Hi Guys and gals,

I am doing a noodle rod for a friend. He wants the grip to be the same as the grip on his old fenwick eagle graphite rod. All I know about it is that it is a foam of some type and it is pretty soft. The problem is that he has misformed hands (birth defect). He has two thumbs, but the rest of his fingers are like his index and middle fingers are combined and his pinky and ring fingers are combined. They don't bend too well so he needs a really thin grip (i'll be turning it down to 1/2" or so diameter). If I can't match his old grip material, what is the softest (spongiest) foam available? Durability isn't a huge concern. He takes great care of his equipment and it will never leave his hands except when it is in a tube.

Thanks,
Rick

Rick,
I have several older fenwicks. The lighter spinning rods have black eva grips. The one I'm looking at has a downlocking seat. It is the same size as a 16. It is actually a skeleton seat with the rear hood totally recessed in the eva rear grip. The reel foot enters the hood through a slit in the grip. The reel seat barrel is a continuation of the rear grip eva. The top of the grip is seamless in the reel seat area.

it is a very comfortable setup. The eva is a little soft, but not much softer than what you would find anywhere.