Has anyone used 3M cold shrink on their rods. United composite uses it on their rail rods.
Mike
I haven't used it, but it seems pretty easy to use and it does turn out quite nice.
I have it on my jig rod and love it. I get lazy and jig with the rod butt on the rail. Eva will last 1 trip, and hypalon I can get a couple of years. 3M is new but nice and is worth the $$$$ plus it works great for repairs.
Dave
I put it over cork to keepit from getting tore up.
Ron
Yeah, tough stuff, just really expensive.
Vadney uses it, and demonstrated for me when Alan took me over there. Impressive and tough.
I looks like they use it over cork tape.
Mike
I put it on a few that weren't mine, really thick but it should last forever. Kind of a pain to put on, it has this plastic slinky thing you pull out to get it on. You get one shot to get it right. I thought it was bulky and didn't like the feel of it that much. I like the heat shrink better, and if it wears you can just replace it. I do know people who love it too. See if you can find a rod with it on and see if you like it first, it's not cheap
I agree with the above. The only time I see it on rods is on the front grip for rail rods other than that it seems too bulky for me. I don't have any rods that have it on it but I have fished rods with it and like already stated it just seems too big and bulky for my liking. I don't think too many manufacturers that use the 3M product go with any underlying wraps or cork as that would just make it even thicker and less manageable. I do see a good use for it on the rail rods on the front grip when you're rubbing that up and down the boats rail when hooked with very large tuna and I think that was the intention for that product on fishing rod.
On my rear grip I cut the old hypalon off and cleaned up the blank. I then wrapped a layer of butt cord and gorilla glued that to the blank. When I pulled the plastic out it gave me the same diameter of the hypalon I had on it. I really don't think I'll wear this out. I even used a hydraulic hose on a rear grip as requested by the owner. That was about the same weight and cost but it was steel re-enforced and probably around a lot longer than us.
Dave
The only real reason to use it is for the fore grip of a rail rod but it would be handy for a repair. I don't think it would be very comfortable for an everyday fishing rod. It's thick and bulky.