TenkaraBum Traveler

The TenkaraBum Traveler isn't what most people think of when they think of a travel rod. Most think a travel rod is one that packs down to a very short length - something that is extremely easy to pack and fits about anywhere. Rods that pack down to very short lengths are either very stiff (Daiwa Keiryu-X), very delicate (Nissin Pocket Mini) or very expensive (Tenryu TF39TA).

I don't think that's what you really want in a travel rod. My idea of a travel rod is one that is easy enough to pack - for example, fitting into a carry-on bag - but that is so versatile you could use it anywhere. You can pack one rod instead of three.

There have been three-position zoom rods in the US for years, starting with the Suntech Field Master. The best (that wasn't terribly expensive) was the Suntech GM Suikei Keiryu Special.

I have a special feeling for the Keiryu Special. It already had been discontinued when I first learned of it and I was able to import just a handful of them - what turned out to be the very last ones available. I loved the rod, though, as did the few people who were able to buy one.

Luckily, I was able to persuade Suntech to bring it back - and to give me a few years of exclusive rights to it. The Keiryu Special sold well and now has a legion of fans, including Tom Davis of Teton Tenkara, who once wrote that it was his favorite travel rod.

That set off a light bulb!

It truly was a wonderful travel rod - not for its collapsed length but for its versatility. With one rod you could fish about anywhere, from overgrown brookie streams in the Appalachians to the Madison River in Montana.

If this is what you see when you go fishing, steep hillside to the right, sharp drop-off to the left, one lane dirt road with trucks coming the other way, but wild cutthroats in the valley below, the TenkaraBum Traveler is your rod!

The TenkaraBum Traveler series of rods are renamed, rebranded, repainted GM Suikei Keiryu Specials. The rod was too good to change but that name was too much of a mouthful! The new paint matches the graphic design of the TenkaraBum 33, 36 and 40 - solidifying the links between the all of the rods.

And like the TenkaraBum tenkara rods, the Traveler series will be great rods for wets, dries, weighted nymphs and even ultralight worm fishing.

The Traveler rods have the same accents between sections and have the same TENBUM logo as the TenkaraBum tenkara rods.

There are differences, of course. The TenkaraBum 33, 36 and 40 each have a hard EVA foam "tenkara" grip. The Traveler rods have a smooth nonskid "keiryu" grip (technically, they are keiryu rods), which is just a wider section of the blank itself. It is smaller in diameter than a tenkara grip, but it provides unmatched sensitivity.

Like the GM Suikei Keiryu Special 39 and 44, the TenkaraBum Traveler 39 and 44 rods are three position zoom rods, with the 39 giving you the option to fish it at 3.2, 3.6 or 3.9 meter lengths. The  44 can be fished at 3.6, 4.0 and 4.4 meter lengths.

The zooming sections are held very securely when retracted. When either extending or collapsing the zooming sections, it will help immensely to twist them just a little to either fully seat them or to unseat them. The butt ends of the zooming sections slide over O rings on the grip screw cap, and the twist helps to get them on or off the O rings. If the zooming section feels a bit loose when collapsed, it is not fully seated on the O ring. If you do twist the sections to seat or unseat the sections, it is best to do it clockwise. If you twist counterclockwise, it could loosen the grip screw cap.

You can find a lot of comments online from people who do not like zoom rods. They say the rods are too much of a compromise and that single length rods are much more pleasant to fish with. There is some truth in that view - a zoom rod is a compromise (every rod is, really) and a well-designed single length rod can be more pleasant to fish with. However, compare the cost of a three-position zoom rod with the cost of three single length rods, and the convenience of packing and carrying just one rod instead of three. For many people, that swings the balance very strongly in the zoom rod's favor.

Very recently, I had an "Aha! moment." I had always thought of the TenkaraBum Traveler 39 as a 3.9 meter rod that could be fished at shorter lengths when fishing narrower streams, and the Traveler 44 as a 4.4 meter rod that could be shortened. The other day I was doing my final pre-shipping quality check on a Traveler 39 and a Traveler 44 for a customer.

The Aha! moment was the realization that the Traveler 44 isn't really a nice 4.4 meter rod that could be shortened as necessary. While wiggling the rod in my apartment it hit me that the 44 is a truly wonderful 3.6 meter rod that can be lengthened as necessary! Given that 3.6 meters is pretty much the "standard" length for a tenkara rod, the Traveler 44 could easily be your favorite tenkara rod (even though it's really a keiryu rod - shhhh, don't tell anyone).

Wiggling the Traveler 39 was just as eye-opening. The Traveler 39 is a superb 3.2 meter rod for smaller streams that can be fished at 3.6 and 3.9 when on wider streams. I almost want to call it a TenkaraBum Traveler 32++. I won't, but I am tempted! I really am!

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TenkaraBum Traveler 27

If your travels take you to streams that are too narrow for even the shortest (10'6") length of the Traveler 39, please consider the TenkaraBum Traveler 27 - designed specifically to be a small-stream rod.

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