HT 5 and rod design and development

[Viking Lars]

Paul,
Here's a question. I know first hand the amount of prototypes you've gone through on nsome of the rods. Even though we're Worlds apart (literally), I think I've handled 3 (at least two) of the 4-wt prototypes on the occassions we've met whem you were developing this rod.

Your FP today on the 5-wt made me consider something. At some point, as you say, you pull the pin and press the green production button. But once you decide that a prototype in "the one", have you ever taken it further, almost in a deliberate effort to make something that's less good, to be certain that "the one" is "the one"? Is seem to remember that the 4-wt isn't the last of the prototypes, but in fact one of the previous ones.

Or do you just sometimes know that this it it, stop there and press the button?

Lars

[Paul Arden]

Yep the 763 went the other way and I went with an earlier version. That’s where I think I might be with the 5. It hasn’t always gone forwards up to this point either. The 4 went backwards almost to the point of giving up. Usually the last steps are trying to damp the tip. That’s where the 5 is now.

It’s also fair to say that the 5 has been a complete reboot. So while we are way up in the number of 5WT blanks I’ve had, none of them have been like this one. So tweaking it might be interesting. I’m thinking about slightly stiffening the section above the butt section FWIW. That’s what we did with the HT6 to get where we did. However when we did that with the 763 it was a step too far and it delayed production by about 2 years

Cheers, Paul

[Viking Lars]

I remember the 763 when it was a poker .