I'm always casting other rods. I don't want to say that I've seen them all, but in 40 years I have seen an awful lot of rods. When I get a new rod in my hands that looks nice and feels nice, I have this immediate desire to put a line on it and take it out to the river and see what effect those particular dimensions have on the action. I was willing to buy sight unseen because it's a fine company and the same sort of semi-parabolic action as mine. I always anxious to see how it compares with my own design.
Every rod is a just a little different.
Finally his wife Evie sews a bag for the rod which is then packed into the tube. While Bob fielded a call from a customer, I had another look at various rods, all in their cases in the custom rack that he has designed. Others were his own. Idly, I fiddled with an R.W. Summers rod case with my thumb. Smoothly, with virtually no effort, I was able to loosen and tighten the cap with only light pressure from my thumb.