I snapped the the tip on my St. Croix fishing rod and I need to ship it to them to get it repaired. Where do I get the shipping tubes from?
Fishing Equipment
Broke my St. Croix
I ordered 4 high-end blanks from Janns a few years back,and UPS decided to try and fold them 90 degrees.That was in cardboard tube.They were sent back from a terminal to Janns,and new ones were sent in PVC vacuum pipe.Lighter than Schedule 40 pipe.
I shipped 3 built rods to someone in MN,and used regular PVC(schedule 40).Shipping was very reasonable using Spee-Dee,under 10.00.
If you have a corrugated box plant in your area, stop there and ask them if they will give you a core from one of the paper rolls. The are 4” x 96” and down in length. You can stuff a lot of paper around your rod and then tape up the ends. I used one of these on a Florida trip and even the airlines didn’t break my rods.
Obviously the tip alone can be replaced but the rod would be that much shorter. If it is a 3 piece rod then you only need to send the top, call them first to make sure. If it is one piece then you need a long enough tube.
You can find tubes at Office Depot or Office Max, The Shipping Store, UPS or Fed Ex should have them. They understand that not everything goes in a box. Go to any place they sell marine antennas, they usually come in tubes and the big antennas are 8 feet long. Bass Pro, Cabelas, West Marine, Boat US should have them. Often times they hold on to the tubes. I worked at Gander Mountain and we saved the tubes for rod shipping. Gander Outdoors may have them.
I just did a search on google "where can I find round shipping tubes". Try https://www.grainger.com. https://www.uline.com/Shipping-Tubes. https://www.staples.com/Mailing-Tubes/cat_CL141868. https://www.uhaul.com/MovingSupplies/Shipping-Boxes. https://www.ups.com/.../packaging-and-supplies/supplies-forms/boxes-and-tubes.page
Isnt the information superhighway wonderful?
I live fairly close to Park Falls, WI where St. Croix is located. I took my rod with a broken tip up there. They told me that I a new tip wouldn't fit and that I would have to buy a new rod. They did give me a good enough deal so I did that. When I left they told me I had to leave the old rod there which I did not do. Turns out that the tips were interchangeable, so they lied. No more dealing with them for me.
If I were you, I'd get it fixed locally. A rod maker will likely take a new blank and make a new tip section.
Not trying to talk you out of a new rod (because that is what they will send you), but you might consider putting on a new tip yourself depending on how bad your "oops" was. I know this sounds like blasphemy to some folk. The factory store has garbage cans full of rods that are missing from 1.5 -3 inches of tip missing, that they sell at a greatly reduced price. I know this because I own a few. The store fixes a new tip on the damaged rod and puts it out in a bin to re-sell. To answer your question, I'd recommend getting a length of the thin PVC pipe from a store that sells the central vac systems that are tucked in your walls. They are sturdy and weigh far less than a carpet tube. I also make some of my own rods and the 7 foot ,one piece blanks always come shipped in these light weight tubes with chunks of foam taped in the ends.