for batson or fuji skeleton seats or dpsm style seats in size 17. ill use dpsm when im doing eva grips and ill overlay the section between the hoods with a piece of eva so its flush or slightly raised from the hoods...If im doing cork grips i will use the skeleton seats and turn a cork insert so that it is also flush with the hoods on top. Keeps your palm supported very well. I do use a small 3/4" foregrip to transition to the blank and can still pinch the blank.