Anybody see these yet? I think they look pretty neat, but can they really be THAT much stronger than standard rods? Thoughts?

http://www.coltrods.com/

My Grandfather had an old telescoping fly rod that was hex shaped, there might be something to that. Their promotional material answered a lot of the questions that came to mind, but I'm not totally sold on all their answers. This is interesting. I'll ask around with some other rod builders to see If I can gather any input.

The idea has been around for quite a while. There used to a company making rods just like this; graphite formed the way the bamboo rod makers used to make fly rods, six sided, hexagonal shaped graphite rods. I think it was hexagraph, but don't quote me on that.

I was intrigued by the concept, but never pulled the trigger on one. They were quite expensive.

According to Tom Kirkman, a highly regarded figure in rod building, most of the claims are fluff. Tubular construction is the strongest/weight design. The hex shape offers some strength advantages, but the price is added weight, lower sensitivity and slower recovery.

Sharp edges cause a stress riser that is why the renforcement was added in the center, of course maybe also adding to the weight. Anything with a radius will have increased strength due to reduction of stress points. In the manufacture of shafts all corners will have some type of raduis to reduce the possibility of a stress riser.

The reason bamboo works in quadrate, pentagonal, or hexagonal configuration has more to do with the node strength of the raw material. Transferring that to other fiber is nearly impossible to duplicate. I've seen prototypes for the hex rods before and found them to be unappealing for their weight more than any other thing. In order to make the weight reasonable, you're likely to have the rod be more brittle than it's traditional counterpart. The other thing they claim is an increase in sensitivity, that's pure bunk from their own explanation. If you think of a helix construction, every joint in that helix is meeting with another overlay. Transmission along and across the fiber isn't slowed by comparison. Because of the tension, you would actually expect faster transmission of the signal on a helical axis versus that of a straight, or single, axis.

The idea has been around for quite a while. There used to a company making rods just like this; graphite formed the way the bamboo rod makers used to make fly rods, six sided, hexagonal shaped graphite rods. I think it was hexagraph, but don't quote me on that.

I was intrigued by the concept, but never pulled the trigger on one. They were quite expensive.

They were very expensive and heavy. You are right though, it was Hexagraph. Seems to me the guys that bought them raved about them. Then again, they may have been trying to rationalize spending $800-1000 for a rod. I never touched one first hand.