I've always believed that once you've "signed on" for bamboo rods, you've confessed that you are a "tinkerer" at heart to one degree or another. Thus, the maintenance factor of varnished versus impregnated is not really an issue. I have five varnished rods and three impregnated rods (and God knows how many plastic from my "dark" period), and I fuss with them all both during the season and after. As Rolf said, It's how they perform rather than how they are made that determines their relative value.

EP