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Heavy Barbel rods

Basia for me, but that's because I've just bought two.

Slightly off topic. I like the Freespirit feeder rods, so maybe I'd like the heavy water. Having said that, If money wasn't an issue, I'd buy the Guru Aventus feeder rods. Which are a Daiwa blank anyway.
 
If its the 13ft FS, they are like chalk and cheese imo. Now if you said Chimera 4 or FS 13ft 2.75, that would get us going.
 
Hi all ,
The reason I ask is because I have bought 2 x BASIA X45 BARBEL 2.75.
My mate has bought a pair of FREE SPIRIT HI S HEAVY WATER 2.75.
He says they are the best rods he has ever owned.
I am now wandering wether to take the Basias back as I haven't used them.This would cost me another £300 to change,hence the question as to opinions on which is best👍
 
Adam Wylie said:
Hi all ,
The reason I ask is because I have bought 2 x BASIA X45 BARBEL 2.75.
My mate has bought a pair of FREE SPIRIT HI S HEAVY WATER 2.75.
He says they are the best rods he has ever owned.
I am now wandering wether to take the Basias back as I haven't used them.This would cost me another £300 to change,hence the question as to opinions on which is best👍
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If you've not already done so, can't you go and have a look at his? put a bend in them and see how they feel for you? As Jon said they are very different rods, but what feels right for your mate may not be right for you. You don't want to be parting company with another wad of cash until you try them yourself and you're happy, then buy yourself a pair of Chimera 4s😀
 
How often are you going to use them Adam? If, like me, you can only get up the Trent a handfull of times each season then what you’ve got will do the job BUT if you live on the banks of a big river and fish 3-4 days a week then the investment might be worth it BUT as Mark say’s play with your mates rod and make sure it feels right in your hands. Might not suit you !
 
I am only 20 mins from the Trent
Mark Harridence said:
If you've not already done so, can't you go and have a look at his? put a bend in them and see how they feel for you? As Jon said they are very different rods, but what feels right for your mate may not be right for you. You don't want to be parting company with another wad of cash until you try them yourself and you're happy, then buy yourself a pair of Chimera 4s😀
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I have had the Hi s 13ft 2.75 rods for the past couple of years and i also still have the wychwood 13ft twin tips 2lb /2.5lb, if i turned up on june 16th and the river was normal and didnt want to fish the far bank id proberbly use them, the hi s is a powerful rod simple as, its a lovely rod to look at and use, and will subdue fish quicker than my other rods, cant say iv lost a single fish on it due to hook pulls, comes into its own when you have some water on and need bigger leads etc, but there is no doubt my wychwood 2lb rod is nicer to play fish on , because of the lighter tc , and most of the time through the summer months on the tidal it will do a great job, i think these days the trend is to buy more powerful rods than we actually need, considering the FS is the best part of £400 each and the wychwoods cost about £100 each having a top end rod doesnt mean it feels better when playing fish.
 
Why do you want to take the basias back based on what your mate says. I personally wouldn’t entertain buying rods of this caliber without first trying them out.
I can’t comment on the HiS as I’ve not used one but I have the basias 2.75 and they’ll do the job of putting out lead no problem. They are powerful tools with a superb big fish playing action.
I can get 6 oz over to the far bank at Sutton on the wide corners easy enough. That’s gotta be 50-60 yards.
 
Adam Wylie said:
So is the CHIMERA 4 better than the FS and the BASIA ????
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It’s not a realistic question because you’ll get 50% say yes and 50% say no. So how do you base a decision on that???

take my favorite barbel rods for example the torrix 11 ft 1.75. Of all 5 of my fishing friends that I occasionally meet up with only 2 would agree they are lovely rods. the other 3 dislike them and would chose a lot of other rods before using mine.
so are they better?? To me yes but not to them.
also going back to your mate with the Hi S rods. Most people will tell you their own rod is better than another without any experience of comparison.
There’s a bloke on this pike forum that absolutely cracks me up. arrogant is not the word!! 🤣 I’m not going to publicly name him but he’s got all the best gear and anyone that uses anything different is just a total numpty
Point being asking for opinions on things is ok but basing an expensive purchase on those opinions is the quickest way to throw your cash up the swanny. All ways do everything in your power to try one out first then hand over the pound notes.
 
take them back you know it’s the right thing to do 😉😁

as others have said have a look at your mates and make a decision from there rods are very personal things
 
I think that's a good shout Adam
I have a very dear friend who is relentless in swapping rods out without ever really getting to know what he's using??
Just " cos he can" doesn't necessarily mean he should and it certainly doesn't put any more fish on the bank
I get we all like nice rods but having invested in them, we miss a trick if we don't really put them through their paces
Last season a lot of my small river barbel fishing was done on a classic Armalite which I took out for a nostalgic trip and never put it down, but it was just perfect. All my other rods barely got used, apart from the big river trips and what little we had of the Autumn/ Winter.
 
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