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2.25lb rods, which won’t break the bank?

Neil Blood

Neil Blood

Senior Member
The majority of my Barbel fishing is done with 11’ 1.5lb TC custom rods and centrepins. Occasionally I also use a couple of 12’ 1.75lb Torrix with fixed spool reels.


I want to add a couple 2.25lb 12’ rods to my armoury. I’d love Chimera 3’s or Basias, but for such limited use, I can’t really justify that kind of outlay.

So looking at £100 rod options:

Guru N-Guage 2.25lb look to be a good spec for the money. Guru appear to have done a poor job marketing their Barbel rods and they are not even listed on their website? Can’t find independent reviews anywhere.

Daiwa Powermesh 2.25lb I’m well aware that they are well thought of on here, but I can’t get past those cheap Lightweight SEAGUIDE stainless frame line guides, on the latest models.

Drennan Specialist Barbel 2.25lb I have some concerns regarding the quality of finish on Drennan’s Specialist rod range and especially the green lacquer finish.

Any thoughts/recommendations welcome please.
 
I haven't any experience of the above but I'd be tempted to search out a second hand pair of the older Daiwa Powermesh. Like you I wouldn't fancy the seaguides and I've just always liked those older Powermeshs.
 
I've got a pair of the Guru rods and can't fault them. For the money they're really well balanced and feel nice in the hand; for such a powerful rod, the action is fairly progressive.

Regarding the Guru website, for a company that is so big on social media and has the power(/wealth) of Korda behind it, their website is drastically out of date! They've made big strides into the pole, mid-range and budget-range match rod market... none of these items are posted on their website! The two top end poles are £3k and £4.4k as well.

The article at the top of the page when you land is from 2019, so looks like it could do with a big refresh!
 
Michael Gorman said:
I've got a pair of the Guru rods and can't fault them. For the money they're really well balanced and feel nice in the hand; for such a powerful rod, the action is fairly progressive.

Regarding the Guru website, for a company that is so big on social media and has the power(/wealth) of Korda behind it, their website is drastically out of date! They've made big strides into the pole, mid-range and budget-range match rod market... none of these items are posted on their website! The two top end poles are £3k and £4.4k as well.

The article at the top of the page when you land is from 2019, so looks like it could do with a big refresh!
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Cheers for that and I will order a pair 👍🏻
 
Sonik rods may be worth a look. Reasonable quality and cheap as chips but they do the job. No 2.25 in their range but they do a 2.5 or a 2 in their range.


Dave
 
Christian Tyroll said:
I haven't any experience of the above but I'd be tempted to search out a second hand pair of the older Daiwa Powermesh. Like you I wouldn't fancy the seaguides and I've just always liked those older Powermeshs.
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P
Neil Blood said:
The majority of my Barbel fishing is done with 11’ 1.5lb TC custom rods and centrepins. Occasionally I also use a couple of 12’ 1.75lb Torrix with fixed spool reels.


I want to add a couple 2.25lb 12’ rods to my armoury. I’d love Chimera 3’s or Basias, but for such limited use, I can’t really justify that kind of outlay.

So looking at £100 rod options:

Guru N-Guage 2.25lb look to be a good spec for the money. Guru appear to have done a poor job marketing their Barbel rods and they are not even listed on their website? Can’t find independent reviews anywhere.

Daiwa Powermesh 2.25lb I’m well aware that they are well thought of on here, but I can’t get past those cheap Lightweight SEAGUIDE stainless frame line guides, on the latest models.

Drennan Specialist Barbel 2.25lb I have some concerns regarding the quality of finish on Drennan’s Specialist rod range and especially the green lacquer finish.

Any thoughts/recommendations welcome please.
Click to expand...
Hi
Neil Blood said:
The majority of my Barbel fishing is done with 11’ 1.5lb TC custom rods and centrepins. Occasionally I also use a couple of 12’ 1.75lb Torrix with fixed spool reels.


I want to add a couple 2.25lb 12’ rods to my armoury. I’d love Chimera 3’s or Basias, but for such limited use, I can’t really justify that kind of outlay.

So looking at £100 rod options:

Guru N-Guage 2.25lb look to be a good spec for the money. Guru appear to have done a poor job marketing their Barbel rods and they are not even listed on their website? Can’t find independent reviews anywhere.

