Well............Kistlers are out

[ww2farmer]

Took my Revo S to test the fit and feel on a rod to the tackle store today, along with funds to purchase a new Kistler Magnsium TS Jig-N-Toad if I liked it. Bad news.........all 3 of those rods that they had in stock had bad reel seats. Locked down tight the reel still moved.......I was not impressed. I even tried it on a few Heluims, both were tight. But I am not in the position to spend $250 on a rod, so  that line is out of my price range. Tried it on 3 different graphite plus series rods as well, tight on 2 of the 3, but both of the 2 that were tight were the 6'10"  "senko specials" even with the reel mounted I found the rod VERY tip heavy, and  poorly balanced. SO I WILL NOT be buying any Kistlers after this dissapointing show.

So far the rods OFF the list of consideration are:

Kistlers (poor reel seats, poor balance, not impressed)

Powells and Dobyns (no one stocks them here, might very well be great rods, but I will not buy a rod with out handling.

St Croix Premiers and Triumphs, had both, not impressed, found better for the same or less $

G Loomis GL2  , same deal as the St Croix's, I had one and was not happy, I have had better for less $

Fenwick Techna AV, probably would be my favorite rod if the guides did not fall out, sent back 3 times under warrenty, same results each time, funny as my lower priced Fenwicks have been flawless.

So I guess the search continues. Or maybe I'll just stick with what I have.  

[flechero]

No offense to anyone but I think the gl2 and gl3 are WAY overpriced for what you get.

IMX is nice if it fits your budget... if not look at some of the All Star rods.  Anything more and you could have a ReelMech custom and some money left over.  

[Jeff H]

I agree with Flechero but I'll go further and say I think all Loomis rods have $50+ of their price tag to reflect just the name itself, including the IMX.  I feel the same about St Croix too but on a smaller scale.  

Maybe look and see if Shimano Crucial has the action/power and length combo you are looking for.  I'm rather surprised how good these are for the money.  Some have said equivalent to a gl3 but I think they are better.  Maybe not quite as good as a IMX but they feel close to me.

[roadwarrior]

Wait a few months and save some extra dough...ANY G.Loomis IMX wlll meet ALL of your expectations and will be a rod you are not only happy with, but a piece of equipment you will fish with for the rest of your life. The IMX series is what G.Loomis is all about. If you can find a GLX in our Flea Market or on sale somewhere else...

You have arrived...    8-)

[roadwarrior]

I want to follow up to the original problems.... a reel seat takes about 15 seconds (or less) to check before it gets installed on a blank. The fact that Kistler has had so many bum seats says bad things about their builders and QC dept.... sure they may be brand X or Y reel seats but some idiot is still glueing them on without taking 15 seconds to check fit. Kistler may be an awsome rod but this kind of thing can kill a reputation. :-/

Others have had bad seats but they seem to be very rare... as if they almost always get checked.

Man, that has been my whole point when discussing this company: Quality Control!

Deliver what you offer. MOST customers are VERY happy.

Make EVERYONE HAPPY!

[Bassn Blvd]

Wait a few months and save some extra dough...ANY G.Loomis IMX wlll meet ALL of your expectations and will be a rod you are not only happy with, but a piece of equipment you will fish with for the rest of your life. The IMX series is what G.Loomis is all about. If you can find a GLX in our Flea Market or on sale somewhere else...

You have arrived...    8-)

Event hough this just happened to my Loomis

I'm still gonna by 2 more(IMX).  They are replacing the broken one for $50.

[3125gauge]

In my opinion G-loomis gl2 and gl3 are not overpriced.  What other rod company will replace a rod no questions asked for $50.00?  I had a gl2 for over ten years and my two year old son got ahold of it and broke the rod tip.  In a few days I had a new rod shipped to my door.  I may be missing something and please correct me if I am wrong, but when paying over $100.00 for a rod I want a dang good warranty.

[Micro]

Man, I can't say it enough.  Team All Star IM10s are sleeper rods.  They are very light, very sensitive, and extremely tough.   I've got Revos on all of mine.  I use braid on some, mono on others.   They've got Fuji seats and Fuji aluminum oxide guides.   Reels fit perfectly.   Decent warranties.

[islandbass]

Take a look at Loomis' neighbor in the same, sleepy WA State town, Lamiglas. They make good rods. I will buy a loomis some day, and when I do, I will buy it in OR to avoid sales tax in my state. I live less than 2 hours away from loomis land yet don't own a single loomis product.  

[Gatorbassman]

I have a Revo on four of my Dobyns Rods and they all fit very tight.

[ThomasL]

I normally see the bashing on my flyfishing sites about high priced rods so this is nothing new to me in the fishing world,some can afford the nicer equipment some can't or won't spend it because of other issues as i have said on the other boards you can't take money with you when you croak so you might as well enjoy it while your alive!

[Chris at Tech]

Take a flyer on the Dobyns rods.

I ordered both my Kistler and my Dobyns, sight unseen and have enjoyed both immensely.  As a matter of fact, I now like my Dobyns better than my Kistler.

I agree it's tough to spend $200 on a rod when you can't handle it first, but unfortunately we limit ourselves since many of the better rod companies aren't stocked nation wide.

[dodgeguy]

http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_90403_100002006_100000000_100002000_100-2-6

best reel seats made and recoil guides have no inserts to fall out.

[Triton_Mike]

ww2Farmer,  If you can get Dobyns Rods stocked in a shop up there in New York I can get a rod or 2 in your hands NO CHARGE!!  

Mike

[ww2farmer]

I normally see the bashing on my flyfishing sites about high priced rods so this is nothing new to me in the fishing world,some can afford the nicer equipment some can't or won't spend it because of other issues as i have said on the other boards you can't take money with you when you croak so you might as well enjoy it while your alive!

Who's bashing?

I am speaking from first hand expierance, all of the rods I mentioned I own or have owned, or in the case of the kistlers , intended to own but balked based on some very obvious q.c. issues. I expect better out of $200 rods.

I WANT to move to higher end rods, but so far my standards of what I expect for the $$ I am willing to part with have not been met. I have yet to serioulsy look at St Croix Avids, bad expierance with premiers and triumphs have me leary, maybe unjustly ,but the doubt is there. I guess I'll have to look into them, as well as the prospect of just saving my $$ and going with the $200+ St Croix's or G Loomis. BTW I work very hard for my living, so I'll decide if I want to "take it with me" or not.

There are times when buying a $200 fishing rod is not prudent, or possable, luckly I am in a position to hopefully upgrade, but if I were not comments like yours really contribute nothing to this conversation.

[ww2farmer]

ww2Farmer, If you can get Dobyns Rods stocked in a shop up there in New York I can get a rod or 2 in your hands NO CHARGE!!

Mike

That does sound like a great offer,not sure what I can do, but I'll look into it.

[Shadcranker]

May I suggest Powell Rods?

If you like the design features of the Kistler, you'll love the Powell.

Great value for the $$ (around $169). Tackle Warehouse sells them.

I own four of them and zero quality issues so far.

[Triton_Mike]

ww2farmer,  Let me know if you have any questions or need any support literature?  I will admit that getting a shop is not an easy task in most cases.  

I will say that if your into Balanced rods Dobyns is it!!  

Mike