Quote:
Originally Posted by Kokaneeranger
I didn’t want to spend more than $200. Thought I could get a fairly descent rod within that budget. I’m more concerned with warranty in the event the rod breaks I’m still leaning towards the St croix Avid but the elite tech seems to be the best bang for buck. The trouble I’m having is that both manufacturers seem to be hit and miss with “bad batches”. I guess it always a roll of the dice
|
The way I view most rods now is anything under $50 is usually junk. $50-100 can get you some ok rods but will lack sensitivity(Ugly Stik) or quality(Fenwick HMX). $100-200 gets you into some decent rods(such as Elite Tech) that are good for what most people. $200-300 gets you an entry level high end rod(like St. Croix Avid, G.Loomis E6X) which use superior quality guides, reel seats, cork etc but on more basic blanks. Then $300+ gets you an actual high end rod, the more you spend the higher quality blank you get in most cases, sometimes fancier handles, guides etc.
The thing to know about warranty is you usually have to pay to send rod in and this will be around $30+. Some companies like St. Croix also charge shipping and handling fee($30 USD with St. Croix) and then looking more like $70+. The more expensive the rod, the more worthwhile warranty is. Cost of warranty is only part of the picture though, chances of needing warranty with an Elite Tech is significantly higher then with an Avid. In short Fenwick is like the Walmart version of St.Croix and the Elite Tech performance may be on par with an Avid but quality of materials and workmanship is not.