Daiwa Powermesh 2.25lb I’m well aware that they are well thought of on here, but I can’t get past those cheap Lightweight SEAGUIDE stainless frame line guides, on the latest models.

Drennan Specialist Barbel 2.25lb I have some concerns regarding the quality of finish on Drennan’s Specialist rod range and especially the green lacquer finish.

Any thoughts/recommendations welcome please.
Click to expand...
Neil Blood said:
The majority of my Barbel fishing is done with 11’ 1.5lb TC custom rods and centrepins. Occasionally I also use a couple of 12’ 1.75lb Torrix with fixed spool reels.


I want to add a couple 2.25lb 12’ rods to my armoury. I’d love Chimera 3’s or Basias, but for such limited use, I can’t really justify that kind of outlay.

So looking at £100 rod options:

Guru N-Guage 2.25lb look to be a good spec for the money. Guru appear to have done a poor job marketing their Barbel rods and they are not even listed on their website? Can’t find independent reviews anywhere.

Daiwa Powermesh 2.25lb I’m well aware that they are well thought of on here, but I can’t get past those cheap Lightweight SEAGUIDE stainless frame line guides, on the latest models.

Drennan Specialist Barbel 2.25lb I have some concerns regarding the quality of finish on Drennan’s Specialist rod range and especially the green lacquer finish.

Any thoughts/recommendations welcome please.
Click to expand...
 
Hi all
Excuse my previous post!
Anyhow what about a second hand pair of Fox Duo lite FX twin tips - 1.75 & 2.25lbs.
I have had Chimera and now prefer the Fox Duo FX with a stiffer but section. Don't like the build on the newer Fox X4
Regards Wayne
 
Wayne Robinson said:
Hi all
Excuse my previous post!
Anyhow what about a second hand pair of Fox Duo lite FX twin tips - 1.75 & 2.25lbs.
I have had Chimera and now prefer the Fox Duo FX with a stiffer but section. Don't like the build on the newer Fox X4
Regards Wayne
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Unfortunately I had such a bad experience with Fox products and relating customer service a number of years ago that I swore never to go near them again. I’ve held true to it too!
 
Neil Smart said:
Blimey Neil, what happened?🤔
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When Fox first entered the reel market, I bought two FS7000 bait runners. Within weeks the anti reverse failed on one and the free spool leaver snapped on the other.

Both sent back for repair under warranty. They sent me two repaired reels back, which were cosmetically totally battered in appearance! Clearly someone elses reels from the repair pool. I complained and they claimed that they were my reels, which they 100% were not! I was furious but they stuck to their claim 😡

A couple of weeks before I also had a Fox net snap in two!

So never again and for years, I’ve steered well clear of the brand,
 
Wayne Robinson said:
Hi all
Excuse my previous post!
Anyhow what about a second hand pair of Fox Duo lite FX twin tips - 1.75 & 2.25lbs.
I have had Chimera and now prefer the Fox Duo FX with a stiffer but section. Don't like the build on the newer Fox X4
Regards Wayne
Click to expand...
Wouldn't touch those Duo Lite's with the proverbial barge pole. Both my 1.75 tips broke for no apparent reason under minimal strain and reel fittings on both came loose and flopped to the side.
 
Neil Blood said:
When Fox first entered the reel market, I bought two FS7000 bait runners. Within weeks the anti reverse failed on one and the free spool leaver snapped on the other.

Both sent back for repair under warranty. They sent me two repaired reels back, which were cosmetically totally battered in appearance! Clearly someone elses reels from the repair pool. I complained and they claimed that they were my reels, which they 100% were not! I was furious but they stuck to their claim 😡

A couple of weeks before I also had a Fox net snap in two!

So never again and for years, I’ve steered well clear of the brand,
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That's pretty bad Neil. I have heard other bad things regarding their reels too. However I do have a soft spot for their older green rods as do many others. Enjoy your new rods.
 
I trawled through a few of the Barbel related Facebook pages yesterday, which I normally avoid like the plague. A search on the Guru Barbel rods, claimed the rods are built on Daiwa blanks and a few first hand experiences claimed the rods had snapped low down on the cast. One guy who worked in a tackle shop also claimed they’d had a number of broken rods returned. Problems appeared to be with the twin tip 1.75lb TC model, but it’s not filling me with confidence.

Another thing that struck me from searching is I can’t find anyone who uses the Korum Omegas.
 
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