I tried one of the new handles in my rod holders this weekend. I would love it for my tube holders in my rod towers. Those are closed in the back end and have a bar that would keep the rod\reels from turning. I would hate them in my open ended rod holders. The ball would catch as the rod came through. People have a hard enough time transitioning rods out when fish are on. I don't need to add more to it.

I also heard the suggestion of cutting them off. I'm torn on that one. It would mean the end to the lifetime warranty I would guess. But on the other many of my rods are 25-30 years old and are still going strong. From a fishing standpoint I don't know how the rod would feel to someone who puts the rod in their gut with the end cut off. It can make it easier for ladies to do that and some of the guides have added belts to assist ladies and kids. The ball would work great for a belt.

I am pretty sure Stripernut uses the Okumas quite a bit and I use a few of them. I have no complaints with them.