I know larger tip diameters help with durability - but I am wondering how much, and at what point? I am really looking at walleye and finesse bass spinning rods, and it seems like 4.5 tip sizes do pretty good, 5.0 really well - but when I get down to 4.0 is where I seem to see the drop in ability to withstand imperfect handling more.

I am talking about building rods for people in general, not personal builds. Has anyone else seen this, and any thoughts appreciated.

Marc,
You are obviously intelligent enough to understand that the smaller the tip of a blank = the more fragile it is. Unfortunately, not all others are as intune. It is up to you to inform your customer (for both of your benefits); not just when you deliver the finished rod but also while deciding which blank to build on.

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

Wall thickness matters more than diameter in terms of durability. A small diameter, thicker blank section will generally be more durable than a larger diameter, thinner wall blank section. There's more to the equation than just outer diameter.

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

Yes, I enjoy building on the smaller diameter / thicker wall blanks. They hold up so well.

Sometimes I fish next to guys that do things you really shouldn't to a rod, and I just let them without saying anything. I am amazed at what I have seen guys put them through and they don't break.

Over the years I have found that durability is just as important as performance.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/08/2022 06:44AM by Marc Morrone.

Marc Morrone Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Yes, it's I enjoy building on the smaller diameter
> / thicker wall blanks. They hold up so well.
>
> Sometimes I fish next to guys that do things you
> really shouldn't to a rod, and I just let them
> without saying anything. I am amazed at what I
> have seen guys put them through and they don't
> break.
>
> Over the years I have found that durability is
> just as important as performance.


Seems to me that what you are suggesting reverses what has happened over the Last 40 - 50 years. during that time better materials were developed so that the walls of a blank could be made thinner so that it was lighter but could have the same strength. I know when I have Steelhead or Springer fished on a river casting literally from sunrise to set and I really appreciated my lighter weight and better performing rod over a club. I could get more distance on my cast than the guy with the "CLUB". The only way he could keep up with me was to increase hish sinker size. But then that big sinker just clunked along to bottom hanging up much more and spooking the fish where as my tiny weight tapped the bottom from time to time to let me know it was where I wanted it and I caught a lot more fish. The trade off is you just have to take care of your rod. It was what I was willing to do to get performance. I really liked the old Paragey (SP)That Clemens once sold a lot of years ago that did have a solid graphite piece in the tiptop section. But they were soon outdated. My favorite rod that I made was built on a (let me see if I can remember the model number without digging it out was a G Loomis blank (before the company was sold to Shimano), ST114 2 IM6 Which was a 8-12 Lb 9 1/2' Steelhead rod blank. Durable, cast a mile and with 11 LB TECTAN leader and Super Braid line caught a lot of big Springers and Steelhead. My largest Springer was a 30lb on the Cowlitz. Yes I had to follow it, but I won. Glass is generally more durable, That is why I like Glass for my boat rods where there are a lot of sharp corners that will hurt a graphite rod if struck, or the guy standing next to you throws his clunker of a rod's sinker or lure and it hits your rod. I accept the risk for performance. Another blank I like for a boat is a composite blank where the graphite is thicker in the Butt and has a glass tip end so that is is softer and gives me a shorter Moment Arm when fighting the fish especially as I really age and don't have the same strength, I need that help. But for those More durable boat rods, I am not casting all day. A larger diameter thin wall is stronger than a smaller diameter thick wall. Many who have shipped rods with heavier walled small diameter tubes have sadly found that they aren't as resistant to bending in the middle as a large diameter thinner wall. Yes thicker walled rods are more durable, but if you are also concerned with the performance of the rod as I have described you might want to think again. Look at all the posts that have been on here in the last year on performance. There is more to it than durability. There are trade offs. I am sure there will be a lot of posts about what I have said. Sorry my Prose aren't that great, but that was never my field.MY 2 cents.

No, I'm not suggesting that we go backwards. Today we have the opportunity more for the best of both.