Tackle Warehouse has historically been diligent about stocking premium products, including a long list of multi-piece rods ideal for travelers at any budget. That has included sticks from Megabass. Recently they added the Megabass Valkyrie World Expedition travel rods – two spinning rods and six casting rods including several lengths and strengths that are otherwise hard to find in multi-piece tools.

We continue to monitor airline-friendly rods (many of them from outside the U.S.). I won’t put out specific recommendations unless and until I have real-life experience with them, but my knowledge is growing every day as I put them through their paces. In the meantime, here are four notes and finds that may help you in the near term.

As I’ve tirelessly researched the Japanese travel rod market, I’ve continued to unearth new brands and products – some exceptionally purposeful, some decidedly odd.

I’ve already written more than I ever thought possible not only about multi-piece fishing rods, but also about how to get them from Point A to Point Z. Whether you’re backpacking, flying, driving or riding a mule, if you arrive at your fishing destination with broken sticks it can be an absolute disaster. For most of us, a standard, non-descript, one-color tube or case will suffice, but if you like a little bit of style in your carrying mechanism – and you’re willing to spend a few extra dollars – there are higher-end options available.

Part of our collective prejudice against rods with two or more pieces no doubt stems from childhood memories of ferrules that underperformed. If you had one of those old school bargain basement combos, then at some point you likely had one come apart at an inopportune time – either while making a cast or fighting a fish.

If you’re going to the Andamans or Christmas Island or the Galapagos, there’s not a Tackle Warehouse next to your your lodging, and some outfitters require you to bring your own gear. You’ll need more than one rod, too, not just because you might be using varying techniques, but also because otherwise if you break your rod early in the trip you may be out of luck.

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

Multiple manufacturers have developed complete, self-contained kits for fishing on the go. They all contain at least a rod and reel. Some contain a protective case as well. Still others include line, terminal tackle, and/or a few lures. They’re great if you’re going on a business trip and there might be a small lake or river behind your hotel. They’re exceptional if you take long bike rides or hikes and might like to make a few casts along the way.

If your travel rods are an integral part of your life, you can make them a central part of your home or office décor with a custom stand. This reduces the chance that you’ll misplace or damage them. In some cases they also have storage for your corresponding reels and/or some tackle.

Swimbaits require special gear. When it comes to truly big baits, you can’t depend on most lodge/outfitter sticks, nor are they likely to provide the lures themselves. That means you have to come up with strategies to get your stuff to where the bass live. Full-sized rod tubes are an increasingly difficult proposition, and when you’re talking about rods 8 feet or longer, the odds get slimmer, so you need to find alternatives. That may mean three- or four-piece sticks.

Because the travel rods we already own are mostly from mainstream manufacturers, we’ve yet to try or embrace what we’d characterize as “enthusiast” versions. We owe a debt of gratitude for the term “enthusiast” to our friends at the Tackle Tour media empire. Even if they didn’t introduce it, they certainly popularized it in fishing circles.

Now that I’ve caught the bug and gotten over my fears that multi-piece rods would feel subpar, I’ve started to explore additional options. If you look to foreign markets like Japan and Europe and Australia, there are many more models than you can find here – including some at bespoke prices – but for purposes of this piece I’m going to limit it to items that are fairly easy to acquire within the U.S.

If you’re hopping on a commercial air flight, the ideal situation is to bring your rods with you inside the big bird. That decreases the chance that they’ll be lost in transit and also allows you to position them safely. If you have a single rod and a thin-diameter tube, most airlines will let you carry it on without a second look, but as your package gets, well, “girthier,” you might not have it so easy.

I’m going to try, over the next few months, to figure out whether the juice is worth the squeeze on three-, four- and five-piece rods. I’m going to fish around home with nine of them that I’ve acquired and try to give you an honest report on their performance. Maybe I’ll be disappointed, but I might be satisfied enough to integrate them into some of my regular rotation.

I know that the one-piece purists among you will shudder, because I used to be one of you, but I’ve started to come around and I’ve amassed a selection of travel rods, but most of them are pretty generic in terms of action: 6- to 7-foot medium action spinning rods, and 6’6” to 7’6” medium-heavy baitcasters. This is the first one that has a specific purpose, in this case throwing big baits. It might not handle true giants like the Mother Chaser, but it’ll handle anything up to about 4 ounces exceptionally.