Can someone give a side by side comparison of these two? I own the old cork versions. Just wanted to hear some on the water comparisons.

Im in the same boat. I dont think i will be buying anymore crucials now that they dropped the lifetime warranty, them new loomis rods look pretty sweet under 200

I have not tried the new crucials but I had tried the old cork handle crucials and had some issues.  I broke two of them in same spot when setting a hook.  I know people will say it was user error but not in this case.  When I took the first one back to BPS, they just added it to the pile of Crucials with same issue.  They even broke the one at the register that I was going to exchange it for. I took a different model home and 4 hours later on the water it snapped, same spot.   I went back to BPS and exchanged for a St. Croix Avid. 

 

With all of that said, I have one the previous versions of the Crucial crankbait rods with the foam/eva grip and love it.  I have had no issues with it what soever.  It balances well, cast like a dream and fits it's intended purpose as crankbait rod.  

 

If the new version is a step up from the previous in any way, then you will have a great rod.