Hey guys I was wondering what yall thought about Denali Rods? I have seen a lot of good reviews on them, but more often than not those are from their Pro Staff. I would like to hear some opinions from people that are not Denali Pro Staff. I'm mainly interested in the J2 or the Rosewood. Thanks!

Anyone?

I had a Denali Jadewood and liked it. Nice rod.

Don't own one but my cousin is on their pro staff so I have tested out a few. All I have tried are the Rosewood series and didn't care for them at all. Very bottom heavy, which I had never felt before in a rod and didn't like the action of them very much either. The ones I tried were the MH and H Jig and Worm rods. I would take a $100 *** Black over the Rosewood no questions asked. And this is a completely biased opinion as all the rods I use are customs.

Edit: "unbiased"

Don't want to sound uneducated.

Wow, the guy asked nicely for "prostaffers" to stay off this thread, and you ignored it anyway.  Classy.

I bought 4 and sold 3 of them.

7'6 Jadewood - it was heavy and very tip heavy. Also doesn't use good components

7'2 Kovert - pretty tip heavy. Had an ok feel to it.

7'0 rosewood - overall not bad but didn't care for the reel seat. Not a $200 rod though.

7'0 Jadewood med/mod - only one I liked. Light and is perfect for square bills.

They will put anyone on their pro staff. It's not an accomishment at all. I know at least 10 people on it and most of them might fish 3 small local tournaments a year. Heck some of them are bank fisherman only. Denali is doing this to get their name out there. Just doesn't look good imo.

For $150-200 you can buy a much better rod than the Rosewood. That is a very competitive price range. You have so many good choices in that range. As for the Jadewood there are better rods at the $100 price range too. There are multiple threads on the best $100 rod. Do a quick search and you'll find plenty of good info.

He specifically asked for prostaffers to NOT respond. You're a prostaffer.  You responded.

 

It doesn't matter what you said.  The fact remains,you did exactly what he asked you not to do.

 

If a man asks you not to do something, then don't try to justify your way around it.  Just abide by his wishes instead of your own.

I feel like they overprice their rods just so they can afford to have floods of prostaffers so they can review the rod with 5 stars on every site out there. LOL

I will preface my response with the fact that I don't own and never have owned Denali rods.

However I've tried them twice while out on a guided trip with a "pro" who is sponsored by them. After trying a few of their rods on his boat I left underwhelmed and unimpressed. There was just nothing there to attract me to ever consider purchasing one. They felt clunky and unnatural to me in hand, and lacked sensitivity. I was so happy that I had taken my own rods along as well.

I have St Croix Avids, LTBs, and Extremes, a Dobyns Champ, and MB Orochi XXs. My Dad has St Croix Legend Elites, and old school Loomis GLXs. Those Denalis didn't stand up to any of them.

Based on that I feel in the $150+ range there are much better choices out there.

Of course that's only my opinion based on two brief experiences.

I can't figure out how they stay in business. Their Pro Staff is HUGE, and everyone I know that has a Denali got it from one of the Pro Staffers (large discount off retail). The few dealers I have seen aren't selling them because the Pro Staffers are hooking everyone up. If they are making enough money to stay in business, it tells me they are very over priced,.or have a business model that doesn't rely on brick and mortar stores to sell their products. I've used the Rosewood Jerkbait rod, Rosewood 7' MHxf , and Jadewood 7' Mm. Jadewood was ok, didn't feel the Rosewood models were worth.the $180-190 they charge.

Daiwa Tatula rods, St Croix Avid and Shimano Crucial are great rods in the $120-190 range. My boring old Avid 70MHF blows away the Rosewood 7' I tried.

Thanks for all the replies guys I appreciate it!