Gave the rod boots a go the other day. Afterwards I reached out to the company, Trxstle, to have a little back and forth on my findings. I quickly got a response from CEO and co-founder John Smigaj. He was forthcoming, honest and offered me some solutions. So here's what's up....
As advertised, the rod booths lengths are 9'10". That makes it 10 inches longer then a nine foot fly rod, from butt section to the tip. So there's 10" of "extra" material. Add to that length anothger 5" becasue the boot can't go past the reel seat. So if you look below the rod tip is tight to the end of the boot, which creates the bunched up look, above. Remember, that's for a 9' rod, which most of us use.
Now if you were to make the boot sit tight to the reel seat, below, and it fits nicley there, secured in
place by a bungee type cord, you then have the situation of the extra boot material hanging past the
tip of the fly rod, below. It's better to have the rod boot tight to the tip, especially if you are using a rod mount type rod carrier like Sumo. If you plan on just hanging these out the back of your pick-up forget it, the weight and wind will have your rod whipping in the wind worse than your lame double haul.
So what to do. I really like the idea of these. I think they can help me and other fly rodders who want to protect the investment of their fly rods. With some rods going for nearly $1,000 it's worth the time and effort to protect them. I reached out to Trxstle and offered a couple of comments and suggestions.
One it's too long for a 9' fly rod. They should offer two different sizes, one for the usual lengths, and then the longer one for the two-handed and spey rod guys. This company is in Helena Montana, and close to the West Coast where maybe the longer sticks are used more often. But out here on the East Coast, outside of the Great Lakes steelhead and salmon chasers, 9' is the norm.
During the test I did try and "wave" the rod boot along my fly rod to use up the extra length, as seen above. John, the CEO, sent me a picture of how he deals with that extra material, below. That's a pretty good move.
I also discussed with John the possibilty of shortening my rod boots, one at a time, after a re-do and field test. Using scizzors I would cut off about 10", burn the ends so they don't unravel, and then zip tie it tight. Now, some would say you shouldn't have to do so much work, and take the chance, in altering a product you just purchased. Well, I don't think Trxstle is going to run to the shop and immediately offer shortened rod boots. The season will be arriving in less than 2 weeks and I can't risk getting nicks and scratches in my fly rods, which could lead to weakening and damage. Stay tuned for the alteration post.