lightest handle

[cuke]

my buddy just some new kit to make handles out of foam wrapped with a carbon fiber sleeve and then epoxied. they are supposed to be lighter than cork. anybody have any experience with these? i'm going to try and make one today.

[jimmyb]

hard to beat cork in my book!

[btune]

I think the foam grips can be very light but most will be close to cork in weight, hard EVA is another alternate for a light grip. The real seat will usually weigh more than the grip. The foam grips are very nice if well done and have a large "cool" factor. You can now find some folks that make them for sale but they can be pricy ($50 a set at the High Point show!). I agree hard to beat cork!

[mhr650]

The carbon skinned grips are about all I use, I have gotten to where I hate to deal with cork when someone insists on it. If you use 4lb foam they are super light and they are very durable, you don’t have to worry about cork filler falling out. The materials are reasonably priced unless you buy form the wrong supplier but they are kind of labor intensive since you have multiple steps in shaping the core, laminating the carbon sleeve, and finally finishing the carbon, two of those steps you are waiting for stuff to dry so you have to plan ahead. I had 3 rods with those grips at the show in the Swampland booth if anybody saw them, the 2 spinning rods one with the microwave guides and one with standard guides, and the casting rod I built for the contest that never materialized. The casting rod weighed less than 2.4oz complete so that shows just how light these grips can be. They are also pretty easy to do, unfortunately anybody who went to the carbon grip seminars at the rod show came out more confused than they were before they went in.

[jimmyb]

The carbon skinned grips are about all I use, I have gotten to where I hate to deal with cork when someone insists on it. If you use 4lb foam they are super light and they are very durable, you don’t have to worry about cork filler falling out. The materials are reasonably priced unless you buy form the wrong supplier but they are kind of labor intensive since you have multiple steps in shaping the core, laminating the carbon sleeve, and finally finishing the carbon, two of those steps you are waiting for stuff to dry so you have to plan ahead. I had 3 rods with those grips at the show in the Swampland booth if anybody saw them, the 2 spinning rods one with the microwave guides and one with standard guides, and the casting rod I built for the contest that never materialized. The casting rod weighed less than 2.4oz complete so that shows just how light these grips can be. They are also pretty easy to do, unfortunately anybody who went to the carbon grip seminars at the rod show came out more confused than they were before they went in.

what did the blank weigh before you started building? what are you using for the butt portion of the handle? do you have pics?

[xyzman]

Are the handles fragile and easy to crack or damage if they are made of carbon?

[I.C.M.A.B.B.]

Like mike with the exception of some top water rods, they are all I use and have used for years. Used to buy it pre-made back in the 80’s, but for the last few years have been making most of my own, also had 8 rods on display at the Batson booth with various carbon handle setups.
Have never had one break, crack, or fail in any way.
For the last year I have been removing the cores to get rid of extra weight. I shape them to the size of blank and reel seat also. Which has eliminated any need for abhors, further reducing unnecessary weight.
Mikes Rod was truly a light well balanced setup.

[xyzman]

Let's say if you leave the rod on your deck on a sunny day. Will the handle get too hot too hold and require and hand dunk in water before holding it? what about cold days?

[cuke]

ICMABB was that sweet 822.5 on a rod wrapper at the show yours? i told the guy at batson that was the first rod that i wanted to buy in 15 years. did i butter you up enough > good. how did you make that grip? do you remove the foam or is it the heat shrink stuff? i was also pitchin' that 944.5 till i got that 5/0 hook stuck in the carpet. i need to know because i need to build one of my t46's and want to keep it as lite as possible.

[I.C.M.A.B.B.]

Xyzman;
Yes and no
Only remember onetime last year that I dunked a handle to cool it off, but with the advantages of carbon in regards to sensitivity, lightness, and overall performance; I if had to dunk them every time I would still use it.
You could also use a lighter pigment in the finish to reduce any heat build up.

One the cold side; have never had a problem. In fact if you set the handle up for it on really cold icy days you can slide a hand warmer up inside the handle to actually warm things up.
Yes this does defeat some of the sensitivity/lightness advantages, until you take into consideration that now your fingers are warm have feeling again instead of that painful numbness or 1-1/2 of glove insulation killing any vibration from rod to hand.


