Pantera61

I have 3 casting models, the 6'3" M, the 6'9" MH and the 7' M. I had the the 7'6" H flipping but sold it, I found it to be under-rated. I considered it to be XH but what can you say? Anyhoo, I would recommend the Vendettas to someone I would see everyday and know they most likely wouldn't complain about me giving bad advice.

Zip, Zilch, Nada.

The path to wisdom is to form your opinions based upon your experiences rather than second hand information.

or a 1 oz Hopkin's spoon off the top of his noggin.

If you can find them, try the Jackall Yammy 500 and 250. They could be described as Senko like but thinner. The 250 is the slow fall version. The Super Crosstail is another excellent Jackall bait.

Vendetta fish, this morning, 21", 5 lb 3 oz LMB, 6'3" Vendetta, Revo Elite, Daiwa 16lb Floater line.

In the States, they ain't gonna lose any sleep. No warranty on Evergreen unless you bought from one company through a very small window of time.

I have a friend who owns a rod manufactering company in Korea. They spin their own blanks and such he said that no matter how expensive the rod is the blank it's self when it's first made costs no more than 15$ for even the extremely top end rods like the 1,000 evergreen the rest of the cost is componets and then from there they like to make at least 100% profit but try fo 200% if they can I am a rod builder for a living for a small manufacturer/saltwater retail store in the northeast. You guys would be amazed by the cost of some "high end" blanks from major manufacturers if you're on their top end programs. I could build a SCV St Croix with Fuji titanium guides for under $200. Things that drive the costs up are Matagi seats which can run $30+ wholesale but a simple Fuji ESC seat runs only $3-$5. That being said, why don't I build freshwater rods my self. Well, I have. But when you make rods 8-10 hours a day it's a job and not a hobby. uh-oh, now it's really going to hit the fan ...

As the author of both comments, I guess, I'd like to say this: 1. The "insecurity googles" was intended to be a joke. Along the lines of "Gee Pal, you must have had your beer googles on when you were talking to that one.". Perhaps this, : or another would have lightened it up a bit. 2. Single-minded and narrow-minded are two different things to me. Single-minded referring to "Don't you dare challenge the order. Shimano is superior in all aspects, in every attribute, with every item.". You know what, it ain't. Not by a long shot. I'm not the first person to say it. Not on this thread, not on this forum. It's not heat they're responding to, it's the resistance. That being said, it's you're playground and your rules. They will be followed.

I LOVE MY CUMULUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Well, that only took 6 pages :

I got rid of the Steez more than a year ago because it wasn't sensitive enough. I purchased an Evergreen rod which was in the same price range and significantly more sensitive. In November of 09, I bought my first Vendetta and found it to be more sensitive than the Daiwa Zillion and the Steez. Was it a bum Steez? Who knows. Do I have super Vendetta? Who knows. I do know this, I found the Vendetta to be equivalent in performance to rods costing twice and three times as much. I feel confident with the Vendetta series of rods and I look forward to purchasing a few new Veritas rods.

"Unapologetically Abu!" This reminds me of the old saying about "the pot calling the kettle black" ;D I've fished a vendetta rod and it's a fine stick at its price point, but make no mistake, it's not in the same league as the Cumulus - nor should it be! Hey, Bronze, the tagline is more about not taking any second-class citizen guff after Daiwa/Shimano, not about only using Abu. As mentioned previously, I don't have any anti-Daiwa, Falcon, Megabass or Evergreen prejudice. Give the people what they want, it's just going to be a whole new world when the model AFTER the Veritas are released.

I don't believe anyone has stated that the Cumulus is 3 times better than the Vendetta. There is a point of diminishing return in every line of products. Some believe it is worth it to pay for the increased performance that comes from a high-end product, even if it doesn't provide the same amount of performance per dollar as a value product. Others don't think it is. This is how arguments like this one begin. Is the Vendetta a better value than the Cumulus? Probably. But is the Cumulus is a superior rod overall (to an unbiased individual)? Obviously. It boils down to certain groups of people having their single-mindedness challenged.

