Benefits of Custom Rod Vs Factory/Off the Shelf ?

[vxcalais]

With many good rods available these days, I like some of the new stuff from Shimano but also like some of the We Flick Howler Rods and other Howler Bream rods on Facebook etc. Apart from being able to customize colours etc, what are the benefits of a Custom Made Rod Vs the others ?

[Slazmo]

You may want to speak to FTP about this - he's been getting right into the custom rods recently.

I recently was shown two rods both custom made, one I think was Weapon and another which I found a few flaws with (wont go naming who made it)...

Off the shelf rod is going to be a lot cheaper than a custom, however can come complete with all the good components. Some of the upper market off the shelf rods are not that much better than the lower spec.

I myself am happy with off the shelf however it all comes down to the individual and what you want out of a silly stick. I'm happy with my XTR's and they work well - all picked up for around $80 +/-

[MiSCrEANT]

Well... It's custom. To your needs and your needs only.

I think you can apply the analogy of a tailor. The clothing tailor, not the toothy one.

Off the shelf clothes are made with dimensions to fit a market, or demographic. For some people, the clothing might fit perfectly. Good for them, but for some the clothes won't fit exactly to their dimensions. Which can lead to consumer dissatisfaction. We can apply this to the fishing rod market can't we?

Some people might go pay a tailor a visit to get themselves measured and then have clothes made to their measurements. Result, clothes that fit perfectly for them.

Like so, anglers may visit a resident rod builder to get a rod that conforms to their specifications, target species, what kind of lure they are using, location of fishing, weight balancing with reel, etc. Sounds great doesn't it?

However, I don't know many (if any) people that actually get their clothes tailored. Maybe entrepreneurs that need to look their best would invest in such a thing. Same for fishing rods. Tournaments anglers that need such specifications would see the point in investing in a custom rod. And the returns it could make.

I think custom rods are just are for the pinnacle tier of anglers. But for myself, my recreational fishing needs are easily met by plenty of rods on the shelf.

[laddercat]

Was a fan of custom rods i have long since sold them, there are so many quality companies producing quality rods for every technique and style there is.

Every now and then a new technique is thought up and it requires a custom rod but by the time 90% of the rec community catch on, so have the tackle companies and the rod to match that technique has gone or is going into production.

[Slazmo]

Originally Posted by laddercat

Every now and then a new technique is thought up and it requires a custom rod but by the time 90% of the rec community catch on, so have the tackle companies and the rod to match that technique has gone or is going into production.

+1

[FTP]

It depends on what you are looking for. I get my suits and shirts tailor made but that is actually cheaper than off the shelf...

Anyway, with the rods I get things made that I can't find from tackle companies. My latest rod is a 5' 1-2kg baitcast rod for creeks where there isn't much room to cast. I couldn't find something anywhere else but custom made. The rod that Slazmo is talking about is a 7'4" 6-16lb baitcast rod mainly for flicking metals in the surf but has just become my go-to tod for everything. The next one is going to be a 9'+ baitcast rod. Those are all funny configurations and hard to locate as a pre-built rod so I need to get them custom built.

The flip-side is that I have a custom-made 7' plastics spin rod from a highly regarded builder that I bought 3 or 4 years ago and just never use. The highly contested areas of the market i.e 6-7' light tackle spin rods are just not worth getting custom. As Laddercat suggests, at that end of the market there are too many better and cheaper offerings from the big guys. For $400-$500 you can get a Daiwa Battler or a custom rod.

Depending on where you fish you may find someone who has really thought about the perfect rod for that space, species and techniques. That person would make a good custom rod for you, the same way as some of the lure carvers make highly regionalised and species specific lures.

I can recommend Weapons and J Dez rods. JDez is sunnydays on this site. Just check the show us ya bling section.

[Piranha]

I have a mix of custom builds and off the shelf, Most of my off the shelf rods are more expensive than the customs.

