With our recent deep dive into multi-piece rods, we’ve highlighted those we own, as well as some from overseas (notably here and here), along with rods for specific purposes like swimbaits. Nevertheless, we still haven’t exhausted every company who makes them.

In fact, while I don’t meet many U.S. anglers who heavily rely on travel rods, there are a surprising number of U.S. brands which make and sell three- and four-piece rods suitable for placing in your luggage or carrying onto an airplane.

We’re using the term “U.S. Brands” loosely here. All of these rods come under the umbrella of U.S. companies, but some portion of their components or construction may be traced overseas. If this is important to you, check further into their provenance.

Here are seven, in alphabetical order:

Denali

Denali is based in northwest Arkansas, in the backyard of several of the major bass boat companies and quite a few top pros use them on the major bass tours for a variety of specialized techniques. They only have one rod in their travel series – a 7’2” medium-heavy three-piece, which comes with a branded carrying case, but it’s a bargain worth snatching up while they last. They’re currently marked down from $179.99 to the bargain price of $90.

Fenwick

Fenwick has long been a leader in this space – I’ve heard several people rave about their discontinued Methods series, which came with two mid sections and two tip sections to provide four possible different configurations. Despite that loss, they still retain other multi-piece rods at a variety of price points. The HMG spinning and casting rods, which are each only available in one model, do come with two tip sections, though, for $119.95. There are five different Eagle spinning rods for $69.95 to $89.95.

Flying Fisherman

This Islamorada-based company may be best known for their polarized sunglasses and sun-protective apparel, but true to their name they offer rods very suitable for anglers getting ready to board an airplane. The lineup includes three sets (light, medium, heavy) of dual use fly/spin combos which come in a heavily padded 31-inch case. You can also get just a spinning rod, just the fly rod, or just the case.

Phenix

I’ve known of the popular west coast brand Phenix for over 25 years, but I didn’t really fish with them much until late last year, when I really enjoyed testing a couple of their Maxim rods for Outdoor Life magazine. That led me to investigate their travel options, and they’re remarkably robust. Their Redeye series includes eight saltwater rods (six casting, two spinning) and three trout spinning rods in 6’, 7’ and 8’ lengths (the first two are three pieces, the last one is four pieces). The freshwater Redeyes, which would likely serve many of my purposes, are all three pieces – they include five casting models in a range of actions (up to XH for 4 ounce lures) and two spinning rods, at a price of $299 to $369. The blanks are also available by themselves for $149 to $169.

Santiam

I’d never heard of Oregon-based Santiam until Google sent me their way, but their website is loaded with multi-piece rods. Of course, many are aimed at species like salmon and steelhead that not all of us fish for, but there are enough universal actions that would apply to almost any species, plus a variety of surf rods – for those of you headed to far-flung places like Baja to fish for roosters off the beach.

St. Croix

Wisconsin’s St. Croix has long provided top-quality rods at a variety of prices, with long-running series like Avid, Premier and Mojo providing anglers with variety and familiarity. I use several of them at home and have used them extensively at Anglers Inn properties in Mexico and have been very pleased with the ones I’ve tried. A deep dive into their catalog shows a variety of travel rods, including the new-for-2020 Triumph Travel lineup – which includes one casting rod, five spinning rods, and two surf rods. At ICAST this year they introduced the Avid Trek Series in six different spinning configurations for $260-290.

Temple Fork Outfitters

Dallas-based Temple Fork consulted with TV show host Larry Dahlberg on a series of rods, all of which are 7’ long and comprised of three pieces. There are two casting versions and five spinning models, all of which come with rod socks and a hard rod tube.

While we’ve used several of these brands before, some of them extensively, we haven’t yet tested their travel models, so nothing here is meant to be an endorsement of any particular rod. Nevertheless, after our at-times heavy emphasis on JDM gear, several of you have asked for info on offerings from U.S.-based rod companies, as well as for rods that might be easier to find domestically. It also goes to show that if there’s a brand you already like, they may have a travel option buried in the catalog. That should give you the confidence to try one of them out.

An increasing number of travel rods are available through Tackle Warehouse.