I've never been a fan of rods rattling around in the back of the truck or in rod holders going down the road at 75mph while being peppered with rocks and all kinds of road debris. I just care for my gear more than that, as I quit fishing with cheap stuff a long time ago. Almost all of us have some sort of passion we throw money at, and mine has fins.
Once I held a really lightweight custom rod, about 15 years ago, well I was hooked. So then we had to figure out how to transport/store them without damaging them. We started with the grey plano tube that extends, and it would hold a few, but it would also fold over fairly easy when extended and that was a flaw.
Next, we found these rod tubes that are essentially like a 36" 4 pc travel flyrod case, but are actually 7 feet long. Same material and basic diameter - cordura nylon sleeve over 2 inch thin walled PVC, with a padded zipper cap. Except in our case, the length is different at 7 feet.
We used to get some called "rod safe" from a buddy that was a partner in a company called Redfish Bay Rods about the time they were closing up shop. I had about a dozen at one time. A few I sold off to help friends and eventually a few wore out, as they get stood up in corners, leaned, or in the truck bed, and the nylon would basically fall off the end from being worn through. But they lasted at least 8-10 years and some are still going strong, so we looked for something just like 'em. You don't just buy a few rods, in a decade, so you are going to need more tubes. This is much like never having "enough" guns.
About a year ago, we found a vendor called Mountain Cork and ordered around 4 dozen of them to split amongst 4 fishing buddies to make the shipping costs easier per rod. I have been very impressed with them at around $40 each plus shipping (total is less than $50 per in our qty). They have 3 or 4 colors. Here is a link:
https://mtncork.com/collections/casting-rod-cases/products/copy-of-copy-of-casting-rod-case-fits-a-6-1pc-rodI will also note, that in the meantime, before we found the Mountain cork ones, I also ordered a full length St. Croix rod case that is a double. It is more of an elongated oval when seen from the side and can hold 6 or 8 casting rods with no problem if you alternate them tip to butt. (they have multiple lengths available, if you fish shorter rods)
https://www.fishusa.com/St-Croix-Traveler-Rod-Cases/?sku=102825&gclid=CjwKCAiAleOeBhBdEiwAfgmXf3f9GiyUQqRDlHl9hbcP5TGWcyQBqy4bizO74ZA9bB3T9Wrq2lBANRoCWDEQAvD_BwEI would recommend either one of these options, if you are willing to separate your rods from reels. We try not to travel farther than a few blocks at low speeds with reels on our rods. IMHO most of the time a high end rod breaks, it is due to some form of abuse it suffered while not being fished, that caused a nick in the sensitive graphite or a gash.
ETA...this is just a fancier version of what Sunchaser is making above. I also don't need to make them 10 footers. Still amazed at that and want to fish together now.
Class of '93 - proud Dad of a '22 grad and a '26 student!
