Rectangular
quadrate rods (rQuad) are 4 sided rods that
are made wider than they are tall. Think of
a standard 2x4 with the guides mounted on
the wide side. If you put the guides on the
thin side, you add stiffness but can
introduce really nasty twist into the rod,
especially in the tip, as the rod tries to
flex along the plane of least resistance.
The rQuad is the geometry championed by Mike
Montagne.
When you take a quad taper and translate it
into an 'equivalent' rQuad you actually end
up with a heavier rod (static weight not
line weight). Simply adding extra width and
removing height makes for a softer rod, so
you have to add material back in order to
keep the original stiffness. Again though,
the difference isn't huge, and is measured
in fractions of an ounce. So why bother with
a rectangular quad? In my experience rQuads
have two advantages (or perhaps
'differences' is a better word) over a
regular quad. First, due to a greater
ability to resist twisting, they track even
better than a quad and second, they dampen
vibrations more than other geometries.
Standard casting feels more accurate and
more advanced casts like wiggle casts or
pile casts seem easier as the extra
stiffness from the width magnifies the
intended nuances and variations in side to
side movement during the cast. Even curve
casts seem to be just a little more
pronounced. The only cast that I've found
that feels a little off is a large, upriver
twisting cast (not sure what its called, but
if you've ever dead drifted with lead for
trout or salmon in Alaska you know the
cast), especially with weight, as the
different resistance to twisting along the
casting range caues you to lose accuracy.
I only have available a limited range of
tapers in the rQuad geometrie.
Currently I have 4-7 weights
in standard lengths and two different
actions, one based off my LL series of tapers and
the other the LM tapers. |
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