Cuke;
Yes and Thank You
No heat shrink stuff on any of my rods
Had three 822.5’s there with different setups, think the one you are referring to was the Black tapered graphite split grip with black/silver metallic thread, and red thread highlights.
If so those grips can be purchased from a Batson dealer (WFG 2.5, WFG 3).

But you can reduce the grip weights even further? By making your own to fit the blank and dispose of arbors and core material altogether. Like the 944.5 punch rod you were pitching.

That is a beast of a blank (3.43 oz Flipping / heavy cover bass blank) and wanted to lighten things up (in this case maybe just a tad to much) Whole rod weighs 4.83 oz, but you may have noticed that it felt a bit tip heavy, that was due to an 7’10” blank with butt section (grips) so light it gave that feeling.
Presently it balances at 3.75 inches in front of the reel seat, will be adding some weight to the butt it this week to move the balance point further back.

That carpet was hooked more times then I can count, was also guilty of doing so several times, it’s a great hook if I can get it to stick fish that well? Should be a good year.

Don’t know which Phenix blank you have, but you could also do a couple other minor things to lighten it up as well.
I used a 6mm P-flanged tip on that blank because of what I intended use it for (punch rod).
You could reduce some weight using a lighter tip, could also reduce more weight by not using the labels I did leaving off the 5 the inches of epoxy.
Will be flipping with it so used an 8mm stripper to further gap between blank and line, if you don’t intend to flip with it you could step down to a 6mm single ft and save a little more

[cuke]

i bought one of those 944.5's aka the "beast" because i liked your rod and my buddys kid wanted a flippin stick but now i'm worried that it may be too much stick for him unless he's swinging 6 pounders in the boat.
i also got an rx8 843. the t46's i got were a mh 7-1 and a 7-6 and a ml 7-6 and they are soo lite i have to build them first. how do you go about making your carbon grips? i don't understand what you mean when you say make your own to fit the blank and really can't remember what the handle on the "beast" looked like. all i have ever used is cork- the kit we have has foam sticks and a carbon fiber sleeve which is like a chinese fingers thing.

[I.C.M.A.B.B.]

Cuke;
If he’s just a kid it may more rod then he can handle. Maybe a shorter version would serve him better. You cold clip some off the butt
Bought the 7’1” heavy, wish I had gotten the 7’6” also, but did not think about it until back at the shop with this one and started playing with it. Will use it for close in work, skipping and pitching around docks.
You should love that RX8- 843

“I don't understand what you mean when you say make your own to fit the blank”

I am in the process of putting together a magazine article on how this is done and would rather not post the info on a public forum just yet. Hopefully you understand.

[xyzman]

Thanks for the info I.C.M.A.B.B.. I look forward for in hearing more of your grip design.

[cuke]

no problemo buddy - but i'm chomping at the bit to build, so i guess i'm snorting some cork today. i only use 5 pieces for my rear grip anyway and it is lighter than my attempts at the carbon grip. p.s. the kid in question is around twenty and fishes co-angler in the north east everstart series i believe, i'll have to see if he wants it or not.

[WoodsmenRods]

Xyzman;
...
One the cold side; have never had a problem. In fact if you set the handle up for it on really cold icy days you can slide a hand warmer up inside the handle to actually warm things up.
Yes this does defeat some of the sensitivity/lightness advantages, until you take into consideration that now your fingers are warm have feeling again instead of that painful numbness or 1-1/2 of glove insulation killing any vibration from rod to hand...

Steve, I have a customer that wants a heated handle. While mocking it all up and testing different disposable hand warmers, I found that they do not get as warm as they used too. Apparently someone got burned so they changed the formula and cooled them off. I did a Google search of hunting forums and heard the same complaint over and over. My customer still wants this rod, so I am working on using a reusable warmer (liquid w/metal disk) in a carbon grip shaped like a gun stock. Have you tried a disposable handwarmer lately? My infrared thermometer measured about 90 to 95 degrees. I put two in a carbon tube that was open on both ends and set it outside. It was about 30 degrees outside, and the handle felt cold. I tried this many times with 4 different brands, including the toe heaters.

Chuck