PennKev wrote:
. I just wish you could get name brand blanks that you know how they should cast at an affordable price. I am always skeptical with these off brand blanks. If they were so great wouldn't they be selling their rods finished or another rod company using their blanks? Can you point me in the direction of one of these blank companies that are equivalent to G Loomis, Orvis, Sage, etc?
Like I said, you have to just go for it.
Blank companies are in the business of selling blanks. That has nothing to do with how the finished rod performs. They do not sell completed rods because that is not their business and they don't want to compete in that market or take on the expenses of doing so.
Believe it or not, H&H, Mudhole, Pacific Bay, and Batson (among many) all offer high performance options. If you think you need to buy a big name and spend $400 rather than $100-200 to get a top of the line blank, that is on you. But once you take the leap and build on a good blank, that idea will be shattered.
Here's a little story: A guide friend of mine who gets Winstons at a great discount and who is also a part owner of a very highly acclaimed bamboo rod shop was casting my recently built H&H FTX 9ft 5wt. He was very impressed by the rod and couldn't believe the entire build cost only around $200. He must have said "That's a sweet rod." five or six time without realizing it.
Yes, in this case Asian manufacturing is a factor in the low cost, but you shouldn't confuse that with being a poorly designed blank or one using second rate or obsolete materials. Companies like Pacific Bay and Batson, for instance have a very good reputation for producing good blanks. They may not have the sex appeal of a Winston, but they are the bread and butter brands of the custom rod world and offer good options at many price points.
Furthermore, we need to compare apples to apples. Look at the blank only companies and compare their blank prices to the blank prices from TFO which are also Asian made blanks. You still pay for that TFO logo the same as you pay for Sage or whoever else. Also, at one point Batson was producing a lot of blanks in the US, they were still significantly less expensive than the blanks the big made-in-the-US rod brands were selling. Also, consider that rod manufacturers want you to buy completed rods. They are not going to price their blanks so low as to encourage customers to NOT buy completed rods. Blank companies, on the other hand, must price their blanks so that customers choose building on their blanks as opposed to buying someone else's complete rod. Unfortunately that has forced most blank companies to rely heavily on foreign manufacturing.
And, if after all that, you are still dead set on a Winston or Sage blank, you can still get those on steep discounts if you are patient and keep an eye out.
