UtahAngler Posted September 30, 2005 Report Share Posted September 30, 2005 How many manufacturers of rod blanks are there here in the US? Seems to mee that many of these brands are made by the same company and someone else just puts their name on them. Am I wrong do all these different companies make their own rod blanks? Also is there a huge difference in one rod that is say IM6 and another that is IM6 made by different manufacturers? Another question for those in the know what modulus are the St Croix rods? Say the Avid which is SCIII is that smiliair to an IM8 or IM6 or what? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattman Posted October 3, 2005 Report Share Posted October 3, 2005 It's hard to put a lot of stock in the IM rated rods. Here's why... There is no policy on how to use this terminology. A company can label a rod by the graphite they start with, or by the final modulus when you add in a ton of fillers. So someone may build an IM6 that is close to pure and is one of the most sensitive rods you'd ever feel, or they could take that same IM6 fiber and add a ton of resin and even a layer of fiberglass for durability and turn it into a total dog. Either rod can be still be called IM6. It's pretty hard to compare St. Croix's line to IM rated rods for the above reasons. Quite frankly, I don't use blanks that have IM ratings. I stick with our US manufacturers. From my experience, the differences between their graphite series are noticable and you can typically get what you want from low end to high end. Off the top of my head, US companies... St. Croix G. Loomis Shikari Rogue Lamiglas American Tackle Batson Enterprises Graphite USA All Star (has just recently quit making blanks available) And there are also a few fly-only companies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UtahAngler Posted October 3, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2005 Ive been reading a lot about rod blanks on the rodbuilding.org forum and have learned a lot in a few days. Just like most people all I knew a rod by was the IM title it had. I have since learned that a good rod is subject to opinion so in your opinion Matt and others on here, dollar for dollar what company makes the best blanks? I know youve said Shikari makes a good blank, are they better than St Croix? Or is it just impossible to compare because of variables? I have several Avid series rods and have never had a problem with them. In fact the 6'8 medium action avid spinning rod is my favorite rod in the box. I know some rod blanks are much cheaper in price than others such as the rainshadow blanks, are they just a mid grade blank? Any comments and opinions would be appreciated thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattman Posted October 4, 2005 Report Share Posted October 4, 2005 The best blank is the one that fits your needs perfectly. I know that it sounds kinda corny but its true. There are a lot of good rod blanks out there. Really. The one that works best for you is the best one, regardless of who made it. I tend to stick with Shikari and St. Croix. And when it comes to high end, ultra sensitive rods, they are really the only two I look at. Loomis' quality control has been nothing less than shameful over the last few years and I will not use their product on my personal rods until that gets straightened out. I still need to try Lamiglas' Ti blanks. Very expensive. And from a few guys I know that pro staffed for them, rated differently than most rods. They feel Lami over rates their rods. So, I've been hesitant to try them out. Rogue is a great blank. A mid range blank. I've built a few models and built them identical to Shikari SHX models. And the Shikari's were more sensitive. Rainshadows are good. Haven't used them. Actually I did build one rod for a guy, he sent me the blank, it was supposedly rolled by Batson. It was nice, but I didn't oooo and ahhhh over it. If you like the Avid, the Rogue, Rainshadow, Graphite USA and American Tackle blanks would all compare well. Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CountryKat Posted November 3, 2005 Report Share Posted November 3, 2005 I have used Rainshadow (Batson ) for several years. They are nice blanks and very sensitive if built the right way. For the money, you can't beat them, but they are made by Cascade composites. You get look at some of the Cascade blanks on www.mudhole.com Loomis was bought out by Shimano a few years back and Rogue was started by Gary Lommis's nephew. Gary has to stay with Loomis for several years as part of the contract. He should be able to leave them very soon if he hasn't already left. I also agree that the quality has somewhat diminished since the buy out. Lamiglas is pricey but they make some of the best blanks available in my opinion. Shikari makes some very nice and durable E-Glass blanks. I have never tried any of the graphite blanks from them. The only thing with them is that it seems to take forever to get the blanks delivered. St Croix also makes some very nice high modulus blanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UtahAngler Posted November 15, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 15, 2005 Hey thanks for all the help. I made my first rod with a 6'6 mag bass rainshadow blank and it turned out great. I like the matte finish on rods and I made it all black I even used a split grip with black foam grips. Im not a flashy kind of guy anyway. Caught some fish with it and it seems to work great too and i love the soft feel of the foam grips. Its a lot easier than I thought it would be. Im sure glad I didnt buy the power rod wrapper. Wrapping it by hand is pretty easy. I did however get a power drying motor and that works great. Now Im addicted like I knew I would be. Its time to try a crank bait rod next. Then a drop shot rod then..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
