Cork Or Eva Foam Grips 2024
papajoe222 reply :
I'm old school when it comes to a lot of things; 'Till death do you part', manual transmissisons, fixing stuff rather than throwing it away, wood gun stocks and cork grips on my fishing rods are on a long list. To me, cork is a lot classier than black foam and for me, it holds up to hard use and my sweaty, greasy hands better too. I know it takes a little TLC to keep it looking good, but that is also one of the reasons why I choose it. I wanted to do a poll on this topic, but I'm not computer savy.
So which do you prefer and why?
22hertz reply :
I like cork.
I like the smooth solid feel in my hand.
It also looks better to me and I think it gets beter with age/use.
Ozark_Basser reply :
EVA can look cheap if its not done right it seems. It can also look really nice. I prefer cork, but I'm trying out a woven carbon fiber grip for my build.
Poolshark reply :
I prefer traditional cork grips. I prefer the looks of round reels as well. But I'll fish with the best performance I have available.
Jrob78 reply :
I prefer cork but it isn't a deal breaker either way.
QUAKEnSHAKE reply :
Just eva vs foam not a factor in my choice. Though the feel type of each can be. Like a rougher feeling eva like I noticed on the full grip Tatula is a bummer to me. Or the rubberized cork handle of the Elite Tech not my preference.
gulfcaptain reply :
Well most of my rods are EVA Foam(at least the small back grip). The ***'s are cork and some of my BPS rods are as well. I am not a big fan of fore grips on rods though. Only rods I have that have these are my 2 swimbait rods and one cranking rod. All are cork though. But to me it doesn't matter much as long as it's done nicely.
Bluebasser86 reply :
I'm starting to prefer the EVA because it's more comfortable in my hands after several hours of fishing.
SirSnookalot reply :
My bass and inshore rods are all cork, most offshore rods are EVA and they are fine for that.
All my rods have foregrips wouldn't consider anything else. Several reasons, I like my hand in front of my spinning reels, gives me better a hookset with the additional leverage. Fighting fish from 5 to 30 minutes my wrist and forearm doesn't get nearly as fatigued or sore with my hand on the grip.
LunkerFisher reply :
I have both. I do prefer the look and feel of cork, but the blank is more important to me than the grip.
WIGuide reply :
I've got a mix of both, but if I had to choose I'd rather have cork. I think it looks nice even once aged.
MickD reply :
I prefer cork because I like its looks and in the old days, EVA or whatever the black foam was would disintegrate from sun after a few years. Maybe better now, but since I prefer the look of cork, no reason to go EVA. For spinning rods I use very little cork.
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SNK reply :
I prefer cork overall, but at times a little EVA/Cork combination has a nice look to it.
Primus reply :
I prefer cork .
Delaware Valley Tackle reply :
Cork is a great grip material. That's why it's been so popular for so long. Good EVA done well, is equally attractive and functional IMO. Alternative grip materials like foam core carbon fiber sleeved grips and Kevlar tube grips are other good options as good cork become harder to get and more expensive.
robster80 reply :
i like the winn grips that u see on some rods now - cabelas tourn zx, castaway invicta,hammer rods. if only more rods would use them! btwn cork and eva it doesnt matter so much as long as it feels good in hands.
Preytorien reply :
With so many rods having minimal or exposed reel seats your hands don't actually sit much on the grip, if at all when I'm palming my casting reels. I know on my rods only the back inch or so of my hand actually even touches the cork or EVA. So I don't really consider that of big importance to me.
That said, I have both, and really don't have a preference. Both are easy to clean, feel good in my hand, and offer a good grip when my hands are wet.
Penguino reply :
Lol neither. I love to use carboncone grips. The only rod that I know of that has these grips is the Okuma C3-40x. The grip only gets better when they are wet.
fishballer06 reply :
On 4/1/2015 at 10:28 AM, papajoe222 said:wood gun stocks and cork grips on my fishing rods
Amen!
.ghoti. reply :
I don't have a marked preference. Cork or EVA, full or split; I don't really care. As long as the rod is comfortable to use. And, I don't care what they look like.
Function over form every day of the week.
matuka reply :
I love old school cork. Unfortunately, durability is a big issue to me. I have a few older high end rods with pitted cork. I haven't found an adequate method of restoring these corks. For many, a few soaking rains and filler started coming apart. They are subject to rod rack rash in the boat. Alas, I buy them and baby them.
