• You need to be a registered member of Barbel Fishing World to post on these forums. Some of the forums are hidden from non-members. Please refer to the instructions on the ‘Register’ page for details of how to join the new incarnation of BFW...

Free Spirit HI s HW

Terry Simner said:
A message to, and for, all those that cannot afford to spent £250+ on a new rod ...
The sole purpose, the raison d'etre, of a fishing rod is to catch fish.​
Most of my barbel have been caught on rods (Nash Tri-tips) that cost under £80 each. Like some cars I've owned, they've got me "From A to B" (i.e. those rods caught many fish)
But... I've got various rods that are things of beauty, wonderful to use and very pleasing to the eye. I, and we, buy them mainly just because we can... but they don't catch us any more fish. Some rods will enable us to maybe cast further, some may absorb shocks more ably, some will more suit our style of fishing/playing fish, and some will 'just feel' nicer to use ... but they won't catch us any, definitely not many, more fish.
But, at present I'm having a new rod built, and eagerly awaiting its arrival and catching my first barbel on it ;)
Click to expand...
Terry is right, they won't catch you more fish, but also right in saying you will probably love owning them.
I'm in my 70's and fish a couple of times each week for perhaps 3 to 4 hours. I cannot justify spending hundreds on a rod and would be petrified of damaging it if I did.
But if you are careful you can buy some really good gear second hand from this classified section. I've purchased three rods and five reels from various bfw members and been delighted with every one.
 
Richard Isaacs said:
They are ok, they do the job but they are just a budget ring. They don’t match the strength or the anti tangle properties of a Fuji k series
You’ll bend a single s lite easily with a good knock and I’ve seen them let the inserts go.
youll probably break the blank before you bend a Fuji k single guide they are that strong.
again free spirits cork is ok it’s quite hard but it’s a half decent grade but it’s not A grade. It doesn’t come anywhere near to the feel and quality of the cork that daiwa use on their top end arm lock grips. I’ve had both side by side and they are worlds apart.
I love the blanks and I’d definitely have another if it was cheap enough but in standard form they should give us the top end fittings for the money they command.
Click to expand...
Hi Richard the single leg guides on my hi S specialist rods are extremely strong !! So would imagine the Fuji guides you refer to would be bomb proof ??? As you said in an earlier post ,they did have double legged guides.
It was Anglers who asked Free Spirit to put single leg guides on 🤔
 
Adam Wylie said:
Hi Richard the single leg guides on my hi S specialist rods are extremely strong !! So would imagine the Fuji guides you refer to would be bomb proof ??? As you said in an earlier post ,they did have double legged guides.
It was Anglers who asked Free Spirit to put single leg guides on 🤔
Click to expand...
You like them so that’s all that matters. I don’t think they are that great personally there are much better guides out there but that’s my opinion
 
Before I bought the HI S 13ft HW ,I priced up the same Blank, custom built ,with Fuji guide ,AAA Cork,soft touch Fuji reel seat , mettalic red tippets, keeper ring ,isotope fitting on rod tip,Gold lettering ( 13ft Heavy water ) Approx price given by well know builder ??
£525 each plus £25 postage 😳😳😳
 
Tim Marks said:
I bought a beautiful set of Hi-S carp rods a while back. They were virtually brand new and had been built by Mark Tunley.

Everything about them was great; except for the Standard FS reel seats which I didn’t like at all.

I ended up reselling them 3 years later (so somebody else liked them too!) having never fished with them as I’d fallen out of love with Stillwater carp fishing.

P.S. My local rod builder (Cotswold rods) advertises new cork handles for around £100.
Click to expand...
cotswold are ok if you don’t mind waiting months and months with no communication
 
Tim Marks said:
You obviously have an axe to grind……

Im just stating the fact that Tom has built/repaired several rods for me and there have been no issues.
Click to expand...
no axe to grind just a bad experience also got a friend in the middle of a bad experience ..you obviously have had the opposite which is good but in your words he is your friend… the reviews on google are not just bad they are terrible…
have a look on carp forums and you will find many more
at the end of the day it’s up to the individuals who they use … i can only speak as i find
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top