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Darent valley rods…

I don't have those particular models, but do own the 11' Specialist 0.75lb rods (a pair) and the 12' Specialist Float (1lb). Corners have been cut on the cosmetics to keep the price down, but the blanks themselves are excellent. The main cost saving is apparent on the handles, which are "cork style" (i.e. a thin layer of cork over some sort of composite). Having said that, the handles are showing no signs of wear after a couple of years' regular use. I think they're very good value for money.
 
I think as many others are going to say, brilliant rods, just built down to a price. Cheap rings and cork wrap over foam, but I have no issues with that.

0.75, 1.25 and 1.75 have all been in my collection. Classic through actions.

You can now buy them as bare blanks with the rings if you want to build your own up with slightly better components.
 
I have the 13ft two piece float rod which I bought to carry, all set up, with my normal barbel rods if I fancy doing a bit of float work for other species in the same session. I cannot find any fault with it.
 
I also just bought the two piece float rod for the convenience of leaving it set up. Not had a chance to use it just yet but impressed with the build for the money. The tackle box are an excellent company to deal with so buy with confidence.
 
As others have said the blanks are pretty good (i have 0.75 2x 1.25 twin tips and a 1.25 low guide set), the handles i think are fine for the money and the durability is good, they are also very short (which suited my needs), the quality of the guides is also good for the price (thankfully no minima style junk). The build itself is not so hot though, the gloss finishes all have clouds, fingerprints and dust throughout (you wont notice in natural light but look at it under ceiling lights in a dark room and its a very different picture), the ringing is nowhere near perfectly straight on any of them either, and on one Avon tip of my two twin tips there's a couple of guides that are noticeably out of line without really looking down the blank. The whippings are also a bit inconsistent in terms of there size and length and there are gaps towards the end of the guide legs where the leg shows through slightly. So in summary I'm happy with the components and the performance of the components but in my opinion the build quality is not on par with comparably prices rods. A £40-£50 korum rod is built to a much higher spec of finish (not necessarily components) than what I've seen from the Darent Valley range. That said I'm pretty fussy about this stuff and I look for it in the tackle i buy. If your the sort of person who wouldn't even think to check how straight the guides are whipped on to a rod then you will probably be more than happy with them. Hope this helps.
 
I was looking at one of the Darent Valley medium quiver tip feeder rods (forget which one), but was put off by the fact that The Tackle Box said the only quiver tips available for it were the ones it came with. The tone of their reply to my email was somewhat dismissive.

You were asking about rods on another thread, OP, with a budget of £400.00 for two rods and reels. I don't know why you're now looking at rods way below that budget, but I'l repeat what I said on the other thread, that the Guru Specimen Barbel 2.25lb is a beautifully finished rod, and for £100.00 it looks like a rod that should cost twice the price.

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Ian McDonald said:
As others have said the blanks are pretty good (i have 0.75 2x 1.25 twin tips and a 1.25 low guide set), the handles i think are fine for the money and the durability is good, they are also very short (which suited my needs), the quality of the guides is also good for the price (thankfully no minima style junk). The build itself is not so hot though, the gloss finishes all have clouds, fingerprints and dust throughout (you wont notice in natural light but look at it under ceiling lights in a dark room and its a very different picture), the ringing is nowhere near perfectly straight on any of them either, and on one Avon tip of my two twin tips there's a couple of guides that are noticeably out of line without really looking down the blank. The whippings are also a bit inconsistent in terms of there size and length and there are gaps towards the end of the guide legs where the leg shows through slightly. So in summary I'm happy with the components and the performance of the components but in my opinion the build quality is not on par with comparably prices rods. A £40-£50 korum rod is built to a much higher spec of finish (not necessarily components) than what I've seen from the Darent Valley range. That said I'm pretty fussy about this stuff and I look for it in the tackle i buy. If your the sort of person who wouldn't even think to check how straight the guides are whipped on to a rod then you will probably be more than happy with them. Hope this helps.
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Interesting. I just relooked at my rod and the build is spot on. None of the faults that you have encountered at all. Not dismissing your experience though.
 
Kevin Steele said:
I was looking at one of the Darent Valley medium quiver tip feeder rods (forget which one), but was put off by the fact that The Tackle Box said the only quiver tips available for it were the ones it came with. The tone of their reply to my email was somewhat dismissive.

You were asking about rods on another thread, OP, with a budget of £400.00 for two rods and reels. I don't know why you're now looking at rods way below that budget, but I'l repeat what I said on the other thread, that the Guru Specimen Barbel 2.25lb is a beautifully finished rod, and for £100.00 it looks like a rod that should cost twice the price.

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Just weighing up all of my options, i dont want to rush into buying something for the sake of it.
 
I wanted the 1.5 elite as a barbel rod, they look nice, but, I could get the 1.5 FS River Tamer for similar price and have the extra quiver section.
 
Stuart Linton said:
Interesting. I just relooked at my rod and the build is spot on. None of the faults that you have encountered at all. Not dismissing your experience though.
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Stuart, Im not implying they are bad rods and ive no doubt from some of the feedback Ive seen (inclding yourself) that there are some good examples out there. The 4 I have cover 3 models in the range and were purchased as 3 separate orders over a 14 month period so I don't believe its a batch issue. I think the issue is just the acceptable quality level of the fit and finish on these rods is way to low, which is why there is such a huge variance in the quality of finish. Given the small production batch sizes compared to larger manufacturers budget offerings this will be how the price has been kept competitive. The rods in the range that I own are fairly niche (which is why I continued to purchase them) and I use then in situations where I need to concentrate on catching and landing fish and not worrying about trashing my much more expensive rods by dragging them through bushes, poking them under trees and whacking branches on the strike. This seems to be the case with most of the people commenting and providing feedback on them. The OP however is not asking for feedback on a 'niche' rod and as such I personally think there are much better budget options out there than the Darent Valley range.
 
After hearing multiple opinions on this thread aswell as my other, i am hopefully going to pick up a pair of very lightly used Daiwa powermesh instead this weekend.

I have heard nothing but good things about them so fingers crossed i am onto a winner 🤞🏻
 
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