Daiwa Ballistic Rods

[ZB85]

These rods are on sale right now at TW and I'm thinking about getting one.  Does anyone have any experience with these rods or know if they are any good?  The one I'm thinking about getting is the 7'6"H flippin rod which is $130 normal price on sale for $55.

[NEjitterbugger]

I'm more interested in the T3 Ballistic reel for $125!

[ZB85]

I'm more interested in the T3 Ballistic reel for $125!

Haha, I'm in the market for a rod though.

[NEjitterbugger]

I was looking at the ballistic rods earlier, they look solid for sure! I don't have any experience with the rod though...

[Montanaro]

id rather have a lexa.than ballistic. the cielo rods are like 40% off

[smalljaw67]

The price they are at now is a good deal, they are decent but a  lot of Daiwa fans were disappointed, looking for a little better but it is worth the sale price for sure.

[Loop_Dad]

The price they are at now is a good deal, they are decent but a  lot of Daiwa fans were disappointed, looking for a little better but it is worth the sale price for sure.

 

What were the complaints from Daiwa fans?

[Gaerith]

I have the 6'9" MH BC rod. It's no way near as sensitive as my other rods (*** and Fenwick Elite Tech), so I don't think it's ideal for bottom contacts. Would make a decent spinner or frog rod, though.

That being said it's well built...I was fishing with it in my kayak and wasn't paying attention to where I was going while snagged and ran right into a tree. That rod bent at like a 90 degree angle and didn't snap or anything. I was really surprised, thought it was about to snap for sure.

Initially I had bought it instead of spending the extra to get an ***, hoping to save a few bucks. Kind of regret trying to be cheap, but I guess I can use it for frogs instead.

[bass1980]

I haven't used them but even a Daiwa rep I know said they are heavy and he recommended the Cielo over the Ballistic. This was at full retail though. At $50 I would think its a good deal. Thinking about getting a spinnerbaits model just because I don't want to spend a lot of money on a reactions rod for spinnerbaits.

[Ima Bass Ninja]

I have the 7'2 mh crankbaits model that I use for deep crank baits. Awesome rod for me. I love it. Have seriously considered getting rid of my vendettas and replace with these.

[craww]

The blanks are really big for their respective powers. The MH fast action is the diameter of a H glass rod. This is by no means indicative of performance but it was enough to keep me from buying one. Diawa has made some really nice under the radar rods over the years and have several new options that look promising for under $100.I

[Fishwhittler]

I have two, a 7'11" cranking rod and a 7'2" spinner.  I don't use the spinning rod much since I prefer baitcast gear, but it's a decent rod.  I don't have any other spinning rods to compare it with.  The cranker is my trap rod and also sees some use with lipped cranks, and it does a very good job casting cranks a long way (at 7'11" long, it had better cast well  ).

 

Build quality is good.  There was some epoxy on one of the guides on the cranker, but nothing serious.  The only component on the rods that I dislike is the hook keeper.  It's flimsy and feels cheap, and even though it folds it's not any smaller or more streamlined than a non-folding keeper.

 

Otherwise I have no complaints.  The cranking rod is tip-heavy, but it's a cranking rod so that's not even an issue.  For the sale price the Ballistic is a really great deal.

 

Edit:  My rods seem to be fairly normally sized for their power ratings.  Neither one is particularly thick or thin.