would you buy a Kistler for this reason?

[blanked]

i use mostly st. croix and need another rod.  did a little research on kistler and i was shocked to see they are located  2miles down the street from me in Texas.  How convienent.   i can get a hands on feel for anything before i buy and any issues should be taken care of immediately in the future.  is that along with kistler reputation enough to pass on another st. croix?    

[5bass]

To me, yes.

[blanked]

how long has kistler been in business?

[flechero]

did a little research on kistler and i was shocked to see they are located  2miles down the street from me in Texas.

That also means you are close to All Star and Castaway....  

[Guest avid]

I think it's a great reason.

You have access to the company that's up close and personal.

I'm not a fan of Kistler rods, but I have tremendous respect for some of the gents here that admire them.

I got sour on them from the beginning.  I thought there marketing was so much hype.

After reading the interview where Trey defends his refusal to be open about his "secret" blank suppliers and such, he blames the customer who "wouldn't understand"

Every time I think I may consider a Kistler rod, I read another statement from Trey Kistler that convinces me he is an arrogant rich kid.

I won't speak ill of his rods because I never used one.

I just don't like him.

[blanked]

as far as Trey as a person one thing that caught my attention on his web site is his strong faith in God.

its rare that a succesful person even mentions that anymore.  To me that is big

[JayW]

My only input would be... St Croix makes their own blanks and they are awesome! They also use Fuji components and Flexcoat. They are made of good stuff! I guess you'll just have to decide if being close to Kistler would be an advantage to you if you are worried about rod failure or would feel better about possibly seeing how they are made and so forth.  

[Guest DavidGreen]

i was shocked to see they are located  2miles down the street from me in Texas.  How convienent.   i can get a hands on feel for anything before i buy and any issues should be taken care of immediately in the future..

would you buy a Kistler for this reason?

Nope I prefer know exactly what is being used on my rods. Probably why I have been building for 15+ years..

Tight Lines All!!!

[erice97699]

Re: would you buy a Kistler for this reason?

Reply #5 - May 27th, 2007, 6:55am Quote

as far as Trey as a person one thing that caught my attention on his web site is his strong faith in God.

its rare that a succesful person even mentions that anymore.  To me that is big

I don't think you can find arrogant and rich any where relating to good in the bible... I think some folks use the whole god thing as a marketing tool.... I respect all religions just don't try and cram any of them down my throat!!!!  Just my 2 cents....

Eric

[roadwarrior]

No, having a manufacturing facility near me would not be a consideration. A well established reputation for delivering quality products for many years is of primary concern to me. There are many great rod makers and some very good equipment at various pricing points. I have a preference for G.Loomis and St. Croix, but I also fish a Fenwick and a Lamiglas.

[Lightninrod]

i use mostly st. croix and need another rod.  did a little research on kistler and i was shocked to see they are located  2miles down the street from me in Texas.  How convienent.   i can get a hands on feel for anything before i buy and any issues should be taken care of immediately in the future.  is that along with kistler reputation enough to pass on another st. croix?    

Yes.

[basspro48]

I buy kistlers for one reason, they are the best rods I have ever used...simple as that.

[magic]

I would buy a Kistler LTA because it is exceptionally light and sensitive, can't speak for other models of Kistler rods.

[Guest avid]

I buy kistlers for one reason, they are the best rods I have ever used...simple as that.

It's the best reason I can think of.

[blade]

go buy you a kistler and if you don't love it I will buy it from you.

[mike bat]

if it aint broke ,,why fix it ???? id say stick with croix .....   ;D

[The_Natural]

I don't like Trey because he bashed Loomis in an IMX vs. Helium thread over on the Bass Pro forums a few years ago when the Helium was new.  He didn't say why you should buy his rod and defend his warranty (which was the issue), he chose to discredit his competition.  He pulled his post soon after, but I lost all respect from that point on, so I wouldn't ever buy a Kistler

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

All good points

My experience with Kistler:

Bought first run magnesium.  Epoxy started peeling within days, just a bubble here and a bubble there.

Sent it back.

Rod replaced immediately, had new one 3 days after original was received in Texas.

With that said, I then realized you can have a rod BUILT JUST FOR YOU by a custom rod builder for $200.  $189 for a rack rod or $200 for a custom,....no brainer there (for me anyway)

I accidentally sent the magnesium overboard 2 days after getting new one back.  Replaced it with a custom from Flechero, VERY happy with my decision.

[Raul]

Jumped on the Kistler wagon, not satisfied  .... it won 't ever happen again  , I 'm sticking to what I know and GLoomis has never failed me.  

