Going to buy my sister a nice new bait cast combo for her birthday. At the price point of $150 I am at I am considering the Lew's Mach 2 with the green Winn grips and the Shimano SLX. She already knows how to throw a BC so I am not concerned about which may be easier for a newbie. Also because this will probably be her main, multi-purpose rod/reel set up it needs to be able to handle most anything. Which ever I go with I'm fairly sure I would go with the 7' MH Fast model and a 7:x reel and with her being a fan of braid I will probably throw on some 832 Sufix 40# I've got laying aorund. I'm not really looking for opinions on if you like the Winn grips or not (I know opinions very) but more which is a better all around combo? Better reel? More sensitive rod?

 

Thanks for the input!

I would look hard at both of the combos you mentioned at your price point. Which will she like better? It will probably depend on what she thinks of the Winn grips to be honest, which I cannot answer for her.

 

Either way, you are getting your sister a nice birthday present and she should be happy with either one.

I'd go with the slx , aluminum frame , vs graphite on the lew's.

I'm an admitted Shimano fanboy, but in all honesty you will be doing fine with either one. That being said, I am a huge fan of Winn grips. 

I have the SLX combo and love it!! Never messed with the LEWS combo.

9 hours ago, jbsoonerfan said:

I'm an admitted Shimano fanboy, but in all honesty you will be doing fine with either one. That being said, I am a huge fan of Winn grips. 

I am an admitted Lew's fanboy and agree that either will be fine. I am also a huge fan of the Winn Grips on both my baitcasters and spinning reels.

 

 

Id get a daiwa combo, airdx and a ebay fuego ct. 

29 minutes ago, d-camarena said:

Id get a daiwa combo, airdx and a ebay fuego ct. 

This is the combo I have for my heavier lures - H/F rod. 8.1:1 reel. Was throwing a WP-90 on it last week. The reel is smooth and easy to tune in, the rod was casting that lure with no issues and was sensitive enough that 1# bass were felt as they hit the lure.

I just ordered the 7ft heavy, hope it fishes like my other aird x rods

The Aird X and Fuego combo is great, but I don't think it's justifiable to get that if you can get an SLX combo for the same price. You can easily get the Daiwa setup for $120 at which point it's definitely worth it. I bought the Daiwa setup for my son and I have some Fuegos myself. Very good stuff.

I a huge fan of the winn grips but don't a rod with them yet. I would honestly get the SLX combo. From what I have heard they are really nice for the $$$.