favorite casting rod grips

[corey90]

when building a casting rod for yourself or buying a rod for yourself what type of grips do you prefer and why.

 

My favorite grips when building my rods are Winn grips

Because they have a nice sticky feel and give me confidence that my hand will not slip during any time even when my hand are wet plu they are just as sensitive as carbon grips

[Jig Man]

I don’t build them myself.  I have them built.  I want a full cork grip then cover it with shrink tubing that I get from Mud Hole.

[Dwight Hottle]

Carbon fiber has replaced cork as my new favorite. Non slippery & more sensitive as well as lighter. 

[greentrout]

I have Winn grips on my golf clubs and like 'em on my fishing rods too.

[Lead Head]

Carbon fiber 

[MikeK]

Cork or EVA so I can get exact shape, especially at seams.

[spoonplugger1]

Carbon Fiber isn't necessarily lighter. They were when we started pouring and building our own, but now mass-produced grips are not made from the same materials, the duplicators used in mass production needed a denser, and stiff material. Not long ago a gentleman took a 9 inch foam grip, measured it and turned identical grips from cork and eva, they were virtually identical in weight, the eva was actually minutely lighter. Winn grips are actually coated eva, and have been prone to wearing out, just like the golf grips that are built the same way.

[KCFinesse]

I like cork burl and carbon fiber because of the rigidity. EVA is an awesome choice for folks who palm the reel anyways...

 

I think I'm going to be the first person on this thread that hates winn grips... they just don't hold up and are kinda unpleasant when they start breaking down.

[Chris Catignani]

36 minutes ago, spoonplugger1 said:

Carbon Fiber isn't necessarily lighter. They were when we started pouring and building our own, but now mass-produced grips are not made from the same materials, the duplicators used in mass production needed a denser, and stiff material. Not long ago a gentleman took a 9 inch foam grip, measured it and turned identical grips from cork and eva, they were virtually identical in weight, the eva was actually minutely lighter. Winn grips are actually coated eva, and have been prone to wearing out, just like the golf grips that are built the same way.

I agree with Spencer on everything above.

The carbon grips weigh about the same as cork...I have measured this myself.
For the longest time, I didn't use EVA. I recently installed an EVA grip on a crank bait rod and really like it (for that application).

I also play golf and had a Winn grip on my putter that wore out rather quickly.
I recently did a repair on a Cashion spilt grip rod that was broke because he stepped on the carbon end/butt and crushed it and broke the end 7 inches of the rod. This got me thinking that carbon grip may not be as rigid as cork.

 

As for sensitivity:

For those that dont know...I have a couple of different devices for measuring sensitivity of materials.

The pecking order (most to least sensitive is this) carbon, cork, EVA.

 

 

 

[Alex from GA]

I find the BassPro power hump reel seats very comfortable.

[Bazoo]

I was gifted a Basspro Crankin' Stick and found the Power Hump to be comfortable as well. I was quite surprised.

 

[ElGuapo928]

I’ve got a mix of everything- as I’ve gotten older I just prefer the feel of EVA over cork though.

 

Now if I had my way, someone would either reintroduce or duplicate the OG Shimano “Fightin’ Rod”…..never had anything else feel as good in my hand.

[spoonplugger1]

El, are you talking about the ones with the swelled butt and the reel seats built into the blanks? 

[bowhunter63]

I still like Full grip cork. I don’t care for split grip rods. Just what I’m used too

[MickD]

Shape is much more important than material, IMHO.  It also depends on hand size and the type of fishing (for example grips on muskie rods and BFS need to be different for obvious reasons).  

 

For bass casting rods I'm getting to like the NFC carbon fiber grips.  I have a hard time understanding how anything can be much lighter than they are. But I like the look and feel.

[ElGuapo928]

10 hours ago, spoonplugger1 said:

El, are you talking about the ones with the swelled butt and the reel seats built into the blanks? 

Those are the ones! I’ve still got a broken one out in the shed somewhere. 

[1984isNOW]

On 10/7/2023 at 12:00 PM, spoonplugger1 said:

They were when we started pouring and building our own, but now mass-produced grips are not made from the same materials, the duplicators used in mass production needed a denser, and stiff material

So I could pour my own and make it even lighter? How would one do such a thing?

 

On 10/7/2023 at 12:52 PM, Chris Catignani said:

This got me thinking that carbon grip may not be as rigid as cork.

I might be more inclined to believe it was actually the increased stiffness of the carbon that would cause it to break, whereas the cork acts as a cushion - more evenly distributing the weight through many layers and across the matrix.

 

I like the feel of the Winn grips, but I have like 6 carbon grips waiting to be installed. I have played with them a little on a rod before and was sold at the feel and implication of higher sensitivity (validated with anecdotal evidence by people I trust such as @Chris Catignani).

 

I'd really like to get my hands on a recessed grip/Seat, I grabbed an old telescopic rod with one from a co-op for 4 bucks. It's 5 foot something and weighs more naked than my 7'6 mid mod rod with a half oz buzzer tied on.

 

Haven't thrown it much since the pistol grip bothers my wrist throwing it - I like the drop seat but the pistol grip takes a different casting technique than I'm ready for.

[spoonplugger1]

Kites, Like everything you get to pick how dense of a foam core you pour, you can buy from 2 to the sky's the limit, For me from a durability standpoint, since the carbon sleeve has very little durability the foam should be at least 6 lb. and rarely do I exceed 8 lb. foam. I have gotten my foam at US Composites and other places. Back issues of RodMaker Magazine has articles on the varied ways pour foam cores, and I bet there are videos out there to since we have been doing it for well over a decade.

[Joe Crawford]

I have Winn grips on all my rods now.