FrankN209 Posted September 9, 2020 Posted September 9, 2020 I had a Dobyns Champion XP 702 casting rod that I sent back to TW because the rod was spinning in cork. It was under a warranty. I was thinking about getting a Shimano Expride A Casting Rod 7'2" Med Lt+ as a replacement. They are about the same price, 20.00 more for the Shimano. Do you think the Expride is a better rod? Quote
Chris Carey Posted September 10, 2020 Posted September 10, 2020 Yes. I’d say the expride is at least as good as the champion extreme if not better. 2 Quote
Super User Tywithay Posted September 10, 2020 Super User Posted September 10, 2020 It's not really that close in my opinion. I'd put the Zodias over the Champion as well, in regards to sensitivity and overall weight. 2 Quote
JohnnyF Posted September 10, 2020 Posted September 10, 2020 I agree with the other posts. I've owned some dobyns from the fury line to the extreme hp line. IMO, the expride (I have the 72mh) is lighter and much more sensitive. A lot of people love the 745hp for jigs, but I just didnt find it that sensitive in my hands. I wasnt blown away by my 702s hp either but I like the action. I do love their crankbait rods though. The expride fishes much higher than their price point. Warranty isnt as great as dobyns but that does not bother me. Hope that helps 1 Quote
Mr.C in Texas Posted September 10, 2020 Posted September 10, 2020 I have both the expride and champion xp's. The expride is a noticeable step up in quality and sensitivity. 1 Quote
Jason.Domingo Posted September 10, 2020 Posted September 10, 2020 I use a 744s champ xp for jigs/bottom contact and I don’t even feel its that sensitive..for the money anyways. I’ve held an Expride in hand and it just felt way better in hand. 1 1 Quote
FrankN209 Posted September 10, 2020 Author Posted September 10, 2020 Thanks everyone. I'll be going with the Expride then. I love my Zodias, but want to try an Expride. Quote
shimanoangler Posted September 11, 2020 Posted September 11, 2020 My two cents on this topic is it depends on what you are doing with the rod. If you are looking for a rod that is sensitive where feel is really important, ie bottom contact baits, worm fishing, texas rig, etc, than the Expride is hands down the better rod. If you are looking to fish moving baits, I honestly find it hard to beat the Action of all of Gary's rod lineup. Dobyns truly are some of the best moving bait rods you can buy for the money. If crankbaits, paddle tail swim baits, chatterbaits, spinnerbaits or anything you fish that is moving, it is hard to beat a Dobyns rod for those applications. The actions of the Dobyns line are just dialed in for moving baits. Just my two cents... 1 Quote
Super User Teal Posted September 11, 2020 Super User Posted September 11, 2020 19 hours ago, Jason.Domingo said: I use a 744s champ xp for jigs/bottom contact and I don’t even feel its that sensitive..for the money anyways. I’ve held an Expride in hand and it just felt way better in hand. I have the same rod, it's my primary jig rod. Feel plenty sensitive to me. I ha e 50 lb braid and 16 lbs sniper on it right now. I feel like it's the most sensitive one I own. If I can turn back time i would try to get a 7 foot model in the same power. I dont know about the expride, but the guys in tactical bass. Always include expride in their high end review and they dont often mention the champ xtreme 5 hours ago, shimanoangler said: My two cents on this topic is it depends on what you are doing with the rod. If you are looking for a rod that is sensitive where feel is really important, ie bottom contact baits, worm fishing, texas rig, etc, than the Expride is hands down the better rod. If you are looking to fish moving baits, I honestly find it hard to beat the Action of all of Gary's rod lineup. Dobyns truly are some of the best moving bait rods you can buy for the money. If crankbaits, paddle tail swim baits, chatterbaits, spinnerbaits or anything you fish that is moving, it is hard to beat a Dobyns rod for those applications. The actions of the Dobyns line are just dialed in for moving baits. Just my two cents... The powells have similar actions and are excellent for moving baits... Quote
Jason.Domingo Posted September 11, 2020 Posted September 11, 2020 3 hours ago, Teal said: I have the same rod, it's my primary jig rod. Feel plenty sensitive to me. I ha e 50 lb braid and 16 lbs sniper on it right now. I feel like it's the most sensitive one I own. If I can turn back time i would try to get a 7 foot model in the same power. I dont know about the expride, but the guys in tactical bass. Always include expride in their high end review and they dont often mention the champ xtreme The powells have similar actions and are excellent for moving baits... Well I got it half off so value wise You couldn’t beat it. If I were to pay retail though, I’d pay the extra for an Expride or even an Megabass Orochi. Quote
Super User Tywithay Posted September 11, 2020 Super User Posted September 11, 2020 9 hours ago, shimanoangler said: My two cents on this topic is it depends on what you are doing with the rod. If you are looking for a rod that is sensitive where feel is really important, ie bottom contact baits, worm fishing, texas rig, etc, than the Expride is hands down the better rod. If you are looking to fish moving baits, I honestly find it hard to beat the Action of all of Gary's rod lineup. Dobyns truly are some of the best moving bait rods you can buy for the money. If crankbaits, paddle tail swim baits, chatterbaits, spinnerbaits or anything you fish that is moving, it is hard to beat a Dobyns rod for those applications. The actions of the Dobyns line are just dialed in for moving baits. Just my two cents... Expride has several in the lineup that are slower tapers, well-suited for moving baits. Though, I think it's mostly overkill to spend that much on a rod when sensitivity isn't as necessary. They're nice sticks regardless. I actually dropped to mostly Tatula rods, and one Tatula Elite, for moving baits because the R actions are excellent and they're still quite light considering the price. Allowed me to spend a little extra for bottom contact presentations. Quote
FrankN209 Posted September 11, 2020 Author Posted September 11, 2020 I'll be using it more for bottom contact. Jigs/worms and such. So i'll be going with the Shimano 7'2" ML+ 1 Quote
Super User Teal Posted September 11, 2020 Super User Posted September 11, 2020 2 hours ago, Jason.Domingo said: Well I got it half off so value wise You couldn’t beat it. If I were to pay retail though, I’d pay the extra for an Expride or even an Megabass Orochi. If I'm not mistaken the 744 xtreme is like 330.00 bucks. The expride costs less....like 280.00 Never mind just realized we are talking about two different rods. I have the extreme. Yall are talking about the champion...ok. I'm dumb sorry guys 1 Quote
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