Whats up with these new skinny grips instead of cork?

[Expidia]

My daughter just bought a new rod. The grip has some cork but mostly just a skiiny rod.
What does this do except save on cork?
I see them in ****'s flyer too.

 

[ajgraz]

Re: Whats up with these new skinny grips instead of cork?

It is claimed that this allows more "feel" at the butt of the rod. I agree it's really about saving money, since cork ain't cheap these days.

 

[Teamster]

Re: Whats up with these new skinny grips instead of cork?

Depending on your style of fishing it can be beneficial to have your finger on the rod blank to help feel more of what is going on on the business end of the line,...

 

[dingbat]

Re: Whats up with these new skinny grips instead of cork?

There are several things driving the split grip phenomenon and cost isn't one of them. The additional assembly time far outweighs the savings, if any, in the cost of the cork. A set of super grade corks for a split grip can cost as much, if not more than a standard grade conventional grip.

1. Fad......they see the pros using them. They want one too........

2. Artistic.....it makes a great place for "rod art" on a custom

3. Balance...... rods are butt heavy by design. Any weight removed from the butt is beneficial to performance

4. Weight reduction.....The lighter the rod, especially in the tip, the more responsive the rod. Reducing the overall weight is paramount to performance and the handle can make up 60% of the total weight of the rod. The additional is obviously not a big factor if your dead sticking, but it becomes a big issue if your finesse fishing or casting in a tournament all afternoon.

5. Customization.......split grips allow for longer, customizable handle lengths at reduced weights. My preference, and a lot of my customer's, is to have the butt land on their elbow. This results in a 15-16" rear grip which is not readily available so you have to build one up from scratch. Not to mention the increased weight.

Without looking in my records, my customers prefer split grips 4:1 anymore. Now if I could get get them to go acid/ spiral wraps

 

[Expidia]

Re: Whats up with these new skinny grips instead of cork?

There are several things driving the split grip phenomenon and cost isn't one of them. The additional assembly time far outweighs the any savings, if any, in the cost of the cork. A set of super grade corks for a split grip can cost as much, if not more than a standard grade conventional grip.

1. Fad......they see the pros using them. They want one too........

2. Artistic.....it makes a great place for "rod art" on a custom

3. Balance...... rods are butt heavy by design. Any weight removed from the butt is beneficial to performance

4. Weight reduction.....The lighter the rod, especially in the tip, the more responsive the rod. Reducing the overall weight of a rod is paramount to it's performance and the handle assembly can make up to 60% of the total weight of the rod. Obviously not a big factor if your dead sticking, but it becomes a big issue if your finesse fishing or casting carbon fiber rods in a tournament all afternoon.

5. Customization.......split grips allow for longer, customizable handle lengths at reduced weights. My preference, and a lot of my customer's, is to have the butt land on their elbow. This results in a 15-16" butt which is not readily available. You have to build one up from scratch. Not to mention the increased weight.

Without looking in my records, my customers prefer split grips 4:1 anymore. Now if I could get get them to go acid/ spiral wraps

Thanks for your comments dingbat!

 

[nimmor]

Re: Whats up with these new skinny grips instead of cork?

Another trend is rods are getting away from cork. I personaly have never liked cork. But that is my preferance.

 

[dingbat]

Re: Whats up with these new skinny grips instead of cork?

Another trend is rods are getting away from cork. I personaly have never liked cork. But that is my preferance.

EVA grips are 98% cost driven. The cost of EVA is roughly 1/2 that of cork.