St Croix ScII rods vs SCIII rods

[SuckAtPhishing]

I am looking at getting a new line of rods and I like both the St. Croix Bass X and St Croix Mojo. Is there a real big jump from an scII bass x and scIII mojo, not a lot of info about the bass x?  Had a chance to hold one at a local fishing shop and I was impressed on the balance and weight.  I have fished mojo's before(last summer), not my own, but wasn't crazy impressed with it.  If anyone has any info about any of this let me know.  I am kind of torn to which one. Also any other options someone would go with in the same price range and quality like St. Croix?  

 

Thanks.

Taylor

[jimf]

I own two Mojo's, one of which is made with the scII blank and one made with the III.   It's a little hard to compare because they are completely different tapers, but I personally think the current Mojo is a jump worthy of the price.   It's the same modulus as used in the pricier Avid.  

 

When you say you fished the Mojo's and weren't overly impressed, which blank?   

 

Other options?  Sure, no doubt about it.   But for me, and this is purely personal, St. Croix has won me over.  My entire lineup is essentially St. Croix, from the Panfish ultralight to the Tournament Legend Bass I just bought today.  If you decide to go with the Mojo, I don't think you will regret it.

 

[PatrickKnight]

Even though the blank is the same base material comparing the two side by side there is no comparison of the new Mojo to the Avid. That being said the 30 extra is worth it when it comparing the Bass X to the Mojo.

 

IMO St. Croix got their amazing rep with customer service and the Avid line.

[dsqui]

Buy a dobyns fury ull be better off...$109 and backed by lifetime warranty 

[A-Jay]

Big St Croix fan myself ~ I fish & enjoy a few rods from several lines.

While in a local tackle shop the other day, I was able to check out the Avid X line.  First time I've seen these in person.

Nice subtle build, decent components and it just felt 'right'. (I've always liked a nice cork split grip too).

The price point fits in between the Mojo Bass & the LTB line. (which is by far my favorite)

These are also SCIII blanks and one I'd seriously consider owning. 

 

http://stcroixrods.com/products/freshwater/avid-x

 

A-Jay

 

[Scrapiron]

I've got a Mojo SCII and a couple of SCIII as well as an Avid. 

 

The Avid is worth the extra $- it just feels/fishes that much better. I can tell a little bit of difference between the SCII and SCIII on the Mojos. Would I spend more to get the SCIII? Yes. My father-in-law has a couple of Tidemasters (SCII) and I would say they feel/fish better than my Mojos (they are more $).

 

Looking back I'd rather have saved up to get to Avid level instead of the Mojos- but the Mojos have caught fish and I've had fun, so there's that.

[lmbfisherman]

I'd get the Avid, I use to be all St. Croix...and if I was doing it all over again, the Avid line would be my foundation rods (moving baits, bladed baits, top water etc.) and the Extreme/Elite lines would be my bottom contact.  I don't like the previous nor the current Mojo line.  To be fair though I have only held the current Mojo line and never fished them.  Only have experience with the previous version and I found them subpar to other rods in the range.  Of course this is all my opinion and experience. 

[jimf]

22 minutes ago, Scrapiron said:

I've got a Mojo SCII and a couple of SCIII as well as an Avid. 

 

The Avid is worth the extra $- it just feels/fishes that much better. I can tell a little bit of difference between the SCII and SCIII on the Mojos. Would I spend more to get the SCIII? Yes. My father-in-law has a couple of Tidemasters (SCII) and I would say they feel/fish better than my Mojos (they are more $).

 

Looking back I'd rather have saved up to get to Avid level instead of the Mojos- but the Mojos have caught fish and I've had fun, so there's that.

I agree with everything you said.  I've have enough rods to cover the situations I come up with, so now when I get a rod it's to replace or upgrade something, and because of that I would much rather wait and save until I had the money for an Avid (well actually now I think I've just raised the bar to the Tournament Legend but same idea).   

 

But having said all of that, really the differences between the rods we are talking about are pretty subtle, and everyone has their budgets.   When you get right down to it, the rods being discussed at the 100-140 price point are all pretty nice fishin' sticks.

 

 

[Dwight Hottle]

As a long time St Croix user & fan I have always held the line that the Avid rods (SClll) are the base of their quality products. Any lines below that level are offered only as a price competition to the rest of the market. 

[lmbfisherman]

7 minutes ago, Dwight Hottle said:

As a long time St Croix user & fan I have always held the line that the Avid rods (SClll) are the base of their quality products. Any lines below that level are offered only as a price competition to the rest of the market. 

