It would be interesting to do an age demographic associated with this thread.

It would be interesting to do an age demographic associated with this thread.

Old guys like cork, young guys like eva.

Hootie

A well done carbon fiber handle is hard to beat for looks, comfort and longevity but they are labor intensive so I don't see them becoming common on factory rods any time soon. As for cork vs EVA I'll use either equally. I find myself using more and more burl, composite cork etc. 

another grip material i also like is Hypalon , the look of EVA but alot softer .

A well done carbon fiber handle is hard to beat for looks, comfort and longevity but they are labor intensive so I don't see them becoming common on factory rods any time soon. As for cork vs EVA I'll use either equally. I find myself using more and more burl, composite cork etc. 

Syncork(composite cork) is pretty nice !!

Old guys like cork, young guys like eva.

Hootie

 

I don't know if I'm qualified as an "old" guy, but I'm north of 30 and south of 40 for whatever that's worth. Haha. Maybe it's the nostalgia of fishing with my pops when I was a wee youngster and using cork grips.

 

I'm curious to see the demographic as well...

I don't know if I'm qualified as an "old" guy, but I'm north of 30 and south of 40 for whatever that's worth. Haha. Maybe it's the nostalgia of fishing with my pops when I was a wee youngster and using cork grips.

I'm curious to see the demographic as well...

I guess you can take my word for it because I qualify, OH BOY, do I qualify.

Hootie

I like my dirty old beat-up battle scared cork handles.

Had to laugh. I prefer cork I mean the old cork that some of you guys call junk, yeah that cork, the ugly looking cork, like on a fishing pole. Doesn't mean I wont use Eva but if your asking what I prefer its the nasty cork. I never touched one of the exquisite cork handles so I guess I cant compare those. 

 

Oh yeah count me in the old guy cork group.

I guess you can take my word for it because I qualify, OH BOY, do I qualify.

Hootie

Fair enough, I'll take your word for it. Haha. Well, at least were in the cork club together. Haha. Full cork rear grip, with a cork fore grip please!

Fair enough, I'll take your word for it. Haha. Well, at least were in the cork club together. Haha. Full cork rear grip, with a cork fore grip please!

Yes! Cork foregrip, absolutely!!

Hootie

Old guys like cork, young guys like eva.

Hootie[/quote

I am 34, I have fished cork, eva, and a carbon fiber handle. If it fits me well I dont mind the material. That said the carbon fiber handle did not fit me well for what I was trying to do with it. The clean look of eva can make some really sexy looking rods, the feel of cork is great, and i think carbon fiber can have its place but wont be for the masses.

I like cork full grip handles. Seem to be becoming extinct though. Is cork more expensive? Sounds like cork has a slight advantage from this thread although it's only a small sampling. What do I know though, I still prefer rear wheel drive.

I am passionately indifferent about the material on the handle. I prefer the look of cork, but I own and like several rods with EVA handles. In practical use, I don't really notice any difference.

 

Tom

i really don't care for cork and deffinitely don't care for full grips , i have all my rods built with minimal EVA rear grip and an EVA tapered butt cap .

 

three of my rods from left to right -

Phenix m1 7'8'' spinning rod - 16'' rear handle

Rainshadow 7'10'' XMB 944.5 - 16'' rear handle

St.Croix 9' Big Nasty - 18'' rear handle

 

Don't every try an ***! 

 

I like EVA, I don't mind cork, and I like a mix of the two the best. My *** looks super sexy

Don't every try an ***! 

 

I like EVA, I don't mind cork, and I like a mix of the two the best. My *** looks super sexy

huh ???

*** *** blacks have a really short butt. Took me a little while to get used to it. 

Guess I'll buck the trend. I'm an old fart, and I don't care. Cork is good, Eva is good, carbon tube is good. They're all good if well done, and fit my hands. Split grip or full length are both ok with me. If the thing is comfortable in my hands, I'll use it.

One of my all time favorite rods has no cork, no Eva, no carbon, no kind of grip at all. Just a fuji plate type reel seat wrapped directly to the blank. Smooth comfortable, hand filling, and very, very sensitive.

I like cork full grip handles. Seem to be becoming extinct though. Is cork more expensive? Sounds like cork has a slight advantage from this thread although it's only a small sampling. What do I know though, I still prefer rear wheel drive.

natural cork was in shortage for a while , don't know if it's stil ...

 

 

edit , it's not in shortage , just cheaper with other materials

I like Cork, to me it looks expensive. To me EVA looks like I didn't have any money so this is the rod I got at Wal-Mart. I like the fill of Cork too and not EVA.

*** *** blacks have a really short butt. Took me a little while to get used to it. 

I'm a bomb caster , short rod handles ain't working !! they will wear you out fishing all day , with a long handle (18'') on my swimbait rod , i can cast all day throwing big baits . That's why you get a custom rod made !!!

I'm slowly going the Winn grip route!

Old guys like cork, young guys like eva.

Hootie

So if I'm a young-ish guy who likes cork does that make me an old guy? 

 

My preference is cork split grip. I've got a few EVA rods and I don't mind how they feel or perform, I just like the looks of cork better. The St. Croix Xtreme-Skin is cool too, but again I like the look of cork better.

Stick a cork in it corkers!

To me cork vs. eva is irrelevant. I want the best blank possible for the money and a comfortable reel seat. I don't really concern myself with guide quality either because I can easily replace a broken guide. Lighter and more minimal build the better as long as its comfortable. 

im 22 and i have to go with full cork