When fishing with a tenkara rod, much of the experience is personal in nature. With only a rod, line, and fly, the gear list may be small, but one’s preferences play a big role in one’s enjoyment out on the water. There may be the specific rod flex profile, style of line, or type of fly that you may favor.
In this case, we’re going to talk about the tenkara rod’s grip. In particular, the materials used to construct it. We could certainly go further down the rabbit hole of grip shape and dimensions, but we’ll leave that for another day. In this post, we’ll look at the different materials used in popular rods as we get a handle on tenkara rod grips!
Cork
This is the old standby. Everybody is familiar with cork grips on fishing rods. Cork and fishing rods are a ubiquitous combination that appear on all styles of rods. Spinning, baitcasting, and even tenkara. You name the type of rod, you’ll probably find most of the models offered come with cork grips. It’s a light, dense, natural material that’s proven to perform, and the familiarity has bred deep loyalty. If it’s not broke, don’t fix it.
Once upon a time when discussing rod grip materials with a (name withheld) tenkara rod designer, it was mentioned that when their company offers a rod with either cork or foam as an option, the cork version outsells the foam by a significant multiple, so they don’t even both offering other variants anymore.
Now, one thing to consider in cork grips is the quality of the cork. Being a natural resource, the price of cork can fluctuate based on availability, and some rod makers may choose less expensive grade of cork that isn’t completely smooth. If you stare at your rod’s cork grip, you may noticed pits and gaps in it, some more prominent than others. By the time the rod reaches your hands, those gaps are usually filled in by some sort of wood filler paste and sanded smooth, but from a cosmetic standpoint it may detract from the natural beauty and uniform appearance of the cork grip.
With repeated use, cork will also accumulate dirt and other grime over time, giving the grip a darkened patina. Many anglers like this, as it shows off the battle scars of a well-fished rod. Others do not. Quick tip for the detractors, try a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser on your grimy cork grips to brighten them back up!
Foam
In recent years, foam grips on fishing (and tenkara) rods have become more prevalent. Most claim it’s due to the rising prices and short supply of cork mentioned in the prior section. Personally, some of my favorite tenkara rods have foam grips, so I don’t view it as a deterrent when selecting or purchasing a rod. I might even go out on a limb and say I prefer foam to cork…
Now when I mention foam, I’m not talking squishy foam, like a Nerf football. Rather the foam used in fishing rod grips is dense, firm to the touch, and light, just like cork. Perhaps there’s a little more “give” than cork, but it creates a nice, solid grip nonetheless.
While most of the foam grips on the market seem to be black in coloration, the material does provide designers the ability to play around with color as well. Perhaps the most famous and identifiable foam gripped tenkara rod is the “camo” Oni Type III. When Oni tried to phase out the camo grip a few years ago in favor of all black, it even created a little uproar with loyalists on social media – begging him to #savethecamohandle. Other popular makers such as Tenkara USA, Tanuki, and river peak are known to use different (non-black) colors of foam in their rods as well.
As for long term durability, foam tends to stand up. Any grime can be cleaned off similar to cork, although if you don’t rinse your foam grip, it may develop a faint “fish slime” smell over time. Additionally, if you are tenkara angler who wraps your line (especially level line) around your grip for long term storage, you can create permanent indentations in your foam. So be forewarned!
Wood or other Natural Materials
We’ve already touched on cork being a natural material to build tenkara rod grips, but some rods use wood or bamboo (which is technically a grass, but we’ll lump it in here). While these grips aren’t quite as prevalent as cork or foam, those that use them seem to love them.
Wood provides a very dense grip that transfers even the slightest vibrations back to the angler’s hand, and when executed well can even serve as a bit of a weight to counterbalance an otherwise tip heavy rod. The Nissin Air Stage Fuji-ryu series’ cypress wood grips are possibly the most identifiable on the market, and other makers such as Sakura and Tenkara USA have offered wood grips in the past as well.
Another interesting aspect of wood gripped rods is that some of the makers have shaped them using notches and indentations to accommodate different hand positions and placements. Jason Klass of TenkaraTalk recently made a video that shows how the bamboo gripped versions of Oni rods are expertly and intentionally crafted to fit the contour of the angler’s fingers and hand.
Carbon Fiber
A newer entry found in some tenkara rod grips is a carbon fiber (or fiberglass) weave sleeve, usually over a very dense, shaped foam base. These grips were introduced into the tenkara and fixed line fly fishing market by Riverworks Rod Co.
