Been using rubber bands for years and it works great. The bottom drop goes on the hook eyelet of the rod and the top drop is hooked to a rubber band and stretched to the nearest guide eye. The plain brown rubber bands dry rot quickly, I buy the advantage brand 'file bands' from Wal Mart they hold up a lot longer, 6 months or so. Also once the hooks are secure I wrap my egg weight around the pole a couple of times to tighten it up so it's not bouncing freely against the rod. I never get tangles and can quickly unwrap or wrap up and easily deploy or stow rods.