Cork vs EVA grips

[fin]

3 hours ago, ike8120 said:

David Fritts  Cork  "The cork also helps the rod float if it falls into the water"

Will somebody test this for me and tell me if it's true?

 

lol

[ike8120]

1 hour ago, fin said:

Will somebody test this for me and tell me if it's true?

 

lol

He stated in the article that he has dropped a few rods over the side. I will not be testing his theory out  LOL

[LionHeart]

7 hours ago, ike8120 said:

All my Dobyns rods have cork including my ultra lights. I clean my cork grips once a year with a magic eraser let dry the add a thin coat of cork sealer. 

Here are a couple of pros opinions :

David Fritts  Cork  "The cork also helps the rod float if it falls into the water"

Kevin Van Dam  Foam "Cork is good, but it gets slippery when wet"

Russ Lane  Winn"I also don’t have to squeeze the rod as hard to have a firm grip,”

Helps the rod float if it falls in the water?  

 

First off, no, it don't.  Sink inperceptably more slowly?  Sure.

 

I'm pretty neutral and have rods with each.  Cork looks the best but Winn feels the best.  IME there are crappy EVA grips, and good EVA grips.  I like good EVA just as much as cork or Winn.

[shamanjp]

I own cork, Winn, and EVA. On my Lews rod's I love the EVA. It's hard with just a bit of give, never gets slippery, and feels the warmest on my hand without making my hand sweat, and has held up great. The other thing is the fatter profile of the grip. I had a flat round EVA grip once and hated it.  The one rod I have with a Winn grip is too thin and tacky and feels like it might peel over time, hope not because I do like it otherwise, I just don't trust it yet. I am not a fan of cork, I don't have a reason but I have put shrink tubing over cork on a couple of rods that had chipping and I liked the feel of the shrink tubing better than the original cork. The shape and thickness of the handle is more important than the material to me. The handle material isn't the most important part of a rod but it does make a difference. It just needs to feel good in your hand.

[Fishin Dad]

8 hours ago, LionHeart said:

Helps the rod float if it falls in the water?  

 

First off, no, it don't.  Sink inperceptably more slowly?  Sure.

 

I'm pretty neutral and have rods with each.  Cork looks the best but Winn feels the best.  IME there are crappy EVA grips, and good EVA grips.  I like good EVA just as much as cork or Winn.

LionHeart, good point!  I bet there a bunch of different levels of EVA.  I may have to head to the store and check more out to see what I like.  

 

7 hours ago, shamanjp said:

I own cork, Winn, and EVA. On my Lews rod's I love the EVA. It's hard with just a bit of give, never gets slippery, and feels the warmest on my hand without making my hand sweat, and has held up great. The other thing is the fatter profile of the grip. I had a flat round EVA grip once and hated it.  The one rod I have with a Winn grip is too thin and tacky and feels like it might peel over time, hope not because I do like it otherwise, I just don't trust it yet. I am not a fan of cork, I don't have a reason but I have put shrink tubing over cork on a couple of rods that had chipping and I liked the feel of the shrink tubing better than the original cork. The shape and thickness of the handle is more important than the material to me. The handle material isn't the most important part of a rod but it does make a difference. It just needs to feel good in your hand.

I agree shamanjp.   The handle material is probably just part of why I like some of my EVA type rods, but the other part is shape.  Shape seems to make a big difference with my rods.  Darn, now another thing to check out more and see what I really like.  Good stuff though fellas.  More food for thought.