I wanted to like this rod. No, I wanted to love this rod. It looks amazing. The short rear portion of the handle makes casting from a kayak easier. The feel of the handle material would be fantastic - IF my hand actually held any of it. So, here is the flaw: This is the first spinning rod I've owned where the reel seat's tightening "nut" (the part that moves) is located at the bottom end of the seat, instead of the tip end. Why is this a problem? Because that means that I have a full finger (pinky in my case) is in contact with the threads - all the time. So, I don't actually get to hold that amazing feeling handle material. I know that some people prefer to have hand contact along the reel seat to they can feel the line better. I get that from my other rods without having to grasp threads, which is not only uncomfortable, it is a tactile distraction from feeling the rest of the rod and line with my index finger. Well, 'you could move your hand after casting". Yes, I could. Or I could completely alter the way I hold the rod in the first place. And if this were an inexpensive rod, okay, maybe. But, when you pay for a rod this pricey.... Lastly, this rod is supposed to have a short end for kayakers - and by reversing the location of the moving nut to tighten the reel, they lost an opportunity to keep the rear end as short as possible. So, this is my first, and my last ever, St. Croix rod. Really wish I could have tested this in a store beforehand, but literally no one in over a one hundred mile radius of me stocked it. Now. If you believe none of the above matters to you: Construction seems consistent with reputation St. Croix carries (in other words, solid). I got the Medium/Fast rod and compared to my others I would say this feels more like a Medium-Hvy / Fast rod. So, overall a little stiffer than many other brands. At the end of the day, even if you took away the massive design flaw from this thing, I still could not justify the price tag on this again compared to any other rod I use (all of which are less expensive).
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WARNING: This product can expose you to chemicals including lead, which is known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm. For more information, go to www.P65Warnings.ca.gov.
