falcon, kistler, loomis, shimano

[aggiebassin]

a buddy of mine asked me for a rod reccomendation. he wants to spend in the $150 range. he is looking at a falcon cara, kistler graphite, or loomis gl2, or shimano crucial in a 7' heavy, fast.

which would you guys reccomend?

[foul hooked]

any of that list.

[Hot n Tot]

St. Croix Avid in that price range  

[extreme1018]

if there is a bass pro near go look the the johnny morris line. they use the xps weight thing at the end of the handle that makes a huge difference in the overall balance of the rod. i highly reccomend trying one out. go to a hardware store and get one of those rubber things that go on a chail leg and put some quarters in it then put it om your rod handle to get an idea

[Raul]

St. Croix Avid in that price range

I second that.

I really liked the blank of the Avid, only thingy I hated was the handle, too beefy for my petite hands.

[roadwarrior]

At that pricing point I would suggest taking a look at the St.Croix Avid and the Fenwick Techna AV.

[Guest the_muddy_man]

I bought a used Techna AV and it is one of my best rods I agree with RW it is a great product from a great company! I have a St Croix, but its the Premier and that is also a great rod but i dont have any experience with the Avid series.

[Hawgin]

I will third the Techna AV.   I have a couple of them, and I don't plan on buying anything else going forward.

[Bud]

         any of that list.          

Exactly

[aggiebassin]

i've edited this to add the shimano crucial

[Redlinerobert]

100% Fenwick Techna.  Fantastic rods for the money.

[aggiebassin]

everywhere i have seen the techna AV they are $200+

[Hawgin]

I see that you are right.  That's very strange that Fenwick raised their prices.  About two weeks ago the Techna AV's were $159 on their website, and now they are $209.  Very dissappointing turn of events.

[roadwarrior]

When Fenwick introduced the Techna AV it was $210 and discounted to $160 to compete with the magic $150 pricing point. The Techna AV in my opinion is comparable to the St.Croix Avid series, but at $210 you are only $35 away from a G.Loomis IMX series rod which are FAR superior. I would NOT pay $210 for the Fenwick.

So, back to your pricing point: I recommend the St. Croix Avid. This is a great rod with high end components and a blank that is favored by many custom builders. You will be 100% satisfied with Avid rods. I fish them, too. (AC66MF & AS66MLF).

[aggiebassin]

so now that the Techna is out....which rod in that price range is the best???

[Hawgin]

The Techna AV in my opinion is comparable to the St.Croix Avid series, but at $210 you are only $35 away from a G.Loomis IMX series rod which are FAR superior. I would NOT pay $210 for the Fenwick.

I am a diehard Fenwick fan, but I agree with this.  If I'm spending $200 plus, I'm going with either a Loomis or possibly a Kistler.

[PeterF]

Kistler. Awesome rod

Log on to tackeltour.com and do a search for Kistler rods.

Read the testing these guys have done and the Kistler rods will out perform rods twice the price of the Kistler.

Good luck

[aggiebassin]

i know that the kistler heliums and "upper" class stuff is good.  but he was wondering about the graphite plus series.  

and all of these rods have limited lifetime warranties.  has anyone ever had to deal with any of these comapanies' customer services??

[MAD-SCIENTIST]

This is a very dangerous topic if you ask me.

Its like starting an argument about ford chevy and dodge. Everybody has thier opinion and they think that what they are driving is better than the rest.

But, if you dont own a dodge, ford, and chevy, how do you know wich is better? Even if you own all three, you still form a prefrence. Most often that prefrence is not based on scientific data. Its all an opinion in the end.

My opinion, Loomis is probably the worst high end rod company on the planet. All star rods are way over rated. Airrus rods are top quality but under advertised. Kistler is so good they will soon dominate the high end rod market. St Croix is the most consistent top of the line rod company out there. Falcon will always be middle of the range. Fenwick makes great stuff. American Rodsmiths has a niche but they need to expand due to good products. Powell rods are nice too. Quantum PT tour edition rods are probably one of the lightest and most sensitive rods on the market, but due to the quantum name on the rod, they dont get bought by shimano, diawa, or pfleuger fans. The list just goes on and on.

Look, you either have to be a rod freak and buy them all, or just buy one and be happy with it.

If I had a $150.00 budget to spend on a rod, I would recomend these

1. Airrus spectra or co matrix.

2. Quantum pt tour edition

If I really wanted to play, I would bump up a couple bucks to the $180.00 range and go with

1. Kistler magnesium

2. American rodsmiths team series kicker stix

3. St Croix avid

If your friend really wants a treat, bump up to $200.00 and go with

Airrus Puls-R

But thats just my opinion. I am sure its wrong in someones eyes.