Having the choice of blank type, size, weight, length, guide type and configuration, handle/grip steup perfect for your needs is hard to go past, so the custom rods tend to get more use

[TassieDevil]

There is a general misconception here.
Take a $500-600 off the shelf rod.
You can buy the blank for said rod for around $80-100 from the USA.
Add your hardware.
They rod builder adds a margin.
If you can build your self you get a better rod (through hardware) than the shelf item at half the cost.
It seems that many who are against custom are arguing the other way.
And that's aside from all the other benefits of being able to 'customize' it to all your wants and needs and making it look as individual as you desire.

[FTP]

Originally Posted by TassieDevil

There is a general misconception here.
Take a $500-600 off the shelf rod.
You can buy the blank for said rod for around $80-100 from the USA.
Add your hardware.
They rod builder adds a margin.
If you can build your self you get a better rod (through hardware) than the shelf item at half the cost.
It seems that many who are against custom are arguing the other way.
And that's aside from all the other benefits of being able to 'customize' it to all your wants and needs and making it look as individual as you desire.

As long as you can build your own rod. I can't so I am happy to pay someone else to do it. If you build your own rods then yes, the price is pretty cheap. $100 for a blank, $150+ for titanium SICs (depending on how many you need) and reel seat plus other bits leaves you change from $300. Have a look at how many variations of reel seats are made by Matagi. You can get a pretty crazy looking rod if you want that you will NEVER see replicated in store

[nbdshroom]

Assuming one goes custom, can they buy the blanks of off the shelve rods such as as Edge or NRX blanks?

Also, if a rod is broken 2 years down the road, will there be any sort of Xpeditor warranty?

[Partizan Fk]

I think it depends who is building your rod .
I have all off the shelfs because my pockets arent deep but they function well enough with what im doing be it squidding or fishing.But i have used a couple custom rods one being made by a BM member i think his name is Python.The thing was probably the best spin casting reel ive ever casted the line went through smooth and effortless you could feel the diffrence but as i said it depends who sets your rod up and guides etc.
It depends on what you want and how deep those pockets are.

[manno]

Yeah, you can buy Edge blanks. About 150 USD for the blank i was looking at. Dunno about a warranty though.

[Partizan Fk]

You can go the Phenix k1 blank very nice not sure about the price though Mudhole havem but the edge blank for $150 is pretty good.

[vxcalais]

Great posts all round. I think as stated so many off the shelf rods specified for Breaming there is so much to choose from. Knowing the blank type used seems Exotic, compared to off the shelf where you are not really sure and same across a few brands.

[lukereneeseth]

I've had a lot of both. 10 years ago I would've said custom is a great way to go. In 2015 with so many companies on the market now with so many different grades, sizes and weights; I'd never waste the money on a custom rod.

There is no custom rod in this day and age that can give you an "edge" that an off the shelf rod cannot supply. A lot of people are still going custom for that chair rod or marlin rod, but I don't know anyone going custom for a simple bream or beach rod.

It is a lot cheaper to buy an over the shelf Hi Mod rod with Ti guides than it is to have one made up. eg. A Northfork rod with Ti guides can be had for $380. A Northfork rod with Ti guides "custom" made you'd be looking at $500 - $700 (from Gary Howard)

I know everyone would say going custom is getting exactly what you want. But at the end of the day the final product in most cases will not be exactly what you had in your head because its not something you have felt and fished with in the first place. At least off the shelf you pick it up, the storeman can load it up for you, you can even put your reel on run line through it and feel the load up.

Most builders (all that I've dealt with) do not give warranty on rods except component builds (ie. guide falling off) because a blank from the factory does not come under a standard manufactured rod. Much like not getting log book services for the car, something happening and trying to claim under warranty.

I know Miller rods don't seem to have this problem, but it is hard going get a dollar back from trying to on-sell custom rods.

Some companies can customise off the shelf rods these days anyway like Wilson, there aren't too many blanks that are better than the Venom X, yet they can do anything to or on the blank you wish.

Until AGS guides can be bought, its hard to see the point when there are over the counter rods like Battler, Kistler, Shimano Exsence, Carpenter,