Kistler Helium 3 fans, here's some news

[thunderblack]

Thanks Dwight, been curious about these rods for a while so grabbed a zbone and helium in spinning and they are very nice. Also glad to hear a warranty story that went well. That was the other thing I was skeptical about. The xray blank is very very nice.

[Yumeya]

I have a H3 medium light spinning rod, its a nice rod and I love the NFC blank, it would be such a nice 

build with fuji guides and a different reel seat.

 

IMO the NFC blank is as sensative as a GLX.

[bwjay]

35 minutes ago, Yumeya said:

I have a H3 medium light spinning rod, its a nice rod and I love the NFC blank, it would be such a nice 

build with fuji guides and a different reel seat.

 

IMO the NFC blank is as sensative as a GLX.

The Helium3 blanks from 2019 (since there is some variation year to year, or at least every few years it seems) are very sensitive. I have not had the fortune of trying a GLX, but I have read many times that the Helium3 blanks meet or surpass the GLX for sensitivity. They are honestly very similar in action (H3 vs GLX MBR) which is really cool. The H3 is like a budget GLX with the only real nitpicks being a lower quality handle, and maybe the guides? I wish they were a tiny bit bigger, but my double uni knot passes through them without much issue, it just sometimes wants to hang up on the tip which likely wouldn't change even if all of the guides including the tip were larger. I'm pretty satisfied with my 4 H3s (got the 6'8LMHF spinning this fall) and look forward to hearing about the new blanks. I may be a guinea pig if Trey launches them at a discount to get people interested.

[CountryboyinDC]

I just bought my first Kistler this year - a KLX Feel 'n Reel.  It was on sale for $180 and I don't know of a similar product that's made in the USA, and I think it will be good for what I bought it for (10XDs, <2 oz glide baits), but I've only had it out a couple of times.  My opinion is that if they're going to charge those big prices, they need to warranty up like SC and Loomis have.  They might have some dynamite products, but folks like me will just wonder if they won't put a warranty behind it.

[waymont]

1 hour ago, bwjay said:

The Helium3 blanks from 2019 (since there is some variation year to year, or at least every few years it seems) are very sensitive.

I bought my first Kistler H3 this year. I ended up with three (7'1" MH, 7' H, 6'8" LMH) all with the newest NFC blanks.

I'm a big fan of the Loomis MBR feel and taper, and these have a feel that is not exactly the same but similar enough that I felt very comfortable with them. I got them all from Kistler for $200ea or less, which I think is a real  great deal.

All my other casting rods are older Loomis rods with the longer fore grip in the GLX and IMX versions. They are really my favorite rods. I find the H3 series casting rods to feel very familiar, I guess that's why I ended up getting three. They are very sensitive, and well put together. I don't have  a history with the older problems, in fact it was news to me when I started this thread. As far as I know they are great rods. I hope the new versions are just as good.

[Chance_Taker4]

On 12/5/2019 at 2:03 PM, CountryboyinDC said:

I just bought my first Kistler this year - a KLX Feel 'n Reel.  It was on sale for $180 and I don't know of a similar product that's made in the USA, and I think it will be good for what I bought it for (10XDs, <2 oz glide baits), but I've only had it out a couple of times.  My opinion is that if they're going to charge those big prices, they need to warranty up like SC and Loomis have.  They might have some dynamite products, but folks like me will just wonder if they won't put a warranty behind it.

3-5 year is perfect for a rod. If you use a rod over the course of a year without issues then all of a sudden it snaps or a guide breaks than its user error or neglegence not manufacture defect. 

[bwjay]

3 hours ago, Chance_Taker4 said:

3-5 year is perfect for a rod. If you use a rod over the course of a year without issues then all of a sudden it snaps or a guide breaks than its user error or neglegence not manufacture defect. 

That could happen due to normal wear and tear that the rod should be able to withstand. You could baby it and fish it carefully, never boat flip, and then one day the tip breaks when you're working a big spook... user error, or accident waiting to happen, due to manufacturing "defect"?

[CountryboyinDC]

@bwjay, I get it, but if St. Croix, Loomis, and Falcon (there might be more, I just don't own any) can put a lifetime warranty, Kistler could with those prices.

[bwjay]

1 hour ago, CountryboyinDC said:

@bwjay, I get it, but if St. Croix, Loomis, and Falcon (there might be more, I just don't own any) can put a lifetime warranty, Kistler could with those prices.

I totally agree!

[NorthernBasser]

18 hours ago, CountryboyinDC said:

@bwjay, I get it, but if St. Croix, Loomis, and Falcon (there might be more, I just don't own any) can put a lifetime warranty, Kistler could with those prices.

I hear ya. But Croix and GLoomis are MUCH richer companies than Kistler. 

[bwjay]

1 hour ago, NorthernBasser said:

I hear ya. But Croix and GLoomis are MUCH richer companies than Kistler. 

Oh absolutely. I get that Kistler can't be replacing rods for deep discounts all the time. But if they don't have an abnormally high amount of breakages, then I feel they should offer a longer warranty because they're confident it won't need to be used anyway. GENERALLY short warranties are short because there are a lot of things that could go wrong (poorly made electronics for example) and the manufacturer doesn't want to be on the hook for it, because they know the quality isn't there. Other times it's just to incentivize upgrading. Sometimes both.

 

Now, I haven't had any breakage or build quality issues with my Helium3s so far, but I only fished them for about 4 months, as is the length of in-season open water fishing weather here in Minnesota (besides rivers) - mid-May opener to late-Sept cold. We'll see if I have any issues next year but I'm thinking I probably won't as long as I continue to take care not to smack the rods on door frames and keep boat flipping to an absolute minimum. I'll be on a kayak so I won't even be able to boat flip most of the time anyway. But I digress.

[STBen1215]

On 12/5/2019 at 2:01 PM, bwjay said:

The Helium3 blanks from 2019 (since there is some variation year to year, or at least every few years it seems) are very sensitive. I have not had the fortune of trying a GLX, but I have read many times that the Helium3 blanks meet or surpass the GLX for sensitivity. They are honestly very similar in action (H3 vs GLX MBR) which is really cool. The H3 is like a budget GLX with the only real nitpicks being a lower quality handle, and maybe the guides? I wish they were a tiny bit bigger, but my double uni knot passes through them without much issue, it just sometimes wants to hang up on the tip which likely wouldn't change even if all of the guides including the tip were larger. I'm pretty satisfied with my 4 H3s (got the 6'8LMHF spinning this fall) and look forward to hearing about the new blanks. I may be a guinea pig if Trey launches them at a discount to get people interested.

The Heliums are sensitive and serve people well but not GLX sensitive. Not quite on the level. Maybe the old GLX but the new GLX is an awesome rod and superior in my hands as well as all of my buddies. 

 

Personally, I don't think Trey will be discounting new product unless holiday sales when around when he releases them. But you never know.