The Rolls-Royce in the World of rod pods.

I now have a new and exciting association with a fantastic Italian company called Meccanica Vadese, who are located in Fossombrone. They make handcrafted rod pods of the highest quality – you might even say they are the Rolls-Royce of Rod Pods!! They currently produce three models in their range: Nick’ 95, Tech-Nick’ 95, and the Evolution. A broad range of colours are available and whichever model and colour option you choose, you can be guaranteed of one thing – you will have a superb rod pod to last a lifetime.

A sign of quality and craftmanship.

Why choose a rod pod over banksticks?

A rod pod has several advantages over banksticks. They are very quick to move as a unit. You can position them over hard rock and in deep water. The vertical angle of the rod tips can be changed at the touch of a lever, and, with a Meccanica Vadese rod pod the rods can also be turned through a horizontal angle of 360 degrees without having to move the actual pod.

I still use banksticks occasionally when the terrain and swim dictates; however, a rod pod is my tool of choice on most public lakes and rivers, and I have now changed to a Meccanica Vadese pod after two years on the road because they offer more advantages compared to the competition, and ‘in my eyes’ you get a better finished product.

My rod pod of choice.

What are the advantages of buying a Meccanica Vadese rod pod?

Buying a rod pod can be an expensive purchase and you should think carefully about which company you buy from. What do you need from your rod pod and how often will you use it? How long do you want your pod to last?

Meccanica Vadese rod pods are hand-built and come from a company who originally started making guns. Guns are a precision made instrument which demand a high degree of engineering skill, and the latest in machinery. The rod pods are made with the same care and attention to detail.

Superbly finished and easy to assemble and operate.

There are no welds or joins on a Meccanica Vadese rod pod which means nothing can crack, break or snap. The whole pod is assembled by hand and you are supplied with two allen keys to keep everything in place and for any adjustments you may wish to make. All the height, angle, and length adjustments are made by hand using the strong turning levers. Nothing needs to be over tightened because all of the fittings are engineered to such a high level and use strong non-wearing teflon for the important extra grip where needed.

A folding buzzer bar, which eliminates twisting, is available for three or four rods.

There is no painting involved with a Meccanica Vadese rod pod as all the finishes are done by a unique acid treatment of the materials used. The camouflage models even adopt a very special layering process. The camouflage option is not recommended for people who abuse their equipment as the finish is rather delicate; however, if like me, you look after your equipment, then the finish should last as long as the pod itself!

As well as being vertically adjustable there is also the ability to rotate the pod through 360 degrees horizontally.

I can rotate my pod horizontally through 360 degrees which makes moving the angle of my rods ultra quick and means I no longer have to move the whole rod pod. Undo a lever, rotate to the required angle, tighten the lever – job done.

The threaded barrels which accommodate alarms and rod rests can be individually turned and tightened.

I personally don’t like using O rings to line up my alarms and back rests so another advantage from using a Meccanica Vadese rod pod is each threaded barrel can be rotated and individually tightened afterwards meaning you can get everything as tight as you like.

Four fully adjustable legs for extra stability; 0.5 - 1.5m height adjustment.

Was does a Meccanica Vadese rod pod weigh?

Nick’ 95 9kg

Tech-Nick’ 95 5kg

Evolution 6kg

Bruno, Daniele and Marco from Meccanica Vadese.

For more information and full contact details go to the Meccanica Vadese website at www.meccanicavadese.it