First impressions rod holder review

[yellow door 1]

I thought it might be interesting to hear a review from a bloke who has bought the cheapest rod holders.
This rod holder has 3 mounting options.
It can be surface mounted or side mounted or rail mounted.
With 12 rest positions and 360° rotation and with fully adjustable rod angle this rod holder is designed to maximise your fishing experience.
Fitted with a rod swivel lock for keeping your fishing rod safe while trolling.
Made from UV resistant polypropylene plastic (PP).
And you get 4 of them for around $40 to $50 on ebay
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/30165819...cectupt=trueMy


My mate refused to put rod holders on his boat because he didnt like the look, (Long story) - so I just wanted a super cheap option I could install relatively quickly that wouldnt break the bank, so we could chase whiting squid and flatties. There are quicker options with just one bolt but they were double the price and much more cumbersome to adjust on the water and less versatile. (Allen key required)

I chose to use the rail mount option - as it only leaves a small female mount attached to the rail when not in use and there is no drilling holes in my mates boat. The bulky holder can be stored away out of sight

First impressions

Very versatile and easy positioning. It accounts for drifting, trolling and fishing at anchor like no other style of holder - thats due to 360 swiveling and up and down movement aswell...................... -

BUT - I wouldnt recommend using the mount for cylindrical rails if you fish for stuff bigger than whiting and flatties - or use stiff drags - the rail mounts have a tendancy to slip and get pulled over if you get snagged while drifting and like using a stiff drag. (could possibly be strengthened buy using heavy duty doublesided tape under the mount while installing or definitely strengthened by running a bolt through the housing and the rail - or epoxy glue, screw, rivets.. etc)

I did accidentally pull the rod holder out of its mounts while striking a fish but I believe that could be avoided by better understanding the locking mechanism. There is one particular setting where it can slide in and out by design, as long as you avoid that angle it cant happen

You fix the angle of the holder into place by twisting a knob with a bolt in it and it definitely felt like over tightening would strip the bolt out of the tightening knob. (Could maybe be overcome with 5 min epoxy but not sure.)


Summary - weakish tightening bolt housing ( didnt break or fail during test) but extremely versatile holder - if you know its limits and dont push them it could be a real option for a whiting/flatty fisherman. Flush mounting or side mounting would significantly increase its strength and parts would have to break instead of sliding around when snagged on a stiff drag. I imagine this wouldnt be an issue with under 3kg of drag - (Just a very conservative guess)

As far as bang for Buck - outstanding - but thats only because they are so cheap.

The versatility of this style of holder is pure joy for someone who drifts for flatties, trolls and fishes at anchor - doesnt matter which way the wind blows or how the boat is positioned - adjusting the holder requires no tools and can be done very quickly.

Summary of the summary - if you need versatile holders - buy something like this but stronger��