ITINERARY
Multi-piece fly rods
Worthy of your coin, or
gimmicky?
It used to be that the more pieces you incor-
porate into a fishing rod the risk of trouble
increased exponentially. The thinking went
something like this. By joining several sec-
tions of graphite together you in effect create
a fishing rod that has multiple weak spots by
virtue of its design. In other words, multi-
piece rods were victims of their own device.
If it were to break, it likely would break at the
rod’s weakest point: at the ferrule where the
two sections of graphite are joined together.
Factor in that you also lose some of the
rod’s action and its responsiveness and there
were valid concerns to shy away from multi-
piece rods. Not so anymore. Today’s advance-
ment in graphite and rod design has changed
the scope of travel fly rods. First, rod manu-
facturers have been creating rods using the
tip over the butt ferrule system that makes
for a much stronger connection. And graphite
is much stronger today and technology in
mandrel construction means the male and
female coupling pieces are able to withstand
constant use with little or no effect on the
effectiveness of the rod.
In other words, multi-piece fly rods are ev-
ery bit as good as a two, three, or four-piece rod.
Check it out
Orvis Frequent Flyer
When you’re looking for a rod that packs into
a suitcase or a backpack, the 9-foot, seven-
piece Frequent Flyer rod from Orvis is just the
ticket. While purists might scoff at a seven-
piece rod, this rod definitely serves a purpose.
You don’t have to worry about carrying it on
a plane with you, nor do you have to worry
about bringing a large bag to accommodate
your fly rod. It breaks down into a rod tube
that measures 18 inches long, which gives you
options when you’re traveling.
More Info www.orvis.com
MSRP $225
18