A-Jay reply :
On 4/1/2015 at 9:33 PM, Preytorien said:With so many rods having minimal or exposed reel seats your hands don't actually sit much on the grip, if at all when I'm palming my casting reels. I know on my rods only the back inch or so of my hand actually even touches the cork or EVA. So I don't really consider that of big importance to me.
That said, I have both, and really don't have a preference. Both are easy to clean, feel good in my hand, and offer a good grip when my hands are wet.
X2 ~
This covers it for me as well.
Though not part of this "poll" - I do also like the Xtreme-Skin handle St Croix puts on the LegendXtreme line.
A-Jay
Bigsig reply :
About 5 minutes and a magic eraser will make your cork look near new.
Crutch reply :
I like using cork, I think it just looks nice and classy.
Thornback reply :
Cork for me. From time to time I might clean it up with sandpaper.
tholmes reply :
On 4/1/2015 at 9:40 PM, .ghoti. said:I don't have a marked preference. Cork or EVA, full or split; I don't really care. As long as the rod is comfortable to use. And, I don't care what they look like.
Function over form every day of the week.
^ I completely agree. I prefer full cork grips, but it's not necessary.
Tom
Crestliner2008 reply :
Another vote for cork. It just "finishes" a rod.
Robert Riley reply :
I often find EVA gets slippery after awhile. I've put reel grips on both my EVA reels and I just don't really use my EVA rod haha. Not to mention that cork looks a lot better in general.
OntarioFishingGuy reply :
I prefer full cork with a foregrip. Nothing fancy. I have a couple rods with EVA that I don't mind, but I would take the cork over them any day. Looks and fishes better IMO.
Mike L reply :
On 4/1/2015 at 9:40 PM, .ghoti. said:I don't have a marked preference. Cork or EVA, full or split; I don't really care. As long as the rod is comfortable to use. And, I don't care what they look like.
Function over form every day of the week.
This pretty much says it for me also.
Balance, comfort and function is at the top of the list.
Looks don't matter
Mike
The one that got away reply :
Full handle cork for me
SirSnookalot reply :
Whether it's foam or or cork I prefer the butt to be full as I may have the rod under my armpit.
shanksmare reply :
I have both rods with cork grips and Eva foam grips that I use for bass fishing. At first I preferred the cork grips. But in time after using both I grew to like the Eva foam grips. The Eva grips are smaller and more comfortable to me. But at the end of the day when I'm fishing, I'm not really paying a lot of attention to the grip material ... just too many other 'important' things to think about.
For saltwater surf rods I use Eva foam exclusively. It just stands up to the rigors far better than cork.
On fly rods that I have made, I always use cork grips. I guess Eva would be too untraditional for me to use although I'm sure that functionally it would be fine.
Senko lover reply :
On a custom rod or a nice G. Loomis or St. Croix, definitely cork. Beneath that price range, I like EVA. Not that I have one of those nice rods, but their cork jobs are awesome.
BassmanDan reply :
I think EVA looks nice on a mid-price rod like the red on the Halo Twilight I picked up this year but cork has a better feel and look on high end rods. I really like it on the NRX and Orochi rods I also bought this year. I have never owned a more balanced and great looking stick, especially for half the price of the loomis.
Arv reply :
Cork. Just feels better
RoLo reply :
The 3 most popular grip materials are Cork - EVA Foam - Hypalon.
SPECIE CORK
Pros
> Cork is dense and thus more "sensitive" than foam (less important with large gamefish)
Cons
> Cork grips get slippery when exposed to fish slime
> Cork gets dirty with use, especially around blood & slime (gets ugly fast in saltwater)
> Cork is available in one humdrum color (cork tan)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EVA FOAM (Ethylene Vinyl Acetate)
Pros
> Very comfortable to grip (important with large gamefish)
> Non-slip grip (even in the presence of fish slime)
> Does not get soiled (impervious to blood & slime)
> Very attractive and available in many colors
Cons
> Gets chewed-up over time, and quite quickly under heavy use ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HYPALON (chlorosulfonated polyethylene)
Pros
> Very comfortable to grip (important with large gamefish)
> Non-slip grip (even in the presence of fish slime)
> Does not get soiled (impervious to blood & slime)
> Very attractive and available in many colors
> Hypalon is softer than EVA foam
> Hypalon is more durable than EVA foam (wears like iron)
Cons 
Years back, I had custom bluewater blanks paired with Penn Internationals (Shark River, NJ).
I choose Hypalon grips, and have revered them every since, they're the cat's meow (but hard to come by).
Roger
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