Is there any truth to the thought that some company's less expensive blanks, are more durable when it comes to fisherman abuse than a company's higher grade lines of blanks?

Yes, lower modulus blanks are usually tougher and less prone to breakage due to rough handling.
Higher modulus blanks are more sensitive and lighter than similar low modulus blanks how ever.
So depending on the application the trade off for more sensitivity over less durability could be worth it. :)

Regards
Dave

Fishing is Life the rest is just Details

Some manufacturers target specific market for the best of both worlds.

Sensitivity and durability can come in the same package!

High modulus back end where strength and lighter weights are advisable,

Lower modulus tip sections properly designed for desired softness and more durability.

It is call multi modulus - simply good common sense for certain markets - BASS!

Take a look!

[www.rodbuilding.org]

Swampland thinks about the durability of these blanks so highly the we cover the warranty!

Mark,
Modulus of elasticity is a property of the material not a a property of a blank. Modulus of elasticity translates into the properties of stiffness and weight in the blank. Yes, the higher the modulus of elasticity of the material in a blank the more fragile the blank is going to be if all other things are equal. It is mainly the result of something called "strain energy" which is the energy that the material can absorb before reaching the strength limit. If you look at a modulus of elasticity curve it is the area under the stress and strain and you can see that it decreases at the modulus of elasticity increases.
The designer of the blank can design the blank so as to tend to reduce the affect that strain energy has but cannot eliminate its affects. A clever approach used by a few some designers is to use high modulus in the butt section where most of the material is but where the stress and strain are lower and the strain energy is lower but use intermediate modulus in the tip section where the stress and strain will be higher. This results in a blank that is almost as light as a blank of all high modulus but almost as tough as a blank of all intermediate modulus.
I have heard some rumors about new material becoming available that has higher strengths, tensile and compression. If and when this happens it could change the whole ball game. If you look at the modulus of elasticity curve again you will notice that strain energy goes up at twice the rate of the strength so if the strength was doubled the strain energy would be four times as high and you would have a blank that was almost as difficult to break as a glass blank.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/08/2010 07:22PM by Emory Harry.

Yes and no. With a rod blank you are dealing with more than just the material - you are dealing with a structure.

In our tests done for the recent article on rod breakage, we found the very toughest blanks; the ones most able to withstand abuse such as impact and fractures without failing, ended up being the blanks made from the highest modulus fiber of the entire bunch. This was due mainly, however, to a small diameter, heavy wall design, not the material itself. And such a design requires a that a weight penalty be paid, which somewhat negates the use of the higher modulus fiber to begin with.

However, my point is that the material itself does not tell the whole story.

...............

Anything that is done to a blank made of high modulus material to make it tougher, like making the walls thicker, can obviously also be done to a blank constructed of lower modulus material which would also make it tougher, tougher than the blank made of high modulus for the same increase in wall thickness. However, increasing wall thickness while adding directly to hoop strength does not really add very much to the strength under tension and compression but it certainly does add weight.
There are a number of different ways that one can look at how tough or brittle a blank will be. You can just look at the stress or how much of a load it will take before it reaches the tensile or compressive strength. This is what it appears that you did with your testing. You can also look at how much strain the blank can take or how far it will deflect before reaching the tensile or compressive strength. A blank of high modulus material will not deflect as far as a blank made of lower modulus material. That is what lower strain means. You can also look at strain energy or how much energy that a blank will absorb which because this involves both stress and strain often gives a more complete picture.

Thank you Emory!

However introduce the Ugly Stick into the mix and they are stronger and more durable in terms of hoop strenght and impact resistant to anything I know short of a solid piece of fiberglass. And yes, I know they are heavy and aren't a joy to fish with...unless you have arms and deltoids like a 20 year inmate.

Building an unbreakable rod isn't hard to do. Building a highly responsive and efficient unbreakable rod, however, is very difficult to do.

..............

I remember reading a statement made by Gary Loomis a number of years ago that I thought expressed this point very well. He said, "I can build a rod that you cannot break but I do not think that you will want to fish with it". This may not be a direct quote but it is close.

I agree Tom and Emory...