I probably have at least a dozen Ugly Stiks, nothing less than 5 years old, and they still look and feel great. I'll keep buying them until somebody decides to "make them even better" and ends up making them suck, like what usually happens in life.
what type of fishing are you doing? My shimano compre has held up well and has a lifetime warranty. Not the most sensitive but its a $99 rod and if you break it you can take it right back to where you got it and have it replaced at no charge. If you like cork look at the st croix avid. Wonderfull rod very sensitive and a lifetime waranty. I also like the hard foam tha abu garcia uses on its rods. I have had a veritas for 4 years now and its used a good bit and still looks like new.
EVA will hold up better than cork these days due to the crappy cork manufacturers are using. I build high-end custom fishing rods. El'cheapo cork runs about $1.20 per inch. The good stuff starts at $6.00 per inch.
The problem with cheaper cork is that is full of pits. These pits are filled with filler. Depending on the filler, it will deteriorate, chip and or fall out. Exposed pits will continue to degrade exponentially over time.
Buy what ever you like. cork handles are fairly easy to repair with cork dust, Elmer's glue and some sandpaper. Avoid wood putty from Lowes. It works, but won't last a life time.
A rod repair shop (not me) should charge about $10 to $15 to fill and turn a handle. A complete replacement runs about $40 with EVA, higher with cork.
For utility rods like an ugly stick, I would fish it until it fell apart and then re-handle it with Hypalon -- similar to EVA, but much tougher.
If the EVA grips looks a bit dated from age/use, just take one of those sponges w/ scouring pad or even sandpaper and rub it under running and viola..looks good as new..
EVA hadles hold up fine but I find they get slippery when wet. I prefer cork because of it. The Bass Pro Extreme rods use cork but I'm sure it's not high quality cork. I have many of these rods and I fish much more than the average guy and they have held up well.
I don't like the Youtube reviews for the Shakespear reel on the combo.
So, I'm most likely trying to catch smaller fish, sunny's, bass, and trout.
I'm looking at the 5'6" light action Ugly Stik with Kastking 4000. I think that should be good as I've never caught any thing that could break a 6# line.
Amazon suggests a braided line. I know nothing about braided line. The whole system is rated 10#.
I probably have at least a dozen Ugly Stiks, nothing less than 5 years old, and they still look and feel great. I'll keep buying them until somebody decides to "make them even better" and ends up making them suck, like what usually happens in life.
Until my trip to Alaska last week I’ve never caught a legal fish in my life. I am serious. I’ve been fishing maybe a dozen and a half times and I either get skunked or catch stuff just under the legal limit. The ONLY thing I’ve ever caught fishing I could keep was an ugly stick.
Seriously.
Thanksgiving 6 years ago out of my father-in-laws boat I snagged something that felt like I caught the bottom at first. We wheeled the boat around to try to unstick the lure. Finally gave up and went to break the line and it came loose. Fished it up and an ugly stick came out of the water.
Father-in-law oiled the reel a little and has been using it for the last 6 years now. Works great.
No clue how long it was under assawoman bay. At least a few months based on condition.