spiral wrapped rods ....

you either get it and dig it ... 

or you do but can't wrap your head around it 

... or you don't and can't and don't really bother, ie you're part of the herd :P

some believe it reduces casting distance ... 

marginal % if any, according to some

distance reduced by much, according to others and ... interestingly, many of these 'others' have not cast a spiral wrapped rod but voiced their 'experience' or 'belief' vociferously

interestingly, again, some of 'these' are in the business .. yes, they're tackle retailers and rod builders

hey, you're hearing this from the horse's mouth so to speak ... i approached many and spoke with them 

the idea intrigued me and i did research .... weeks and months of reading ... on rods, spiral wrapped rods and baitcasting reels

thanks to Uncle Thomas of JDArtac ... who advised and made recommendations ... yours truly have a handful of spiral wrapped rods :D

Thomas Lee , Fisher Fango , Kokming Tan, Extreme Anglers and many others build spiral wrap rods on order

Tackletour covered a wee bit with a nice pic

Rod and Reel Pictures has two nice pix  

Thomas Stroker 

Extreme Anglers

  eupro BC blue salty fighter rod (top left) refitted by Extreme Anglers into a spiral wrap

yellow rod (middle) is the Thomas Stroker

black at bottom right is Extreme Angler's ... bought off a friend precisely because it is a spiral wrap

close up of the refitted salty fighter

recent additions ... a 6' 8-17lb made in china Daiwa Strikeforce refitted into a spiral wrap by Kokming

and a Vicious Anglers rod done by a friend who built a bunch of rods for a group of friends as an experiment ... 's right :D

done with Fuji SK2 split seat ... comfy, light

for those who have never seen or are unacquainted ... they initially thought the rod was twisted round lolololol some were reported to have attempted to set the rod right lolololol

why spiral wrap ? why indeed ... with the final third or two thirds of guides aligned as on a spinning rod, there is little to no twist - compared with a conventional casting rod - when one is fighting a strong fish.

conventional rod users share how their hands or wrists are strained when a hardfighting fish is on the line. some claim the resultant repeated torque or torsional force on the upper sections of the rod gradually weaken it, resulting in eventual breakage.

can't really say since i started off with Unc Thomas' spiral wrapped Thomas Stroker .. have yet to use a conventional rod till today 

as for distance, i achieve better distance with a longer rod ... less brakes ... loosened spool tension ... heavier lures or bait .. lighter lines 

can't say i've seen or experienced line slap ... then again my eyes aren't on outgoing line when casting ... 

feels normal when fighting fish ... whether hooked on a cast or bottom fishing 

yes ... i use low profile and round BCs for bottom fishing as well ... i try to set the rod upright on the rod holder to avoid the rod bending against its own backbone should a fish take the line 

a new friend, Daniel, claims there is immediate and significant difference using a spiral wrapped set up ... "memang tak rasa dia punya pressure" - pacu on the spiral wrapped salty fighter with a starion RBC. Daniel also liked how the drag performed on the starion and plans to get a spiral wrap in the near future. 

there are tons of references and sources online that explain the advantages of spiral wrapped rods quite well ... look 'em up and decide for yourself :)

but be warned ... some can be quite technical

cost depends more on materials than workmanship

some rod builders don't charge much to do up a new blank OR to refit a rod 

some re-use existing guides

some may suggest changing the guides as the different positions may necessitate it

cheap blanks or cheap rods + cheaper guides (as long as can handle braid) + standard TCS/ECS reel seats won't set one back much 

buying pre-loved spiral wrapped BC rods is an alternative ... you spend less or you invest less in a 'branded' SpWr rod ;)

tight lines

P.S. primer reading :P

http://www.newenglandkayakfishing.com/index.php/content/articles/99-spiral-wrapped-rods-no-longer-a-skeptic 

http://www.acidrod.com/acidrods.html 

http://www.tackletour.com/reviewmegabassfx71181x4pg3.html 

http://forums.tackletour.com/viewtopic.php?f=57&t=43522 

http://www.rodbuilding.org/library/SpiralWrapDemo.pdf 

http://www.thehulltruth.com/sportfishing-charters-forum/506068-anyone-using-these-spiral-wrap-jigging-rods.html#b