thanks Bill and I am truely sorry for your Loss, can't imagine how I would feel if put in that same circumstance.

Bill I know what you mean. I lost My Mother when I was 18 in a terrible auto accident that should not have happened. It well be 49 years in Oct. My birthday is in Oct. I get vary quite during that month. So I know some what how you feel. But like you said some people can't pour water or they want to save a penny on a valuable item when it comes to shipping. (FROG)

Good Wraps Bob

In the last 8 to 10 years of shipping rods I've had 3 UPS claims. All of them honored. My most recent one was denied for lack of packaging materials. That was because my customer returned the rod to UPS for their inspection with all the bubble wrap missing. I disputed the claim, got some testimonials, photos of how I pack rods, and the pointed out the sheer fact that I ship 50 high end custom rods every single year and have only had 3 claims. I had my check in a week.

Remember...it isn't UPS not honoring your claim...it is their insurance carrier. Don't take no for answer.

I use UPS because I have had good experiences with them since the day I started shipping and will continue to do so.


Thanks for the info William


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Better to have and not need than to need and not have.

This may be overkill, but if and when I ship a fishing rod that I have spent my time building it will be packed this way. First the rod will be wrapped with soft tissue paper and then placed inside one of those foam noodles that you can get at Wally World or a swimming pool supply store. These noodles are hollow so I will split the foam noodle and place the rod inside it and secure it with tape. Then the noodle will be placed inside a Sced 40 piece of PVC pipe that is longer than the noodle that contains the rod, Then the ends will be packed with a shock material such as bubble wrap and then the ends will be secured with PVC pipe caps via PVC cement. I think that this kind of package might just survive the animals at the freight companies. I have shipped other over sized pieces and have learned from experience that there is no such thing as being to careful if you want to have it arrive safely.

Just my thoughts.

Robert, I really like the foam noodle idea!

Walt Davenport
"Roadhouse Rods"

Another thought to Robert M's suggestion you could also use pipe insulation

Good Wraps Bob

Glad you folks have found this useful!! That was the intent of the post!!

Bill in WV

What you put inside the shipping container is great, but how you restrain it inside the shipping container is important too like I said before when the shipping container is thrown like a harpoon as I found out when receiving some blanks with the tips sheared off after they had penetrated the soft plastic cap on the shipping tube. Finally you need to protect when the shipping tube has to navigate around the turns in the conveyor system and those skinny tubes that people use to get by cheap on shipping costs.

I can not believe what I have read here and in the past. You guys who ship a 400 plus or less rod or blank in cheap containers. and that goes to the suppliers as well. No wonder insurance is so high. Use common sense guys / gals

Good Wraps Bob

I'm generally shipping heavy offshore rods, but regardless if its a lighter rod or a heavier rod, my procedure is the same.

Schedule 40 PVC, rod in a plastic sheet, then fully wrapped in bubble wrap along with several bubble wrap arbors to secure it snugly inside the pvc.
At both the top and bottom of the rod there is bubble wrap snugly packed in to remove any possibility of the rod sliding back and forth.
I use PVC caps with heavy duty tape rather than PVC cement for the purpose of easier removal

Generally I use FedEx due to cost and customer service more than anything, but in some cases I have used both UPS and USPS and so far none of them have had any issues packing in this manner.