4pc or 2 pc rod?

[evergrnstatefly]

I am looking for some advice on choosing a rod.
I am not sure if a 4 pc rod is any better or worse than its 2 piece counterpart.
I am looking mainly at the TFO rods....size is not really the option....looking at 9 wts....
my worries are just of the chances of twisting, or coming apart while casting on the 4 piece rods, versus 2 piece rods..
that is my main concern....
any thoughts would be great!
THank you.

[Pauper Piscator]

Well...

If the Rod is going on airplanes, mortorcycles, or a porshe trunk, go 4.

For Casting "grooviness" and simplicity, I like 2. More solid feel and smoother action IMO.

If you get a 2, Get one of those Rod/rell combo cases. (A double case is nice too). Leave the rod strung up when you put it in the case. Whip it out, put together and shazaam, you are fishing while your 4 piece buddes are still screwing on their reels.

[AlderBrookFarm]

I have several rods, 2pcr's, 3pcr's and 4pcr's. I've never had one come apart on me yet while casting or fishing. The smaller pieces are definitely easier to transport if you're thinking of travel, and with airlines like they are nowadays you never know if you can carry on or not so they may not be as much of an advantage as they used to be for those reasons. 2pc rods usually perform a little nicer having more spine. The rod/reel combo case is a plus. If you get a 4 pc rod you can still use the big rod/reel case, but just break it down into two pieces so you can still rig up as fast as the guys with the 2pcrs. The only problem I have leaving them rigged is that I frequenty change reels depending on the line I want, ie. floating, int, or sink, and where we are gong fishing so I really haven't saved anything in the long run by leaveing it rigged. Course I guess I could solve that problem by buying a multi tipped line. See if you can't fish the rod or at least cast several different ones, then make up your mind.

[Quicksilver]

I own two 4 piece TFO flyrods. Never had the problem you mention. I hope you get a chance to test cast them first, so you can feel them both. I would go with the 4 piece.

[seastrike16cc]

How about breakage ?
Have any of you notice that the 3 and 4 pce rods seem to be much more fragile than 2 pce rods?

[evergrnstatefly]

Thanks everyone for your insight...
I am still up in the air as to my decision....as well as the fact, that TFO only makes their upper end rods..in 4 and 6 piece rods.
I am still researching....
as seastrike asked..has anyone had bad luck with 4 pc rods being more prone to breakage?

[PeteV]

Here's my rundown.

for flyrods, I own:
2 piece (Sage)
3 piece (Winston & Sage),
4 piece (Loomis),
5 piece (Winston)
7 piece (had a Hardy smuggler once)
and about to buy a 1 piece Loomis Pro V-1 for the boat.

I've noticed all the rods perfom nicely regardless of number of pieces & they are all pretty sturdy at the ferrules ...I believe more sections distributes pressure on the rod better than fewer sections.

I think the issue is about convenience and I think your problem breaks down a little different than 2 piece vs. 4 piece but rather odd vs. even pieces ...
Even pieces allow the rod to be broken down into sections that are even in length. so if your rod is rigged up and you want to move to a new spot you can easily break it into two even pieces and stick it in the trunk (even a 4 piece you can just break into 2 pieces). but if you wanted to do that with a 3 piece you would have 1 long section and 1 short section which makes putting it into the trunk tougher (the line seems to get tangled easier too).

From a traveling and storage perspective the smaller the rod breaks down the easier it is to travel and store.

right now,

the 1 piece will stay on the boat,
2 piece rods travel well in the car
3 piece rods I travel with but are still awkward
4 piece travel nicely (can carefully fit in my travel bag with effort)
5 piece easily fits in travel bag
7 piece fits in briefcase

If I had to pick I'd take the 4 piece.

[Quicksilver]

I am with PeteV at least 100%! Evergrnstatefly- I don't know whether you are looking for a fresh or saltwater rod. TFO recently changed the designation for their rods, but I think the saltwater rods are mostly or all 4 piece. I have experienced absolutely no problem with TFO rods breaking.