About a year ago I bought some silicone line holders to try out -- because I had nothing else to do. I've been using them for a while, and I thought I ought to write up a little review. So here we go...
These line holders are, as mentioned, made from silicone rubber. It seems that everything nowadays is made from silicone -- from spatulas to wedding rings. I bought these line holders because I was intrigued by their initial design and appearance, and I wanted to see how they would work for tenkara and keiryu fishing.
Here's some of the positives: they are inexpensive. You can get 4 for $10 bucks. They are thin enough to be useful and not too bulky to fit in your pocket. They are just as thin as "regular" spools, and thinner than some. They also have a cool feature of a flap that covers the line -- no more snags! They have little slits precut around the rim that allow the line to grab for easy winding. They self-heal when you stick your fly into them.
The negatives? The "stand" is way too large (at 1.4 cm diameter) to attach to tenkara rods, at least to the rod blank. It will attach to the handle of some of the thinner handled ones. The "stand" fits great on seiryu and keiryu rods, however. The hole in the center of the spool is small, but because the silicone is stretchy the spool can be pressed over the end of the rod. Also, since the center hole is small its harder to hold the spool while winding on the line. I hold the flap; that works well enough.
I don't think these spools will replace my spool cards, but they are pretty nice. One thing that I have found that is really nice about them, is for storage of emergency cordage. I have one of these spools loaded with Dyneema micro-cord in each of my vehicles, and I carry one in my pack when in the back country. Dyneema is extremely strong for its diameter and can be used for all sorts of emergencies that require cordage. It's a very compact package that stores enough cordage that make a castle!
Anyway, that's some of my thoughts on these little silicone spools. If you want to try them you can get them from Amazon or from Brent at Dragontail Tenkara -- at least I think I remember seeing some at his shop when I was there recently.
Cheers, and let me know if you have any of these and how you like them.
Coming up: review of the TUSA Hane II and a rod from AllFishingBuy. Also, more fishing outings.
These line holders are, as mentioned, made from silicone rubber. It seems that everything nowadays is made from silicone -- from spatulas to wedding rings. I bought these line holders because I was intrigued by their initial design and appearance, and I wanted to see how they would work for tenkara and keiryu fishing.
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| Not my wording. It comes from the Amazon ad. |
Here's some of the positives: they are inexpensive. You can get 4 for $10 bucks. They are thin enough to be useful and not too bulky to fit in your pocket. They are just as thin as "regular" spools, and thinner than some. They also have a cool feature of a flap that covers the line -- no more snags! They have little slits precut around the rim that allow the line to grab for easy winding. They self-heal when you stick your fly into them.
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| Fits fine on the the TUSA Rhodo. |
The negatives? The "stand" is way too large (at 1.4 cm diameter) to attach to tenkara rods, at least to the rod blank. It will attach to the handle of some of the thinner handled ones. The "stand" fits great on seiryu and keiryu rods, however. The hole in the center of the spool is small, but because the silicone is stretchy the spool can be pressed over the end of the rod. Also, since the center hole is small its harder to hold the spool while winding on the line. I hold the flap; that works well enough.
 |
| Fits over the tip of a Nissin ProSpec. |
I don't think these spools will replace my spool cards, but they are pretty nice. One thing that I have found that is really nice about them, is for storage of emergency cordage. I have one of these spools loaded with Dyneema micro-cord in each of my vehicles, and I carry one in my pack when in the back country. Dyneema is extremely strong for its diameter and can be used for all sorts of emergencies that require cordage. It's a very compact package that stores enough cordage that make a castle!
Anyway, that's some of my thoughts on these little silicone spools. If you want to try them you can get them from Amazon or from Brent at Dragontail Tenkara -- at least I think I remember seeing some at his shop when I was there recently.
Cheers, and let me know if you have any of these and how you like them.
Coming up: review of the TUSA Hane II and a rod from AllFishingBuy. Also, more fishing outings.
Hi Tom, Thank you very much for the heads up on this item. In the rod grip mode, you could figure-8 the line between two of them on the rod butt section. I use a couple of buttons and rubber bands to do the same thing. But, of course, they are not the more popular silicone devices....Karl.
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