Not much point when peoples minds are already made up. I fish with a guy that has two Vendetta rods. They are not even close to the same class as the Cumulus. This is just a chance for people to justify their purchase of a Vendetta rod. Actually, it's the opposite. It's the losing battle of someone trying to justify paying 3X more for a rod that's not 3X the rod. The thread was not started by someone owning a Cumulus. I have no need to justify my purpose. Thats why you don't see me starting a thread about how awesome my Cumulus is. It sounds to me like most people here do not even own Cumulus rods. They just realize how rediculous it is to claim the Vendetta is a better rod. 1. No one is claiming the Vendetta is a better rod, your insecurity goggles are reading that. 2. This is the typical thread about why folks won't pay that much for a rod and how can anybody else spend that much either. Exceptin' of course when the name on the rod is Shimano. 3. Why don't you tell me exactly what it is that makes the Cumulus a better rod? Is it the guides? Is it the reel seat? Is it the thread? Maybe you will tell me the Cumulus is 3X more sensitive than the comparable Vendetta. It's checkmate, friend. Take it like a big boy.

Not much point when peoples minds are already made up. I fish with a guy that has two Vendetta rods. They are not even close to the same class as the Cumulus. This is just a chance for people to justify their purchase of a Vendetta rod. Actually, it's the opposite. It's the losing battle of someone trying to justify paying 3X more for a rod that's not 3X the rod.

Yeah, it's almost unbelievable people are willing to defend Shimano at 3X the price!

nothing like deliberately missing the point or tossing red herring into chowder. While you're swapping the price tags, why don't you swap the components while you're at it? See how that goes. actually, it is the only point. one man's trash is always another man's treasure...as i wouldn't put much faith in one man's erstwhile assessment of a subjective value, neither would i place much faith in another man's interpretation of that value...as the o.p. suggests. as far as the original vendetta/cumulus...personally, i don't see either in my future. As previously mentioned, the Vendetta was tested against the baseline GLX @ $300.00 + and held it's own. A machine is not subjective, it is objective.

Quick background, if I may. I've been using JDM rods for probably 7 years now, Megabass, Evergreen and Daiwa (Japan Versions). Last year, I got tired of worrying about stuff walking away during tournaments, stuff being kicked overboard or broken so I picked up the Vendetta 6'9" casting model. I liked it so much I picked up the 6'3" caster, than the 7' med moderate, then the 6'9" spinning and the 7'6" heavy flippin. For about $350 I have a great set of rods that I can take anywhere I use any way I see fit without a second thought. I wouldn't use them in tournaments if they were garbage, that's insanity. The gap between great equipment and excellent is narrowing.

quoting from Cal, TackleTour, link below: http://www.tackletour.com/reviewdaiwacompx.html "Sensitivity: This is where I really expected this rod to shine. It flat out feels like a stick that is pre-tensioned to deliver the ultimate in sensitivity. In actual fishing applications, I was, in fact, disappointed. It is a sensitive rod, do not get me wrong. In fact, I find it on par with my BCR893 GLX and even my Megabass F5 1/2 68XFti SB Diablo - both very good jig sticks. But with the way this rod feels in hand, I was expecting to be blown away, especially when fishing a jig, and I wasn't. Bottom composition is fairly easy to discern with this rod, but where I was hoping for extra-feedback was in actual strike detection. While fishing the jig, I still encountered a fair number of pressure bites which lead me to the conclusion this rod is no more sensitive than the other two I mentioned above. Perhaps I was just expecting too much." Now, for my experience regarding the Steez Compile X sensitivity: I was fishing a small, club tournament on a lake with good clarity. I was able to see a bass take the jig and not detect the bite. No once but multiple times. The Vendetta 6'9" casting rod, on the other hand, delivered crisp detection of both fish and bottom structure. You can take your $300 or $400 or $559 rod and YOUR PRIDE, wear the price tag on your sleeve and feel real good about it or you can try something new, that performs beyond it's price point. There's still a difference between the real enthusiast and custom made stuff but the gap is narrowing. The Vendetta rods could use a bit of refinement. I'm using the 6'9" ML and it's not a Megabass or Evergreen rod but it holds it's own. I also use the 7'1" compileX rod for jigs and apparently we must be using different compileX rods cause mine is very sensitive. I can feel the bottom contour so well I could draw it on a canvas. Im not knocking the Vendetta rods they catch fish and thats all that matters but to me they are not better than my Steez or Loomis GLX rods and price is not the determining factor in my opinion of the rods. Could I have had a bum rod? Anything is possible but I can only go by my personal experience and not rely on second hand reports or conjecture. I had the 6'3" Steez casting rod as well, used it for topwaters and shallow cranks, the 6'3" Vendetta performs as well FOR THOSE APPLICATIONS. I have some high dollar rods and I would be the first to say withdraw pricing from tackle comparisons. A rod or reel for that matter, should be judged on it's on merit.

