I primerarly fish St. Croix rods. Pretty many of them. At one time they were full cork. Now I have a 50-50 mix I guess. Handle length means something to me but really never gave a lot of thought to the split grip. If the rod feels right, balances right, I'm out the shop door with it. I've never bought a rod sight unseen or touched. I can't do that. Unless I have one identical. 

The split grip did seem awkward at first, but as the comment above, I cast two handed and grew to really like the "ball" for my other hand on the end of the handle.  Now it is second nature to use them.

I prefer full cork but they have been very limited to say the least. You see way more split Grips on the market. I wonder why is that? 

12 hours ago, flbassmaster said:

..... You see way more split Grips on the market. I wonder why is that? 

Because people are buying them. If they didn’t sell when they first came out, they’d be gone by now.  They’ve shown to be popular so that’s what all the companies are putting out. 

They need to make more full cork handles!

On 9/1/2018 at 10:16 AM, OnthePotomac said:

The split grip did seem awkward at first, but as the comment above, I cast two handed and grew to really like the "ball" for my other hand on the end of the handle.  Now it is second nature to use them.

That was the original intent among custom builders. I think the rod companies sell them more for style and material savings. Good cork is getting scarce and expensive. Probably won't be long before synthetic materials rule the day. 

3 hours ago, flbassmaster said:

They need to make more full cork handles!

I’m a new fan of the original Daiwa Tatula rods. Love the split look, I’ve been out of fishing for so long that initially I wasn’t sure what the purpose was but it has really grown on me. 

 

Interestingly, the the new line of Tatula rods now have a full cork grip. Seems to be the trend right now. I suppose since reels are getting lighter they are offsetting the weight by adding more material in the handle area. Sorry if this has been mentioned already. 

Just looking at my small collection my spinners are full cork. My baitcasters are split grip. Totally not my intent. 

3 hours ago, Delaware Valley Tackle said:

That was the original intent among custom builders. I think the rod companies sell them more for style and material savings. Good cork is getting scarce and expensive. Probably won't be long before synthetic materials rule the day. 

This I agree is probably one of the reasons there are so many more split grip rods out. Spot on DVT.

FM