Phenix XF vs Loomis BCR

[bigfruits]

after Loomis announced that you can only use the xpeditor service once per rod ive been slowly whittling down my loomis collection and was thinking of giving phenix a try (great no-hassle warranty) although i have not heard much about them.

can you tell me how the XF Phenix rods compare to Loomis BCRs in terms of action and tip stiffness? im basically looking for XF spinning and casting rods with a stiff tip. also, how would you compare the top end phenix rods with GLX or IMX in terms of sensitivity?

thanks in advance

-z

[Hooligan]

I was actually going to write something up here, based on my most recent experience with the Phenix rods.  I'm not entirely fond of them, they lack in sensitivity as well as having a very strange fit to my hand.  I didn't like the way the grip on the spinning rod was formed at all.  The two casting rods that I pawned off on a friend of mine aren't seeing use in his boat, either.

In terms of the MBX and the BCR, the BCR has the edge in overall rod action.  The MBX has a stiffer tip in the two rods "comparable" rods that I fished, I'll use a the 7' MH and the 854.  Those two rods are probably the closest that I would come in my arsenal, and in reality they aren't far off in terms of action.  (To me.)

The thing that the Loomis has is finish, fit, and better balance.  The weight of the Loomis seems to be a much better fit with a Curado than the Phenix, for comparison's sake.

In terms of casting accuracy, the Loomis has it over the Phenix as well.  It could be the Phenix has enough different action that I'm just not used to it, but I didn't feel like that was the case.  It just didn't perform as well for me.

In terms of senstivity, the Looms blows the Phenix out of the water.  The Phenix felt very "dull" on light pickups, where the Loomis is much more responsive to the light bite sort of feel.  IMO that has more to do with the balance of the rod as much as anything.

Lastly, the way the rod loads with a 3/16oz jig and trailer is vastly different.  with the phenix there seemed like there was a very short "range" that the rod really wanted to load.  It seemed like you had to really power the rod to get it to cast effectively.  It just didn't want to load, where it should have been loading with no problem.

The spinning rod that I fished was Ultra MBX 7' Medium.  A total and complete dog in my book.  It didn't have any of the responsive action or sensitivity of even the Shimano Cumara.  The tip was fairly week, almost to the point that I felt like I was going to find it in three pieces from casting a 1/8oz shakey head.  It was definitely not a rod that I wanted to keep, and am glad that I was simply borrowing it on a three strikes sort of rule.

The other thing that I really, really, really didn't like about the rod is the on the handle.  It adds unnecessary weight, and it adds slick spots on the handle.  Not to mention the transitions on the handle from cork to wood were sharb, enough so that it caught my had in a couple spots and ended up with almost paper-cuts on my palm.  No blood drawn, but it sort of adds to the overall fit and finish of the rod.

That's my take on them.  I wouldn't spend any money on them, regardless of the warranty, the Loomis is a far better rod across the board.

[baluga]

Hmmmnn ..Interesting experience you had with the phenix..

I have the Loomis CBR843 and Phenix Ultra MBX 606H Casting, I know.. it's not the best way to compare these rods having different specs. But all I know is that, I have added a rubber butt cap on the CBR843 to give me a better balance and butt grip. As for the phenix, its my favorite rod. No need for mods, it's light, well balance and sensitive.