When storing your rod – either for the season, or for travel – most people take apart the sections of the rod. The problem we then have it keeping the 2 pieces of the rod together – ideally in a way that protects the more breakable tip section.
Some people use rubber bands – which work. But tend to become brittle over time, or even start sticking to the rod blank. Others use some commercial rod strap products, which are great but can be expensive. If you just need 1 pair then that isn’t a problem, but if you have dozens of rods it can quickly add up.
Here is an idea that is cheap and works great.
Most home improvement and hardware stores sell various Velcro products for securing cabling for electronics and such. Well such straps are great for securing rod parts to each other.
Here is what I use. It contains 50 little Velcro straps and retails for about $5. That means it is only about $0.10 a strap.
Simply take your 2 rod halfs and hold them next to each other. But a strap of Velcro near the top, and strap near the bottom.
Personally I like putting the tip of the top section near the handle of the bottom section, so to keep the combined unit from getting to wide.
Because the straps are so cheap I don’t mind if I loose some, as well as have plenty extra to keep a few in the tackle box.
On smaller rods the strap is even long enough that it can be cut in half, and still provides a firm wrap.
For more tips check out the gear page.