You said it better than I.  More to the point. 

[SuckAtPhishing]

12 minutes ago, Dwight Hottle said:

As a long time St Croix user & fan I have always held the line that the Avid rods (SClll) are the base of their quality products. Any lines below that level are offered only as a price competition to the rest of the market. 

I think for the price jump, are they the same blanks?  I am talking about the new mojo blanks to the avid x blanks.  what is the 70 dollar jump?

[ww2farmer]

When I fished St Croix rods, I always felt the biggest jump in "feel" and performance was between the SCII and SCIII rods. 

 

The jump from SCIII to SCIV was not as noticable, I have never owned an SCV.

 

To me the "sweet spot" is the SCIII, combining price and performance, and if/when I get another St Croix, from past exp., I will just go with rods with the SCIII blank.

 

The new Mojo's with the SCIII blank are on my short list of rods to buy, as I liked the SCII blanked Mojo rods, and figure these new ones could/should be bit better. The new Mojo's are everything I wanted the discontinued Rage line of rods to be....which I had a few of, and was not a fan of a few of the things they did with that series. They lost me as a customer for Legend Tournament Bass rods a few years ago when they went away from the gen 2 LTB's to the current offering as I hate the reel seats they now put on these rods. Besides that, I had a 1/2 dozen gen 1 and gen 2 LTB's, and never saw, (other than looks) or felt they were better performing than less expensive Avid's I had.

[Hulkster]

Quote

When I fished St Croix rods, I always felt the biggest jump in "feel" and performance was between the SCII and SCIII rods.

 Agreed. I own both a Premier and an Avid and the difference is substantial. SCIII is the way to go

[Poolshark]

The new sc111 mojo is a good rod. I own a couple legend tournaments and many from the avid/new mojo lines and they are all good rods. i will always be partial to the avid line of rods because of the clean build but I also want some technique specific stuff that the LTB and new mojo series offer. 

With that said I use all of them side by side for different things and they are perform well. 

I recently wanted some rods for flipping, pitching  and frog fishing and I settled in on the sc111 mojo bass series for all of them. I couldn't be happier that I did. Well balanced, quality build, comfortable handles and cost efficient. 

The newer sc111 mojo bass is leaps and bounds better than the old version and to me is worth a few extra dollars. 

 

[jimf]

Difference betw

47 minutes ago, SuckAtPhishing said:

I think for the price jump, are they the same blanks?  I am talking about the new mojo blanks to the avid x blanks.  what is the 70 dollar jump?

 

The biggest functional difference are the guides.  Avid X's use micro guides, and I think there is 1-2 more guides on the Avid line than the Mojo.   Cork is higher quality on the Avid, it looks to me like the guide wraps are different.   And of course the warranty - 5 vs 15 years.  I think aesthetically the Avid's look nicer.  

 

Is that worth $70?   I don't know, to me it is but I could see the other side too.   

[Dwight Hottle]

1 hour ago, SuckAtPhishing said:

I think for the price jump, are they the same blanks?  I am talking about the new mojo blanks to the avid x blanks.  what is the 70 dollar jump?

 

Don't be afraid to pick up the phone & call St Croix. They will give you an answer regarding the differences. I have called them numerous times to get an explanation to my questions. 

[lmbfisherman]

1 hour ago, SuckAtPhishing said:

I think for the price jump, are they the same blanks?  I am talking about the new mojo blanks to the avid x blanks.  what is the 70 dollar jump?

I think one of the major reasons is better quality material and build of the Avid line, plus the Avid was always made in the US.  The Mojo I believe is made in Mexico.  FYI just because they are the same blanks it doesn't mean they perform the same.  It's all about how they build them and other materials.  I'm no expert but that is what I understand.  All manufacturers do it, when they upgrade they will "market" the next level blanks but the build doesn't make them apples to apples.

[Poolshark]

23 minutes ago, lmbfisherman said:

I think one of the major reasons is better quality material and build of the Avid line, plus the Avid was always made in the US.  The Mojo I believe is made in Mexico.  FYI just because they are the same blanks it doesn't mean they perform the same.  It's all about how they build them and other materials.  I'm no expert but that is what I understand.  All manufacturers do it, when they upgrade they will "market" the next level blanks but the build doesn't make them apples to apples.

 

I have always felt that the avid line and the mojo line despite both having sc111 graphite have different actions and power. My avids definitely are stiffer than my mojos. I'm comparing the 71 mhf mojo to the 7 mhf avid. The mojo definitely has a softer tip. 