Like wood, these grips are extremely sensitive, and are favored by anglers who enjoy nymphing with their tenkara rods. As a matter of fact, Riverworks has leaned into that application by creating a premium “tactical nymphing” fixed line rod, the ZX4-PRO 395, which has proven to be an extremely high performing model for those that fish it.
Unlike the other grip materials, the carbon fiber is definitely the largest departure from the traditional “look” of a fishing rod grip. Some people may never get past the futuristic appearance to even give it a try. Others may be turned off by the slightly textured feel in-hand. But those that love it, REALLY love it, even getting their other premium rods retrofit with carbon fiber grips.
None?
While some may debate if they’re technically “tenkara” rods, there’s a whole other subset of Japanese telescoping rods – usually seiryu and keiryu rods – that are frequently used to fish in a tenkara style. These rods don’t actually have any materials for their grip section, rather the carbon fiber blank swells in the final section, with perhaps a texture change or light painted-on grit added to make it easier to grip.
With nothing to insulate vibration traveling from the tip to the handle, these rods perhaps provide the most sensitivity and tactile feedback. But with that sometimes comes the complaint that the grips are just too small or thin in hand, causing cramps after extended use. Some anglers remedy that by adding a few wraps of athletic tape or tennis racquet grip material.
Conclusion and Your Feedback
In conclusion, I can’t recommend one tenkara rod grip material over another. They’re all unique, have specific pros and cons, and really, just come down to the angler’s personal preference. While I like foam, you may love wood, and that’s awesome. What I do love is that there are several options available, and would even encourage the major rod brands to consider trying different or new materials in future rod releases.
Now we’re looking for some reader participation. Let us know which material you prefer. We’ve set up a simple poll to record your vote, and we’d love it if you’d discuss more in the comments section below.
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At one time I would only buy rods with cork grips. Then I purchased some of the TenkaraBum rods. I now have all the above and enjoy each of them.
I chose foam, only because two of my favorite rods have foam handles, or grips. Personally what type of material the handle of the rod is made of, to me, is of least importance. I’m more interested in how the rod feels and how it casts.
There is an issue with filler falling of the cork handle (especially for lower grade cork). It would not happen immediately, and many people just not fish there rods often enough to mention. I recommend using U40 on any cork fishing rod handle (tenkara or not tenkara – does not meter). It also improves tactile fining of the cork handle, makes cleaning more easy. It would look different then plan cork, but honestly I like that better. Application is easy – first toughly wash the handle with “blue Down” dishwashing soap (you want to remove all the cork dust – handle would look better this way). Then let dry for about half day. Then apply U40 (one layer, moderate amount – you want everything saturated but you do not want it to drip). Then let dry for 24 hours… Done. If you do not like U40, you can remove it with magic eraser (but it is not that easy to do).
Foam over cork – I do not mind foam, I even like it better for spinning rod handles (a lot more durable, a lot more smooth for complex-shaped handles). But it takes marks if it experiences pressure during storage. Not only from the line wrapped around, if you store several spinning rods together in one bag – there could be indentations from ring guides…
There is also “hybrid” handles – cork veneer over EVA foam handle. For instance Nissin ProSquare and Shimotsuke Gen2 rods. This are especially susceptible to filler falling off (and then veneer pilling of), U40 is a must…
Now regarding to the wood handles. I have Air Stage Fujiryu. And I have a problem with there handles. They are just slippery. There is solution to make handle wet, then it is less slippery, but I do not like doing it (there is breathing hole in the rod cap, it would let water inside, possibly with sediment). I’m thinking about applying something on the handle to make it less slippery (may be U40 – but I’m not sure how well it holds on the wood). There way be an argument that it would “kill the magic of the wood”, I do not care about it. I want tactile feeling like on keiryu rods, it works MUCH better. I have a question – what can you suggest for putting on the wood handle?
what the thoughts on the thread grip. that suppose to be a traditional grip and tenkara rods has a new go fund me rods with it
River Peak Sangaku Special? There is Tom Davis review here, please read it. It is very stiff. What kind of handle it has does not meter that much (I would not call THAT thread “traditional” BTW). If you want something like that rod – I would recommend Nissin Fine Mode Kosansui 270 (they are available on Amazon, ASIN B005NGTQRY). It is plain better in every metric: 37.5g, moment 2.2, 7.0 RFI, would cast fluorocarbon level line, more than twice cheaper. If you want proper Tenkara rod of this length – look at Shimotsuke Tenkara Gen2 270: 51g, moment 2.5, 5.6 RFI. Again available from Amazon Japan, four times cheaper (!). They are cheaply made, so buy two – pick one with the better handle and leave another one for spare parts.