It depends on what you are fishing for. I've had trout take a bait so gentility that I'd never have felt the bite without a very sensitive rod and handle. A foam handle feels good in the hand, but you had better have a fish that wallops your lure to know to set the hook. I've seen a lot of the newer higher end rods with no handle material in places so that you can feel the carbon fiber rod material. Another thing is the carbon fiber itself. You can get a carbon rod at Walmart, but it isn't the same as the higher end carbon fiber rods. If you can see that symmetrical woven texture through the clear coat, you have an envelope wrapped cheaply made carbon fiber rod. The best ones are filament wound and the wrap angle makes a difference in their stiffness as well. Then there is the tensile strength of the carbon fiber itself. There were five different tensile strength carbon fibers when I was working with industrial rolls. A pultrusion is another way of making an inexpensive rod and it is stronger than an envelope wrap, but not as good as filament wound.