37 minutes ago, jimf said:

Difference betw

 

The biggest functional difference are the guides.  Avid X's use micro guides, and I think there is 1-2 more guides on the Avid line than the Mojo.   Cork is higher quality on the Avid, it looks to me like the guide wraps are different.   And of course the warranty - 5 vs 15 years.  I think aesthetically the Avid's look nicer.  

 

Is that worth $70?   I don't know, to me it is but I could see the other side too.   

 

The warranty is a good point. You get a better warranty with st Croix avid. But my personal problem with a lifetime warranty is every time I damaged I rod, it was my fault. So I never cashed in on it. But maybe the warranty is clue on the disparity in build quality... Guides? Reel seat? Not sure. 

[PatrickKnight]

31 minutes ago, lmbfisherman said:

I think one of the major reasons is better quality material and build of the Avid line, plus the Avid was always made in the US.  The Mojo I believe is made in Mexico.  FYI just because they are the same blanks it doesn't mean they perform the same.  It's all about how they build them and other materials.  I'm no expert but that is what I understand.  All manufacturers do it, when they upgrade they will "market" the next level blanks but the build doesn't make them apples to apples.

 

Exactly! Just because they are both made out of SCIII doesn't mean they are the same rod not even close.

[offsidewing]

Remember, the Ford Mustang 4-Cyl Turbo and the Ford Mustang GT-350R are built on the same blank.

 

Get the Avid X.  

 

 

[jimf]

I just assumed the warranty was a no-fault thing, in other words they will honor it no matter how it happens.  I have only once cashed in on a warranty - my wife slammed the truck door on a $600 R.L.Winston fly rod and broke the tip.  Accidentally, I think.   Sent it in with I think $50, and a couple of weeks later got it back no problem.   

 

I just now read the St. Croix and it clearly says manufacturer defects.  Oh well, I'll bet if you sent it in they would either honor it, or fix it for a reasonable fee.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

[PatrickKnight]

6 minutes ago, jimf said:

I just assumed the warranty was a no-fault thing, in other words they will honor it no matter how it happens.  I have only once cashed in on a warranty - my wife slammed the truck door on a $600 R.L.Winston fly rod and broke the tip.  Accidentally, I think.   Sent it in with I think $50, and a couple of weeks later got it back no problem.   

 

I just now read the St. Croix and it clearly says manufacturer defects.  Oh well, I'll bet if you sent it in they would either honor it, or fix it for a reasonable fee.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They have a replacement policy just like Dobyns and Phenix. They will replace it for a certain fee based on the model no matter if its your fault or not.

[jimf]

56 minutes ago, PatrickKnight said:

 

Exactly! Just because they are both made out of SCIII doesn't mean they are the same rod not even close.

 

I guess it depends on what you mean by "close".  It's not just that the Mojo and Avid-X are both made out of SCIII, it's that they use the *same* exact blanks.   That is my understanding.  The reel seat also appears to be exactly the same.   What I don't know are the tapers

 

Guides, cork, finish, wrappings, warranty  - all upgrades on the Avid.  Tapers?  I have no idea.  And those things matter in a rod, a rod is not just the blank but the sum of all it's parts.  

[Turkey sandwich]

My .02. Most of my bass rods are St. Croix. I own Premier, Rage, and Avid X rods.  The jump from SCII to SCIII is huge.  SCIII blanks just feel like a much, much more expensive blank than anything else at the $150-200 price points.  I still like and use my Premier for certain things, but the Rage and Avid X lines are just better rods.  

 

As above stated, the other components play a big role, too.  Microguides, grips, reel seat, etc all play into how the rod feels.  I'd suggest handling both, if possible, but if you do, you'll likely feel a noticeable difference between the current gen Mojo and the Avid X.  For $200, I don't know of a better rod made.  

 

As as for warranty and support, regardless of what's in the fine print, St. Croix places the customer experience first and is known for having probably the best customer service in the industry.  They don't want you buying one rod and being sorta content, they want you buying nothing but St. Croix by making the entire experience awesome.  

[webertime]

ScIII is just one component in the rod blank...  scrim, resin and mandrel all can have dramatic effects on the rod's performance.  US St Croix's are totally different rods from the Mexican built ones.  

 

New Mojos are Rages with tweaked components.  Bass-x is an old Mojo.  St Croix's is just re-marketing their Mexican blanks as totally new products  (without the expense of developing new blanks, etc.)  Which isn't bad, they aren't terrible blanks, these are also the same blanks Rod Geeks sell.

 

Avid is not a Mojo

Bass-x is not a Premier 

Etc.