spiral wrap rod

[topwater.va]

What do you think of spiral wrap rods.  I just heard about them recently and was wondering whether it was better or worse design then the normal wrapping. 

What are the advantages of a spiral wrapped rod?

[Raul]

When a blank is rolled on a mandril the blank material creates a seam between the two parts of the material as it cures, this seam is known as "spine", an area where the blank material is slightly thicker. But this spine doesn 't follow a straight line beacuse the material is rolled.

When the rod is under stress ( bent ) the blank twists along the most resistant part along it 's length, the spine.

Spiral wrapping places the line guides along the spine to make use of the strongest part of the blank, if not placed along the spine the guide lines follow the torsion of the blank misaligning them, the load is not even, spiral wrapping follows the spine thus reducing the tendency of the rod to rotate as it loads or when it 's loaded.

Off the shelf rods are not spiral wrapped for several reasons, most of them have to do with cost production:

1.- It takes an experienced person to find the spine --->increases the cost of production

2.- Since you need an experienced person to find the spine the process takes time, and when you are manufacturing hundreds of rods on a daily basis ---> increases the cost of production

3.- Increases the time of production and reduces the output ---> increases the cost of manufacturing

4.- To compensate for the increase of production the rod should cost more.

So spiral wrapping has very little place in the mass production system, it has place in the custom rod built system or in the relative "mass" production of very high end gear where the price of the rod compensates for those small "inconviniencies".

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

By moving the guides to the bottom of the rod a spiral wrap avoids the tendency of a rod to torque or twist under load. It also keeps the line off the blank avoiding line slap which will increase casting distance and accuracy. What Raul said about the spine being important is true, however a quality rod should be built with the spine in mind regardless of guide placement technique.

[kbkindle]

never seen much advantage to a spiral   rod  in fact did not see any advantage

[RobE]

never seen much advantage to a spiral rod in fact did not see any advantage

Neither did I when I got my first, a Bud Erhardt Fishin Stick back in '89 or '90. It was a nice rod but... I tried (and bought) another 3 years later and it blew the other one away. I've recently taken to building and will be wrapping a spiral rod tonight. Listening to the Ozark Mtn Daredevils, a few beers and reading the forums!  8-)

If I may add to the comments above...

IMHO; with a spiral-wrap, if you tend to be a 'line feeler' (as in always having a fingertip in light contact with the line), a properly built (Acid Rod, Roberts Wrap, etc) one will excel in sensitivity. It really shines in applications such as working jigs down bluff steps or fishing TX rig worms on soft bottoms where you're working intently, slowly and need to feel everything. On my first REALLY good spiral, I thought that my brand-new reel was grinding. I could actually feel and HEAR a bad noise. It was the vibes that the blank was resonating as I was loading with Trilene XL. Scared me at first! Got it wet and the noise stopped.     

What are the advantages of a spiral wrapped rod?

To answer your original question...The advantage is in the fact that few folks know about them and 86.2% of those that do, think they're funky looking. 

   

[.RM.]

Spiral Wrap: A method for taking the line to the bottom of the rod on conventional casting type rods. Results in a bait casting rod which will not twist under load and is inherently more stable. There are many styles of this wrap

For those that have fished one and say there is no advantage.

I say that if you had bothered to fish the rod/s longer than once (for about an hour), and had actually caught a fish that could bend the rod, you would have felt and seen the advantages first hand. But most all anglers that have tried a spiral/revolver style wrapped rod haven't giving them any kind of fair work out....

I fish for big 4lb spot's all the time with my spirals, and, can say that the rods are so stable in the fight (and Spots fight like SB's), that I fish them one handed on 6'6" rods using blades...

Tight Lines All!!! 

[LAO162]

A timely thread for me.  This morning I took out my 4-piece travel rod (xmas gift) to see how it felt with different reels.  I noticed that I didn't have the guides lined up.  I joked to myself (no one else hear has my sense of humor) that I had a spiral wrap... 

Is there any advantage to creating a psuedo spiral wrap by mis-aligning the guides of the 4 pieces, or would that just cause the pieces to loosen under line pressure?  Thanks,

Leon

[Wayne P.]

LAO162, if it is a casting rod, that is a good idea. If you put the top 3 sections facing down or maybe even the top 2 sections down and the third one at 90 degrees, it should work well. The guide positions should be based on the amount of flex the rod has. The more flexible parts should be down.

[LAO162]

Thanks Wayne, it is a casting rod (Cabelas XML 1/4 -5/8 oz).   It actually feels quite good and may be used for more than just vacations.  Experimenting with the spiral should be another source of amusement this Spring

[RobE]

Experimenting with the spiral should be another source of amusement this Spring

Buddy, I hope you know that it's not how deep the water is. It's how fast it moves that hurts and you're about to be caught in the current!