New Grip durability

[dgkasper58]

I have seen that these new Winn Grips the rubber sleeves grip going on rods.  I was wondering what is sensitivity of that material and is the skin replaceable once worn?

 

Can I buy just the sleeve to put over cork/EVA as I did not like the feel of the overwrap material but really enjoyed the short term feeling of the "skin".

 

TIA

[spoonplugger1]

Am I missing something? I thought the sleeves went on the reel grips.

[MickD]

Winn grips are affected by DEET insect repellent, as are most plastic and rubber objects.  They are used on muskie and salt water rods, so they are in fact pretty durable.  As for sensitivity, since they are pretty light (lighter than cork) they should be pretty sensitive, but you know sensitivity, no objective test for it.  The inner material is EVA, and the skin is molded to it, so it cannot be replaced.  However, it would not be that hard to cut off and replace a rear grip.  A front grip is less likely to get worn out, and getting a new one one would most liklely require taking the guides off, so that's not a bit easy.

 

Winn offers Winn wraps, a tape like bike handlebar tape and tennis grip tape that is the same "sticky" material as the surface of a Winn Griip, and they are easy to use.  In fact if I had to replace any kind of grip I would use these.  If you want to find out how Winn grips feel in action, about $10 will buy a wrap that you can put onto any other grip material.

1 minute ago, spoonplugger1 said:

Am I missing something? I thought the sleeves went on the reel grips.

Winn grips are a core of EVA covered permanently with the "magic" Winn material.  The cores are reamed to fit the blank, then glued on with epoxy or double sided tape like golf grip replacements.

 

Then there is the Winn wrap which is explained in another post here.

I should clarify what I meant by replacing a grip with the wrap-it works for deteriorated or chipped or other nasty grips, but it is a tape and as such it won't replace a structurally compromised grip.  For that  a remove and replace is required.

The wrap will work for deteriorated but not structurally compromised grips.  It's just a tape.  To fix a structurally damaged grip requires a remove and replace.

[dgkasper58]

13 hours ago, MickD said:

Winn grips are affected by DEET insect repellent, as are most plastic and rubber objects.  They are used on muskie and salt water rods, so they are in fact pretty durable.  As for sensitivity, since they are pretty light (lighter than cork) they should be pretty sensitive, but you know sensitivity, no objective test for it.  The inner material is EVA, and the skin is molded to it, so it cannot be replaced.  However, it would not be that hard to cut off and replace a rear grip.  A front grip is less likely to get worn out, and getting a new one one would most liklely require taking the guides off, so that's not a bit easy.

 

Winn offers Winn wraps, a tape like bike handlebar tape and tennis grip tape that is the same "sticky" material as the surface of a Winn Griip, and they are easy to use.  In fact if I had to replace any kind of grip I would use these.  If you want to find out how Winn grips feel in action, about $10 will buy a wrap that you can put onto any other grip material.

Winn grips are a core of EVA covered permanently with the "magic" Winn material.  The cores are reamed to fit the blank, then glued on with epoxy or double sided tape like golf grip replacements.

 

Then there is the Winn wrap which is explained in another post here.

I should clarify what I meant by replacing a grip with the wrap-it works for deteriorated or chipped or other nasty grips, but it is a tape and as such it won't replace a structurally compromised grip.  For that  a remove and replace is required.

The wrap will work for deteriorated but not structurally compromised grips.  It's just a tape.  To fix a structurally damaged grip requires a remove and replace.

Thanks for the update-  I would love for the "skin" to be able to be molded/ shrinked to your handles as taking everything off is not really applicable. 

[MickD]

1 hour ago, dgkasper58 said:

I would love for the "skin" to be able to be molded/ shrinked to your handles as taking everything off is not really applicable. 

The wraps are stretched onto the grip, so they fit tightly.  But if you want, you can use contact cement to really "stick" them to the grip.  I don't think you will find that necessary, though.

 

There also are shrink wrap materials available.  They are cylindrical, slip over the grip, then are heated with a hair dryer or similar heater to shrink tightly.  Look for them at Mudhole.com or Getbitoutdoors.com or Batsonenterprises.com to get more info.  If I remember right, they are not very expensive.    or search "shrink wrap tubing fishing rods"

[ratherbfishin1]

Just wondering, most of my rods are bass pro brand... does anybody know if the new grips will fit with the "Powerhump Grip" or whatever they call it?

[spoonplugger1]

The material comes in different diameters for freshwater and saltwater grips. Salt grips being about a quarter inch or so larger. Measure across the hump. Use wood putty, etc to smooth out the bad areas than apply over, the good stuff will decrease in diameter by at least half, but length stays the same.

[MickD]

There are many diameters available for shrink wrap.  Just find one that is the same diameter or slightly larger than the hump.  It will work.  As above, measure the hump!

[spoonplugger1]

Another option is to buy a grip with a larger hole than your blank's OD and just turn the old grip down to a cylinder the same size as the new grips hole. Glue up, slide on the new grip, install a new butt cap and your in business. Get Bit and others have inexpensive grips like I mentioned.

 

 

[MickD]

Will work, but not the easiest or least expensive option.