07-06-2013, 12:38 PM
You know I love to travel and fish...and I do abuse my gear quite a bit.
Finding a sensitive but powerful rod is often difficult when you're talking about 3-piece models. 1-piece and even 2-piece rods are nice...but checking in a rod tube as the second piece of luggage is not often economical. It is especially bad traveling in the US when you have to pay for 1st and 2nd piece of checked luggage flying economy...and now a lot of airlines don't allow travelers to carry on rods . At $25 for the 1st luggage, and $15 or more for the 2nd luggage, I easily pay $100 each trip just to bring my fishing gear around. Having rods that can fit in my rolling duffel certainly helps to save some money. And for the amount I had traveled, 3-piece rods had saved me a lot of money!
For my trip to Belize, I bought a Tsunami Travel Kayak Inshore Rod. Here's a link on Tackle Direct.
http://www.tackledirect.com/tsunami-trav...-rods.html
For $80, it was a very nice rod. It has a very strong backbone and a soft enough tip to feel a tarpon sucking up a live sardine. It cast beautifully within its rating (3/4oz - 2oz) but to be honest I didn't really lean on the rod to see how much I can give it. 50 yards is an easy feat with a spinner though.
I've caught a 4lb Horse-eye Jack, a 3' long Tarpon and a 2' wing span Southern Stingray with it so far. With all the fish, I had full control of them during the fight and there was not a moment I worried about the rod snapping or being too stiff for the job. It simply felt like an extension of my arm.
They have 5 spinning options but only 1 casting option. At this point, I'm so impressed I may order the heavy casting rod (15-25lb, 3/4oz - 2oz) as a "light" pike and muskie rod...and to have it for traveling too.
The only downside is that the rods do not come with a travel case...so you'll have to figure something out. I'm sure PVC pipes cut to size would do nicely. I'm still trying to figure out what to do to carry these in my luggage...
Time will tell how durable this rod may be. They do come with a 5-year limited warranty. And at the price of $80, it's not so bad replacing one even after warranty. I just hope they don't get discontinued like the TFO rods that I love so much Sad
Check them out if you need travel rod options! They definitely have my seal of approval!
Finding a sensitive but powerful rod is often difficult when you're talking about 3-piece models. 1-piece and even 2-piece rods are nice...but checking in a rod tube as the second piece of luggage is not often economical. It is especially bad traveling in the US when you have to pay for 1st and 2nd piece of checked luggage flying economy...and now a lot of airlines don't allow travelers to carry on rods . At $25 for the 1st luggage, and $15 or more for the 2nd luggage, I easily pay $100 each trip just to bring my fishing gear around. Having rods that can fit in my rolling duffel certainly helps to save some money. And for the amount I had traveled, 3-piece rods had saved me a lot of money!
For my trip to Belize, I bought a Tsunami Travel Kayak Inshore Rod. Here's a link on Tackle Direct.
http://www.tackledirect.com/tsunami-trav...-rods.html
For $80, it was a very nice rod. It has a very strong backbone and a soft enough tip to feel a tarpon sucking up a live sardine. It cast beautifully within its rating (3/4oz - 2oz) but to be honest I didn't really lean on the rod to see how much I can give it. 50 yards is an easy feat with a spinner though.
I've caught a 4lb Horse-eye Jack, a 3' long Tarpon and a 2' wing span Southern Stingray with it so far. With all the fish, I had full control of them during the fight and there was not a moment I worried about the rod snapping or being too stiff for the job. It simply felt like an extension of my arm.
They have 5 spinning options but only 1 casting option. At this point, I'm so impressed I may order the heavy casting rod (15-25lb, 3/4oz - 2oz) as a "light" pike and muskie rod...and to have it for traveling too.
The only downside is that the rods do not come with a travel case...so you'll have to figure something out. I'm sure PVC pipes cut to size would do nicely. I'm still trying to figure out what to do to carry these in my luggage...
Time will tell how durable this rod may be. They do come with a 5-year limited warranty. And at the price of $80, it's not so bad replacing one even after warranty. I just hope they don't get discontinued like the TFO rods that I love so much Sad
Check them out if you need travel rod options! They definitely have my seal of approval!