Yeah Jim your right. The case weight is more than the rod. I saw a post here a year or so ago about using a plastic tube for a holder. It's a flouresent light cover you can get at Home depot etc. You can cut it to the length you need. It comes with plastic ends. I put a piece of foam in one of em and glued it to the bottom. I did the same with the top and glued a small piece of mason line so I wouldn't loose the cap. I straped it to my pack and after catching it on a few overhanging limbs. It saved my rod from getting destroyed.