Century has worked at the leading edge of rod design technology and holds the official records for the World’s longest casts in 125, 150 and 175 gram categories. All over 300 yards. This is important because it is only by exploring the very extremes of composite technology that really useful benefits can be incorporated in our mainstream rods. We have learnt both in combination with our tournament work and field testing that there are ways of making rods decidedly better.

One such way is to improve one of the most important stages in the building of a rod blank – the cure process. Traditionally rods are built by using platen presses, rolling carbon fibre patterns pre-impregnated with resin around a mandrel. Pressure is applied during this stage and secondly via a tape that is spirally wound around the part. Typically a pressure of up to 400 psi can be achieved at this tape stage, however much of this pressure is lost during a cure in an oven. At the end of the cycle - it can be as low as 20psi, as the tape inevitably loses tension during the cure cycle. There are other factors that are important: just when the epoxy resin matrix needs maximum pressure - the tape is relaxing. We have developed a special technique that uses an autoclave to cure the rod and this delivers control over both temperature and pressure independently during the cure process. The autoclave is a large cylindrical vessel that is pressurised with compressed air or nitrogen and heated to closely held tolerances. The whole process is computer controlled to produce the best results from the carbon fibre and special resin matrix combination.

The air trapped in the wall of an autoclave-cured rod is reabsorbed back into solution in the resin. The science behind this is explained by Henry's Law. Henry's law is one of the gas laws, formulated by William Henry. It states that, at a constant temperature, the amount of a given gas dissolved in a given type and volume of liquid (resin matrix) is directly proportional to the partial pressure of that gas in equilibrium with that liquid. Autoclaving a rod blank results in a near void free wall and the rod will retain its original action much longer. You have probably heard of rods going soft after a couple of years use or earlier in some cases - where the standard oven curing process is used.

• The rod will withstand the rigours of hard fighting fish and long range casts better as a result of an autoclave cure cycle. The composite structure is denser and stronger.
• The feel of the rod is crisper and inevitably for the same amount of carbon fibre used in an oven-cured rod – it is slimmer. The carbon has been compacted down under enormous pressure during the cure process.
• The resin content of the rod can be precisely controlled beyond the pre-impregnation stage - to produce the perfect optimum. This reduces weight and improves the performance.

You simply couldn’t get a modern leading Formula I team or an aerospace company to truly consider a structural carbon composite unless it had been autoclaved. You might hear folk talk about the latest “aerospace carbon fibre” but that’s only half the story unless it’s properly processed. We all use the same fuel in our cars but some go a lot faster than others do!

The benefits this system brings to you - the owner of a Century rod built using this new process are remarkable and to the best of our knowledge unique in fishing rods. All this pioneering work has been proven and validated and as our consultants are the most demanding and critical, we know you will enjoy the quantum leap forward in rod technology. Our rods subject to this process are marked "Autoclave Technology"