[islandbass]

I'd also say yes.

I live less than two hours away from both G Loomis and Lamiglas.  Shame on me for not paying them a personal visit. ;D

[flechero]

Jumped on the Kistler wagon, not satisfied .... it won 't ever happen again , I 'm sticking to what I know and GLoomis has never failed me.

Raul,

Not that I want to help this thread live on but I am curious about your experience.  I remember when you posted about buying...  can you make some comparisons for us?  Thanks.

[Raul]

Okie dokie Flechero, here 's my take:

I purchased a couple of Magnesium TS ( All Purpose & Crankbait ), first hand everything in the rods seemed fine, weeeelllll, that was until I went fishing and mounted my reels on them, forget about the balance, the sensitivity & all that stuff, that has nothing to do with the comfort of the handle; remember I said I hate Avids & BPS rods because of the bulbous handle ? yep, the diameter of the handle in the Magnesium line is greater than the one found in the GLoomis, Shimano & Berkley rods I 'm used to, this problem affects me and any other small handed everyday Joe ( and there are thousands like me in the world ), with my 200 size reels the greater diameter of the handle means less "palmability", it 's like having a pebble in the shoe, this issue is enhanced in the Crankbait rod; the palmability problem can be solved partially by mounting a smaller reel, I say partially because the pebble only got smaller but is still there, you know what I mean.

Conclusion: got small hands ? Kistler Mag TS is not for you and looking at the pics of other Kistler models the LTX is also not for you.

Ok so that was my first negative impression ...... until I hooked my first fish, when I set the hook the rod immediately rotated in my hand, something that took me completely by surprise, I reacted quickly and did something common anglers that have fished with pistol grips, to contrarest the rotation of the rod under pressure I placed the handle butt against my chest to fight the fish and reel it in, something just didn 't feel right. Why the heck the rod rotates ? maybe the spine ? maybe one of the guides is misaligned ? I know that that rod has the spine on the top but that 's not enough reason to make the rod rotate that way when submitted to pressure, I inspected the rod to check the guide alignment and it was fine, everything seemed fine  :-/ ..... until I hooked another fish  and same ***** happened  :-?, but this time I was able to find the place the rod was using as pivot point to rotate: the reel seat, when under pressure the reel slides to one side ( the reel handle side ) causing the rod to rotate. Before crap happens I decided it was better to leave both rods alone and fish with my other rods. My friend Tony from San Luis told me that night at the lodge that he also experienced the same problem with his rods ( Mag TS too ) that very same day; mine rotated to the right ( my reels are righties ) while his rotated to the left ( his reels are lefties ). Obviously we weren 't going to leave it like that and we inspected the reel seats more throughly, yup, the reel doesn 't fit snugly in the reel seat so there 's a certain ammount of looseness, the reel slides which causes the rod to rotate when under pressure.

Conclusion: Kistler has been using Batson reel seats instead of the traditional Fuji reel seats everybody else uses. I 'm not saying Batson products are crap, but the particular Batson reel seat used in the Mag TS is highly inappropiate.

From the 16 BCs I 've got only 2 fit snugly in that reel seat, that leaves me with 14 reels that I can 't use on those rods.

My friend Tony came up with the bright idea to add tape to the reel foot and it works, adding the tape makes the reel fit snugly ...... why the hell should I have to tape the danged reel foot ?,  I paid 180 dollars per rod, add to that the 15% sales tax and that elevates to total to 415 bones, for 415 dollars I think I deserve a couple of frigging reel seats where I can sit all my reels.  >

[Guest avid]

I don't like Trey because he bashed Loomis in an IMX vs. Helium thread over on the Bass Pro forums a few years ago when the Helium was new.  He didn't say why you should buy his rod and defend his warranty (which was the issue), he chose to discredit his competition.  He pulled his post soon after, but I lost all respect from that point on, so I wouldn't ever buy a Kistler

I remember that thread.

I almost got banned from the forum because I was so pizzed at the mods.  They deleted the entire thread, not just Trey's obnoxious disparaging comments.

I had always thought there marketing was hype, but given the world today i wasn't all that upset about it and was still prepared to consider buying a kistler rod.  

Then I read his comments.

Wow, did my opinion change.  

[flechero]

Raul,

Thanks for typing all that out!  I appreciate a factual review.  Very helpful.

Keith

[The Next KVD]

Stick with St. Croix. They've been in business for ALOT longer than Kistler. Plus why switch if your happy with your St. Croixs