Which handle material is easier on hands with arthritis?

Rubber grips can actually feel sticky once your hands get sweaty, which made things worse for my dad. He switched to cork and found it easier to hold for longer stretches. Might be worth having her try both in the store before buying.

I’d lean toward cork over rubber for that kind of grip issue, though I know that goes against the rubber-first instinct. Rubber can feel like it’s fighting your hand instead of letting it rest, and the squishy feel doesn’t always translate to less strain over a longer session. Foam is fine for a while but it’s not something I’d count on season after season.

I’m not sure rubber is the easy answer here. My mom’s tools with rubber grips felt fine at first but she ended up gripping them harder because they were slick, so her hands were more tired after. Cork or plain wood seemed to let her relax her fingers a bit more.

My aunt uses a cane in the garden and she found that the thickness of the grip mattered more than the material itself. She tried several and the chunkier ones were easier to hold even if they were rubber. Might be worth having your mom actually hold a few before deciding.

I went through a similar thing when my dad wanted to keep messing around in his little raised beds. We tried a few different tools and honestly the foam ones were the ones he kept reaching for, not because the material itself is magic but because the grip was fatter and softer. He could hold it more with his whole hand instead of pinching. The rubber ones felt okay at the store but after ten minutes he was done. The foam did get a bit grimy after a season though, and one handle started peeling where his thumb sat, so it’s not perfect. But for the actual gardening part it made a real difference. If your mom’s hands are like his, the shape and thickness might matter as much as what it’s wrapped in.