blank selection

[crypt]

have been using MHX,Rainshodow blanks for a while and was wondering what others are using. been thinking of trying something different for a change,any thoughts?

[MickD]

Unless you're talking the exotic stuff I've found that AmTackle Bushido's are great blanks for the price, as are the Rainshadow Revelations which you probably have already built on.  I really like the Pac Bay Quickline fly blanks, so expect the other Quicklines are just as impressive (shop around-prices vary a lot on pac Bay for some reason).

 

Getting into the pricier stuff, good old SC5 from St Croix is hard to beat, RodGeeks for some very neat colors on premium blanks, and the Point Blanks from Anglers Resource are really wonderful blanks.

 

We builders are very lucky to have thousands of blank choices.  There are probably another ten or so major blank suppliers that I've not yet built.

[basscatcher8]

I've been very happy with the Point Blank I built last month. Very light and responsive.

[grub_man]

If you stick with things from known manufacturers, it will be hard to find a bad blank.

 

Most of my builds have been on Rainshadow blanks, as I find their actions and powers to match up well with my expectations.  When I want a known commodity, I look at the Batson line of products.

 

The only blank I've built on that I didn't care for was an MHX MB782.  It was a very nice blank, but just didn't quite have the power that I expected.  I stripped it and rebuilt as a general purpose spinning rod for my brother-in-law.  That said, I have a silver metallic MHX MB843 that I picked up at the ICRBE that is going to make a great worm/jig rod waiting for guides to be wrapped and finished.

 

One line of blanks that doesn't get talked about much is the Liberty blanks at Get Bit.  I picked up an MB692XF at the ICRBE from the Get Bit booth, and I have to say I was really impressed.  I was impressed enough to pick one up instead of a known commodity in the Rainshadow drop shot/shaky head type blanks.  I believe they are a multi modulus design with standard modulus tip and intermediate modulus material in the butt.  As a raw blank, it is not the most sensitive blank I've ever felt, but judging by the way it handles mocked up before I wrap the guides, it's going to a be a real winner on the water.

 

Seeker's S-glass cranking blanks are top shelf.

 

As mentioned, I've never heard anything bad about Point Blank either.

 

Hydra blanks are very impressive as well.  I find them to be a bit more powerful than I typically expect, but they are nice!

 

St. Croix is another known commodity, but I try to avoid paying for brand recognition if I can.  Rod Geeks offers St. Croix designs in SCII and SCIV with some awesome paint jobs made in Mexico.

 

If I had deep pockets, I would look hard at CTS blanks.  I had to look 2 or 3 times to determine whether some of their blanks were multi piece or single piece.  Their ferrule designs are so thin, that you can barely tell.  I was very impressed with what I saw, but they are generally outside of my budget for a build.

[S Hovanec]

2 hours ago, grub_man said:

 

If I had deep pockets, I would look hard at CTS blanks.  I had to look 2 or 3 times to determine whether some of their blanks were multi piece or single piece.  Their ferrule designs are so thin, that you can barely tell.  I was very impressed with what I saw, but they are generally outside of my budget for a build.

 

I have a CTS dropshot blank and a couple others I got from Andy Dear when he started importing them.  Not sure what I'm gonna do with them, but they sure are nice.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

Rod geeks Carbon4 are high end and available in custom colors. They have some unique power/actions too. The 74 mh/xs has a fast but soft tip and good backbone.