Rod review

[suzook12]

So a little while ago I bought 2 new rods, Shimano Beastmaster 29-30 and 30-50.

I bought the lightest one first as something of an upgrade to my Greys 15-20. Absolutely superb rod and a nice action, however, having had a large bass come to play and an even bigger tope, which was what I primarily bought this for, it just wasn't beefy enough. So at that point I bought the heavier version.

The 30/50 handles much the same as it's lighter brother, nice and light to use, probably nearer to a 30lb rod than a 50lber tho.

Fast forward, and at the weekend I picked said rods up to go and I noticed the last 2 rings before the tip had lost the lining on BOTH rods!! To say I am disappointed would be an understatement. It would seem, talking to a rod builder that the rods are exceptional quality for all bar the rings. Luckily Fuuji still do rings in that style so looks like a full rering on 2 rods not even a year old!! In fact the heavier one has only been used once or twice......

For once shimano quality has slipped

[JDP]

Yes unfortunately in the lower price range Shimano seem to have some poor quality issues. Also when you are mentioning the ratings, it really makes very little sense in terms of build and strength. 
 

Edited November 21, 2024 by JDP

[daio web]

have they been dropped should of gone for the ugly sticks i bought 2 sets of 2 still going strong touch wood take them back and get replacments 

[JonC]

The quality of a lot of equipment put out now is low, expected on entry level items but when items aren’t particularly cheap it’s frustrating. 
The worst example of this I’ve found lately is the build quality of Penn reels. @KennyPowers has bought 5 Fathoms, 3 are away at the menders and the other 2 need attention once he gets the others back. One of them totally locked up and the others scream badly when casting. They are under 2 years old and cost over £150 each. 
in contrast I have a 20 year old pair of 535s that I only ever blast a bit of WD40 over and have never stripped down that are still in excellent working condition. 
it can only be down to cheap components inside. 

[Malc]

10 hours ago, suzook12 said:

shimano quality has slipped

Agree it isn't just shimano. I had 2 ugly sticks that shed liners, a penny reel that wasn't "braid ready" at all. 

As a side note I broke my beast master 2nd time out by setting my drag but pulling the line too close to the rod 😬

[suzook12]

It would seem the drop in quality all round seems to stem from moving manufacture away from the parent country. The consumer are equally to blame demanding cheaper goods all the time. I can't fault any piece of shimano tackle I have regardless of where in the price range it came from, that was made in Japan, or Swedish ABU's etc etc

My Greys have stood the test of time, whether the new Greys would as owned by a different company now. Seems it's a good job I don't mind buying second hand tackle, because I don't buy in to chinese made, would rather pay the extra and have it made where it's meant to be made.

 

[suzook12]

2 hours ago, JonC said:

The quality of a lot of equipment put out now is low, expected on entry level items but when items aren’t particularly cheap it’s frustrating. 
The worst example of this I’ve found lately is the build quality of Penn reels. @KennyPowers has bought 5 Fathoms, 3 are away at the menders and the other 2 need attention once he gets the others back. One of them totally locked up and the others scream badly when casting. They are under 2 years old and cost over £150 each. 
in contrast I have a 20 year old pair of 535s that I only ever blast a bit of WD40 over and have never stripped down that are still in excellent working condition. 
it can only be down to cheap components inside. 

Never been a fan of Penn, but even so, that's bad, aren't Penn owned Pure Fishing now? Can bet they are built in China now

[suzook12]

2 hours ago, daio web said:

have they been dropped should of gone for the ugly sticks i bought 2 sets of 2 still going strong touch wood take them back and get replacments 

No mate, not dropped. Ugly stik are another pure fishing brand and undoubtedly chinese made, never really liked them, even back in the shakespeare days

[Saintly Fish]

22 minutes ago, suzook12 said:

No mate, not dropped. Ugly stik are another pure fishing brand and undoubtedly chinese made, never really liked them, even back in the shakespeare days

Ugly sticks rule!! They are tremendously good rods for the price. I've got 2 and had them for 5 years. Still in perfect order. 

[Malc]

Ugly sticks are pretty good for the price, the rod rings on the kayak version are awful, rusted even when wiped with a wet cloth each time. I replaced mine with decent rings (badly but I don't have them for aesthetics).

[Odyssey]

I’ve got a set of AX slim 12-20lb. Lovely blank just cheap eyes…. 
 

Ugly sticks are good for sure 🙂 

[mike farrants]

My leeda Icon rods seem to hold up well -Fuji componants and reasonable price too! 

for reels - i have had Diawa slosh 20 and 30s and they are still going storng - 

this season I picked up a Diawa kanzaki and paired it with a Penn Squall 2 20LW - both work and feel great but its too early to tell on quality! 

[Saintly Fish]

3 hours ago, mike farrants said:

My leeda Icon rods seem to hold up well -Fuji componants and reasonable price too! 

for reels - i have had Diawa slosh 20 and 30s and they are still going storng - 

this season I picked up a Diawa kanzaki and paired it with a Penn Squall 2 20LW - both work and feel great but its too early to tell on quality! 

I have a Kenzaki and hardly ever use it because I find for the Solent the tip is just too weak to take heavier weights.