13 hours ago, Delaware Valley Tackle said:

IMO grips are largely aesthetic. When actually fishing my hand makes very little contact with the grip do I’m not picky in that regard. 

This is true.

 

That being said I prefer cork handles, they look classy. Seal them and they last a long time. Easy to repair if they chip. 
 

I like the handles on the new Abu Garcia Vendetta rods. They have a carbon handle that looks and feels great.

Old school cork all the way! Full grip with a foregrip. 

Kevlar/Carbon

Cork

Foam

Cork! you can clean it, fix it, and love the feel. EVA isn't bad but don't prefer the feel or when a large piece is taken out by a hook. Winn....no thanks.

If the cork is protectively sealed ?  It is converted to NON cork status.  Might as well go to plastic IF it is a closed cell foam. 

If open celled foam ?  It is cheap cheap.

If cork is sealed with U40 its not non cork. You can magic eraser it off if you don't like it. U40 is one of my favorite fishing products. One very light application and you are golden.

If the cork is protectively sealed ?  It is converted to NON cork status.  Might as well go to plastic IF it is a closed cell foam. 

If open celled foam ?  It is cheap cheap.

6 minutes ago, cyclops2 said:

If the cork is protectively sealed ?  It is converted to NON cork status.

That's like saying that varnished wood is now non-wood.

The coating eliminates the feel and dryness of natural cork and wood. It is now a SYNTHETIC material.  The REAL feel is gone forever. Why bother if you smother it with plastic.

Cork all the way. Split grips. Eva sucks IMHO. I've had wynn grip melt on me. Maybe I'm toxic.

I like a hard grip- either carbon fiber or cork.  I'm going to put my silicone wrap on there anyway.  And no foregrip.  On my jig/worm rods, I prefer a finger on the blank.  

I prefer EVA.  Cork, if it's high quality, is also fine with me.  I'm not a fan of Winn grips, but if everything else on the rod is to my liking, then I won't let it stop me from buying it.  

 

To be fair, I don't really care too much about grips.  They all work.  I haven't ever had an issue with any of them.  I have preferences, but they're not strong preferences.  I care much more about the hook keeper.  

I have full and split handle cork of wide range of quality, eva, wynn, carbon fiber, and neoprene.

I don't have a strong preference for any, but like @A-Jay, I do like the Rage neoprene....but that is probably in good part because i love the overall rod so much.  If the rod is right, i dont much care what the handle is made of.

On 2/27/2022 at 8:02 AM, walleyecrazy said:

My personal preference is cork, and then EVA foam. I actually am not a fan of Winn grips at all. There is just something about the feel of them that I can’t stand. 

ditto

I despise Winn grips on anything! They look ugly and feel weird. 

I really like the new monocoque Shimano stuff. 

Next would be some nice AAA cork. I love the look and feel after some U40 sealant. 

Last would be foam. I like it but not as much as the others listed above. 

I am like @Mobasser. I really like the full cork grips. Most of my rods have them. I have a couple of older rods with foam grips that haven't been used in many years. I think the split grips are so ugly I won't even consider buying them.

I even put the U-40 on the foam when I apply it, won't damage the foam. 

Before EVA foam Hypalon rod handle covering was used. 

EVA is used today because it’s lighter weight.

High quality cork without fillers AAAA grade is rare today, AAA quality is as good as production rods get under $500.

So many bass anglers today use fishing gloves, the handle material is more cosmetic the functional. Because I actually hold the rod in front of the reel with 2 fingers during the retrieve I like a comfortable fore grip/ reel locking ring, the material doesn’t mater. Casting I am holding the rod by it’s reel seat and reel, the other hand is holding the rod back end. 

High quality cork is preferred, filled cork is my last choice. 

Tom

I like EVA foam. For some reason cork dries my hands out so it's not comfortable to fish with a lot. Winn Grips are okay but they get dirty fast and aren't easy to hold onto if they get wet. 

Full cork handles for me.

I don’t even like those fake corks in wine bottles. Taint natchural! ?

I prefer cork. Why? Don’t know, just a lot of years of cork handles.

 

Would like to do an install of Winn Grip some time. Easy enough to do. I might like it. 
 

Foam or EVA whatever has come a long way over the last 40 or 50 years. I own some newer stuff. Nice. Don’t regret buying/trying it. 

Cork.  Spinning with a hidden reel seat, Casting split is fine as long as all my contact points are nicely covered.  Premium cork with smaller voids is even better.