First of all, I hate the idea of a 2 piece rod but packing for a beach trip one would be much more convenient. I can’t really pack a 10-12’ one-piece rod or store it in a condo very easily. Any of you salt water guys know of a decent one to buy?

You could take one of your one piece rods and purchase a rod ferrule kit for it. A buddy of mine built rods for years and did this for anglers that traveled.

There are quite a few really good 2 piece surf rods out there. They are all the 70/30 split (70% of the blank is one piece and is the top section). St Croix and Temple Fork Outfitters are two great ones that I have personal experience with.

I like both rod makers, I'll check into them.

Nothing wrong with a 9-12’ ugly stick for surf casting. Fairly cheap and will handle most any surf fish just fine.

All mine are 2 piece Penn

I’ve got some 2 piece Toadfish inshore rods that I like and a couple Star Stellar Lite 9’and 10’ surf rods that I like.

I have a couple of 12 foot Offshore Angler power rods that are two piece. They have been perfectly fine for me paired up with a couple of Penn Battle reels. I've never liked the idea of two piece rods either and have never had a two piece bass rod. But it's kind of tough hauling 12 or 13 foot surf rods around that aren't 2 piece. Anyway these rods connect very securely, feel rock solid, and do not move at all until you intentionally break them down. In fact if I had a complain it would be that breaking them back apart can cause you to bulge a rhoid with the effort to do so. But I would rather that be the case than have top piece flying off on a cast or rotating out of alignment with the eyes of the lower half.

I just bought my son a 10ft H2o for $29. I have no idea if its worth a crap but its not much of a gamble. He said he thought it should work well, felt a bit light to me.

If you could find an old kencor youd be in business..bad to the bone…if you find one today tho…datgum they high