One of the best ways to preserve the life of your tackle (more so and especially reels) is to rinse down your equipment with fresh water after any saltwater trip. The sooner the better. In the case of cork tape normal wear, over tightening reel clamps, and exposure to the sun can often cause damage requiring replacement in as little as one season or some cases even less. It's a realitively cheap material and very easy to replace.

I personaly use butt cord on all my rods. Yes even my 12lb sticks I have wrapped with butt cord. There are a few things you should be aware of if you have never a fished a rod with a cord handle. The tar in the cord will turn your hands black the first few times out. It will also turn your hands rough and calis. In my opinion it's well worth it because once the cord is broken in (process may take 15 to 20 trips or more) it will soften up and create a nice grip that is comfortable, extremely light, it won't slip out of your hands even after it has been slimmed, and best of all if wrapped corectly will last a lifetime or in the unlikely event of an accident the life of the rod.

I was given some old bamboo feather sticks (12' in length) that were custom made and dated back in the 40's. They looked like junk and when appraised they were confirmed as junk but cool none the less anyways after 60 years the butt cord had held up and was still in excellent condition. Not that they were being used every weekend but still it was impressive.