Sick stick rods and reels?

[Gus Heinze]

Does anyone have any experience with some of the rods and reels from a company called "Favorite" it has different rods, reels, combos, etc... they seem more entry level priced but the strange thing I've found is most of their items are sold out. So I'm hoping someone that has them can comment on them. They do have reviews on their site, but sometimes it's nice to hear reviews from sites outside of the one selling the items.

 

I have some young future fisherman and 1 future fisher woman, so I'm in the market for inexpensive gear. I did a search on here for sick stick and favorite but couldn't find any reviews. 

 

https://favoriteusa.com/powered-by-favorite/sick-stick/sick-stick-casting/sick-stick-casting-combo.html

[Backroad Angler]

I honestly have never picked up a rod/reel from them but I know some popular youtubers use them such as lunkertstv, peric, jon b and jiggin with jordan. Some of them even have their own rod/reel named after them. They are appealing to the younger community with their cool looking stuffs

[NYWayfarer]

I noticed their rods are available at Tackle Warehouse now. No more direct to the consumer only marketing anymore?

 

http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Favorite_Rods/catpage-FAVE.html

[Gus Heinze]

On 3/22/2018 at 12:08 PM, NYWayfarer said:

I noticed their rods are available at Tackle Warehouse now. No more direct to the consumer only marketing anymore?

 

http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Favorite_Rods/catpage-FAVE.html

edit: typo

[NYWayfarer]

I almost bit the bullet and bought a White Bird rod direct from Favorite. Problem was the cost of shipping. It turned a $50 rod to a $90 rod. I subscribed to their newsletter to get notice of free shipping days, but those days never came.

 

I encourage you to do some research on your own about their line of reels (Check out YouTube). I don't like to bash anyone's company on these forums. 

[lmbfisherman]

Their reels are basically the same parts as the other brands that have recently come out.  Check out YouTube!  

 

Daiwa is killing it though for best bang for your buck baitcaster imo, why not get them a Fuego for a reel?  Especially since you can get them at the price 60-80.  I’d be more inclined especially if they are just learning to cast.  The rod in my opinion is not as important as long as it is a good all around power/action they will be fishing most of the time.  For spinning don’t think too hard in my opinion my kids use Symetre’s and a Sienna.  Both are older Shimano that I had.

[Chance_Taker4]

Not only are they big with the Youtube community but they are also sponsoring Roland Martin, Mark Daniels Jr and Cole Harris. They seem to be gaining traction with their rods, not so much their reels. I was going to buy a couple rods but like stated earlier I wasn't paying the high shipping charge.

[ratherbfishin1]

I personally feel that they are overpriced.  A friend of mine bought one and it was heavy and not very good feeling.  The grips seemed really cheap and felt like they were going to fall apart the first day, the rod didn't really balance well either.  He returned the rod very quickly.  I personally feel that there are much better options out there than this rod.  Favorite seems to have the Youtube guys sponsoring their products to kids who will see the "googan squad" fishing with this rod and that is automatically the rod they want.  Congrats to the youtubers and favorite for being successful but i feel that there are much better rods out there.

[BrackishBassin]

No experience with the rods. The reels use the exact same parts as reels half their price (e.g. Shishamo). You can get great gear for great prices on eBay. Guys have mentioned the Fuegos. You could also take a look at what Kastking offers. Most of the guys on here that have used them have nothing but good things to say about them, minus one weird drag washer issue. Don’t know if that’s been corrected yet or not. If you’re looking for starter gear, you’d have a hard time beating a Fuego (or KastKing) with an affordable rod (e.g. Ugly Stik Elite, Berkley Shock, etc.). 

[NYWayfarer]

2 hours ago, BrackishBassin said:

You could also take a look at what Kastking offers. Most of the guys on here that have used them have nothing but good things to say about them, minus one weird drag washer issue. Don’t know if that’s been corrected yet or not. If you’re looking for starter gear, you’d have a hard time beating a Fuego (or KastKing) with an affordable rod (e.g. Ugly Stik Elite, Berkley Shock, etc.). 

I agree. A fantastic combo for starters would be a Kastking Assassin reel with a Kastking Perigee II 1 piece rod. $120 combo and the reel is very forgiving of backlashes. Makes learning baitcasters so much easier.

[Gus Heinze]

Thanks for the replies and information. I'll look into the recommendations, I've not heard of Fuego, so I'll do some searching online. Thank you!

 

Here is my middle one using his spinning rod this evening, he was SUPER HAPPY!

 

[Drew03cmc]

Cabela's stocks Favorite. I've fondled them and they feel ok. Too gaudy looking for my taste to be honest. The lengths and actions are nice though. For reels, why look deeper than Kastking?

[KentuckySpud]

I actually have the Sick Stick spinning reel combo and it has been very good me thus far with one season of using it. 

 

And to comment if the YouTube guys who promote this company such as Lunkers, Rob, Peric, Jon B, and LFG. I watch all of Lunkers videos but not the others guys and something I’ve noticed with Robs videos is that he uses Favorite rods but he uses a Daiwa reel but has it taped over the logos so you can’t see what he is using. Also noticed that LFG does the same. I’m sure there is a reason for them to not use Favorite reels because they are business partners with them I just found it odd 

[burrows]

My local tackle shop is a favorite dealer and their not that great of rods I wouldn’t buy one I felt these rods in hand, the big sexy is a good choice though if you’re thinking about getting one.

 I can tell you this though all the younger bass anglers like these rods they’re extremely popular I see this brand growing big time I mean big time!

[burrows]

On 3/23/2018 at 8:34 AM, Chance_Taker4 said:

Not only are they big with the Youtube community but they are also sponsoring Roland Martin.

If you ever watch scottmartins YouTube channel and you pay attention to what Roland Martin is using you’ll notice he uses the big sexy by favorite when he fishes with Scott.

[Beetlebz]

I grabbed a Favorite Defender on a whim last year, so far they have been my go to for rods. Their shipping has gone WAY down from what it was, for what it's worth. I had an HMX and a few different AG and BPS rods prior and I much preferred the defender. So much so that I just ordered defender #3 in fact, and I have a Balance series 7'3"ML spinning rod too, all are fantastic. I had an issue with the spinning rod and their customer service was absolutely stellar. Their big, loud YouTube marketing doesn't do them justice in the die-hard angler market. 

 

The reels, not so much. They aren't horrible but they're a little over priced for Chinese OEM reels. That money is better spent elsewhere IMHO. 

 

OH I almost forgot to address the original question. The sick stick. A buddy of mine bought last year's model spinning rod before they changed it up (a little). Tons of backbone, great arch, if it's not the most sensitive rod in the world. For the money I think I prefer the defender or even the lunkers (the 7'5"MH/F is my #1) but the sick stick is a really nice rod. In the MH it isn't quite supple enough to throw anything under 1/4oz or so, great for swim jigs, chatter baits, Texas rigs, etc. That's the only specific one I have fished personally.