Who’s your favorite obscure rod manufacturer?

Some quality time spent on the water with these 3. All of them have impressed me in their own ways. The Hooligan…sensitive and loads up beautifully with plenty of power to handle jigs. The Bloody…short and sweet versatile stick that I’m using primarily for topwater and smaller jerkbait duties, but will easily/effectively sling wacky rigs and other plastics if needed. The Cristobal Ltd…just simply outstanding for many things…detailed write-up is on the way.

Good times…Cristobal Ltd was on point, while up north, recently. 

I’ve dipped my toe into the jdm market and that was scary even with sticking to well known names.  So I’ve been trying to learn as much as possible about other jdm rod makers that may not be so well known. Sedition rods have come across my screen but are hard to source. 

evergreen has so many variants that it is confusing to me. I don’t know the difference between the rs gt inspire synergy etc.  

I tried the legit rods and I like the one I own. I may get another 

Brother Greg, so HAPPY to see that big smile on your face my friend!  Awesome as always and thank you for sharing your passion!

Posted by: @goldrod

I’ve dipped my toe into the jdm market and that was scary even with sticking to well known names.  So I’ve been trying to learn as much as possible about other jdm rod makers that may not be so well known. Sedition rods have come across my screen but are hard to source. 

evergreen has so many variants that it is confusing to me. I don’t know the difference between the rs gt inspire synergy etc.  

 

I tried the legit rods and I like the one I own. I may get another 

So many great options out there. That’s why this forum was built. Ask any questions you may have. I’ve been fortunate enough to buy and try many of the JDM offerings out there, So hopefully I can be of some assistance.

Posted by: @dragon1

Brother Greg, so HAPPY to see that big smile on your face my friend!  Awesome as always and thank you for sharing your passion!

Thank you my brother! So good to see you on here. I look forward to catching up and talking tackle.

Found a few of the Cristobal this last year (one spiral and one not). Couldn't pull the trigger since I didn't know enough about them.  How is the sensitivity?  

I am not sure if Raid Japan is still considered underground but they sure were when I first started getting their stuff. I almost consider myself almost a FAN BOY of Raid Japan. The design is timeless, simple almost minimalistic ( at least their old stuff) yet absolutely gorgeous. The OG Gladiators were mainly designed for shore fishing which makes them somewhat unique because it caters to a certain group of anglers that often gets overlooked although there are a ton out there. Their production is pretty limited and not known for large outputs. Ususally rod batches sell fast and wait lists are long. Altough I dont own all of their Rods nor have I fished as many as Greg has I would consider some of their rods my all time favorites that are must haves. 

The number one rod till this day from all their lineups is the famous bounty killer. I have not fished a more sensitive rod in this class yet. When it comes to solid tip rods Raid just did something different with the Technix lineup. These rods are next level in sensitivity and I love them all. The light feelips is the Bounty's little sister and the Cover Technica is .... well you either hate it or love it. I love mine and would not trade it for the world. The Solid tip is significantly shorter which is done intentionally so lighter rigs can be pitched into the light cover without making the rod weak throughout the blank. it is suprisingly strong and beafy for a medium (+) rod. I remember a few years back a bunch of fellow anglers in Germany grabbed one and sold it shortly after saying it does not cast well or it does not load up. I called BULL SHIT on that. eventhough it was meant as a finesse cover rod, it casts a country mile if paired with the right reel. It performs like a dream. In my case I paired it with an OG Steez that holds a MB honeycomb spool for the IS platform.

Just recently I was able to get 2 rods out of the new lineup. When they first got released they were sold out immediately and then flipped for stupid money. So I waited my turn and was able to get them at a solid price with the help of a good friend. I was originally shooting for the MAXX only but the BISHOP kinda crossed my path and I wanted to give it a shot. On paper it looked like it would be similar to the Bounty with a slightly higher power ranking. BOY was i wrong. When my buddy received it he was like dude its like the MB X4 the hedgehog with a very thin and flexible solid tip. checking her out when we met for the pick up, we both agreed it probably wont cast too well. AND once again we were dead wrong. I paired it with a Steez SV TWS SLP Semi order and a KTF Kahen Neo and it casts like a dream. I am currently fishing rigs around 3/16 -1/4 oz with 3.5 inch trailer ( mainly free rigs) but also tried to throw a finesse jerk like the RJ level shad and it does the job pretty darn well. I will probably write up most of my raid rods down the road since I have spend many years with most of them. until then I can only encourage you if you can find one grab it and give it a try. the old ones pop up quite frequently for a sweet price. I seen a few bounties and light feelips for 80-130 recently in JP and for that price I will add back ups the next time i come across one. For sure.

@chrisg_sdcf sensitivity is VERY good. Won't leave you feeling like your missing out at all. I just picked up a second Ltd. that i found. I like that rod...quite a bit. 

@steffengrade...absolutely beautiful stuff, brother. I'd love to see a full breakdown of your experience with their stuff. I've only owned a couple of the Gladiator/Technix series and I'm a fan. Need to delve deeper into the new stuff, especially after having a couple of the MAXX in hand. They were much more impressive than pictures and specs led me to believe. 

@rise my offer stands if you wanna try em out, feel free to do so in the spring on a trip or so. If you happen to bite the bullet and buy em but end up not liking them em, you know where to dispose them lol. I am sure you ' ll like em tho. Especially once you found a specific purpose for each. Only downside is you have like 50 options for any pattern our there lol. 

The Baltoro heat II will be on the short list once the hype is over and flipper prices decrease a bit.

@rise 

Dang, I knew I should have just bought it.  Which one is the ltd?  

Posted by: @rise

@chrisg_sdcf sensitivity is VERY good. Won't leave you feeling like your missing out at all. I just picked up a second Ltd. that i found. I like that rod...quite a bit. 

Is there a regular version and a LTD?  What is the difference between the two?  

Thanks

Posted by: @chrisg_sdcf

@rise 

Dang, I knew I should have just bought it.  Which one is the ltd?  

 

Ltd is the spiral wrap, short main grip/wrapped EVA, modded PTS seat, etc. 50 made…allegedly.