I agree on the quality of the older Sage cork. My newest, a 7130 MOD still has slightly better cork than either Burkheimer I own.The cork of the older sages higher end rods were much better imho. Thick and denser cork. New sages look pretty with all the filler (think the filler is better today than 20 years ago). But they don’t age as well as the older sage grips … of course this is my opinion. There is still good quality cork out there but think it is more sparse and harder to obtain. Personally I hate cheap cork that easily pits and falls apart shortly after a few fishing trips. Grips will soil but they should remain solid and intact. 20 year old rods basically and the cork while patina is solid.
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