nothing like deliberately missing the point or tossing red herring into chowder. While you're swapping the price tags, why don't you swap the components while you're at it? See how that goes.

quoting from Cal, TackleTour, link below: http://www.tackletour.com/reviewdaiwacompx.html "Sensitivity: This is where I really expected this rod to shine. It flat out feels like a stick that is pre-tensioned to deliver the ultimate in sensitivity. In actual fishing applications, I was, in fact, disappointed. It is a sensitive rod, do not get me wrong. In fact, I find it on par with my BCR893 GLX and even my Megabass F5 1/2 68XFti SB Diablo - both very good jig sticks. But with the way this rod feels in hand, I was expecting to be blown away, especially when fishing a jig, and I wasn't. Bottom composition is fairly easy to discern with this rod, but where I was hoping for extra-feedback was in actual strike detection. While fishing the jig, I still encountered a fair number of pressure bites which lead me to the conclusion this rod is no more sensitive than the other two I mentioned above. Perhaps I was just expecting too much." Now, for my experience regarding the Steez Compile X sensitivity: I was fishing a small, club tournament on a lake with good clarity. I was able to see a bass take the jig and not detect the bite. No once but multiple times. The Vendetta 6'9" casting rod, on the other hand, delivered crisp detection of both fish and bottom structure. You can take your $300 or $400 or $559 rod and YOUR PRIDE, wear the price tag on your sleeve and feel real good about it or you can try something new, that performs beyond it's price point. There's still a difference between the real enthusiast and custom made stuff but the gap is narrowing. The Vendetta rods could use a bit of refinement. I'm using the 6'9" ML and it's not a Megabass or Evergreen rod but it holds it's own.

This has passed from the slightly amusing to the hysterically funny. ;D

I agree but is it $300 better? Seriously if I'm spending that much on a rod I'd expect it to beat a rod like the Vendetta no matter who's doing the review. I mean they shouldn't even be in the same ball park. Not saying that those guys at Tackle Tour have the finale word on it but they do test a lot of tackle and they seem to have very high standards consider that they compare most rods to G.Loomis GLX Tell ya what, I haven't fished the Cumulus but I have fished the Steez, 6'3" casting and 7'1" casting and the Vendetta 6'3" casting and 6'9" casting. Component and finish wise, it's the Steez all day long. Performance wise, the Vendetta takes it far and away. Just wait until the Veritas hits the scene, cause then the game is really on! Vendetta 6'9" vs Steez 7' ? I've fished both rods and there no question, the Steez not only is better looking with better components, it completely out performs the Vendetta by a mile. The $90 (5.1 oz) rod is totally blown away by the $450 (3.8 oz) rod. The Daiwa Steez 7'1" Compile X rod, not the 7' Steez rod. Not just blown away by the Vendetta but total epic failure. And just for the record, if you're down to a 1.3 oz difference between rods, you may want to re-examine your choice of sports. Tiddlywinks comes to mind.

Brand loyalty or blind loyalty?

I agree but is it $300 better? Seriously if I'm spending that much on a rod I'd expect it to beat a rod like the Vendetta no matter who's doing the review. I mean they shouldn't even be in the same ball park. Not saying that those guys at Tackle Tour have the finale word on it but they do test a lot of tackle and they seem to have very high standards consider that they compare most rods to G.Loomis GLX Tell ya what, I haven't fished the Cumulus but I have fished the Steez, 6'3" casting and 7'1" casting and the Vendetta 6'3" casting and 6'9" casting. Component and finish wise, it's the Steez all day long. Performance wise, the Vendetta takes it far and away. Just wait until the Veritas hits the scene, cause then the game is really on!