Size 16 seats look nice and to scale on UL spinning rods - and it's what you see on almost all factory rods. But they are just too small for my preference.

Has anyone done larger sized seats/handles on UL rods that still "look" like they fit? Thinking more slender cork grips to slenderize the look to start.

I use at least an 18 if not a 20 on UL rods. The seat should fit your hand, not the blank.

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Totally agree! I usually run size 17's on my ultra-lites.

And no matter how many new seats they come out with - I keep going back to the old Fuji DPSM style or similar. Just working on getting it to look a little more to scale.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/19/2023 04:21PM by Marc Morrone.

I use the Fuji IPS or VSS17 reel seat and grip combo. They both have an OD of about 27 mm at the point where you hold the reel. Very comfortable. I use cork or NFC carbon fiber grips with them. The VSS16 seat and grip has a smaller OD of about 23 mm, which is approximately the same OD as a size 20 DPS reel seat, but not nearly as clunky looking.
Norm

The real G Loomis rods never came with a 16 mm seat it was a 17 mm minimum, even the UL rods, St. Croix in the same time period had 17 mm seats. The larger seats also match up to your cork preformed grips much smoother and nicer. The 18 mm reel seats match up smoothly with the .980 ID carbon tube a lot of us used in the earlier carbon grips for both casting and spinning rods.

Very cool to hear Spencer - always love your input and historical knowledge.

Most of the rods I build are ultra-lite trout rods. The only size seat I use is a size 20.
[www.rodbuilding.org]

I posted a photo of the seat on my go to trout rod.

Looks nice! Thanks!

Jim Reinhardt Wrote:
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> Most of the rods I build are ultra-lite trout
> rods. The only size seat I use is a size 20.
> [www.rodbuilding.org]
> p?photo=22269&cat=500
>
> I posted a photo of the seat on my go to trout
> rod.

Exactly. Your hand does not change size so whatever works well on a heavier rod works just as well on lighter rods.

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I put a size 16 in my wife’s spinning rod, but she has small hands. I put an 18 on the last one I built for myself as I don’t have overly large hands either. Like everyone else has said, it has to be comfortable. I’ll figure out how to make it look and fit the rod.

As a few have pointed out here, the size listed in the model number is for the inside of the seat. The outside diameter can vary based on the seat style. In other words, two #20 reel seats may have different outside diameters. Just something to consider.

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With UL rods the stresses on the hand are very low, and the importance of "fitting the hand" is less than with heavier action rods. I personally don't like the clunky look and feel of size 18's and 20's on delicate UL rods. UL's are where I get rid of the size 16 seats I bought before I turned to 17's on almost all my spin builds. They work fine there.

I also prefer not to put a relatively heavy seat on a very light blank.

But it's all a matter of personal preference.

It's about proper ergonomics and size doesn't change with stress amounts. Not my opinion, but that of the U.S. military studies into human bio-mechanics and their relation to good ergonomics for tool and control handles, levers, etc.

Larger seats weigh more, but the location of that weight changes little. It's too low on the rod to affect much in the way of swing weight, rod speed, etc.

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I haven’t purchased a straight pipe reel seat, alone or on a rod, literally since the Reagan administration. There are so many more ergonomic designs that I can’t see going way up in internal diameter to use one comfortably on an ultralight rod.

One of the reasons I like the Fuji VSS17 and IPS seats, is you don’t have to go way up in iD or weight to get a very comfortable OD without looking disproportionately large. The seat and handle combine to give you a larger OD. In addition, they give a light, sleek, seamless, and good looking grip that comfortably fits your hand. The AmTac Aero reel also gives you a large OD without looking clunky and disproportionately large on an ultra light rod using a small reel. A size 20 DPS seat may be fine, but they sure are heavy and clunky looking, especially with an ultra light rod and reel. Just my opinion, different strokes for different folks.
Norm

I knew you wouldn't like my opinion, Tom, but it is my opinion, my preference, and for UL rods, it works for me. I don't give ergonomics of this nature high priority when the stresses are such that ergonomics is not that important. When I start getting sore hands on my ultralights I'll go bigger.

The guidelines are not infallible, either. Different techniques can have different ergonomic needs. I built a casting rod once that complied with the ergonomic guidelines and I couldn't keep it in my hand with one handed casting. I had to shave quite a bit off the grip before it was stable with one handed casting. It is my opinion that the optimum diameter of casting grips is smaller than that of spinning grips. Even though my casting hand and my spinning hand are the same size. Regardless of what the US military says.

I didn't say I didn't like your opinion. I simply stated that there is a correct diameter for any particular sized hand, in all situations. If you fully read the article or the book - both state the optimum diameter for spinning and casting reel seats will be different.

Casting rods generally take a different diameter grip or seat than a spinning rod because most fishermen will cradle or palm the reel to some degree, which makes the reel part of the used diameter. The work is not at all haphazard or lacking. Everything has been taken into consideration. Whether or not somebody wants to use it is, of course, entirely up to them.

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Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/20/2023 08:32PM by Tom Kirkman.

We get used to what we think fishing rods are supposed to look like and have trouble getting away from it. But a big part of custom rod building is setting aside what looks normal and branching out into what works best. I never worry about what the factories use.

I didn't say the work was haphazard or lacking. I generally agree with it. But not always because different jobs can have different criteria, and IMO cast and spin have different criteria.

I also like my tack hammers to have a smaller handle than my framing hammers. And much smaller than my sledge hammer handle. They are doing different jobs. With the same hands.

Your opinion would match the research. Both the article and book state why casting and spinning rod optimum diameters will be different.

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