In my opinion, the lightning rod, arid-x, or any other H rod mentioned (nearly any H F or MF) will work fine for frogs. The big trade off is going to be when you have something other than a frog tied on. It comes down to if you want to pay extra for versatility, cosmetics, and comfort. 

58 minutes ago, Lead Head said:

In my opinion, the lightning rod, arid-x, or any other H rod mentioned (nearly any H F or MF) will work fine for frogs. The big trade off is going to be when you have something other than a frog tied on. It comes down to if you want to pay extra for versatility, cosmetics, and comfort. 

I wouldn't touch the modern lightning rod. That clear plastic reel seat cracks or explodes on hooksets. It's a joke.

@ironbjorn I will defer to your knowledge here, my experience with them is... dated. 

11 hours ago, Lead Head said:

In my opinion, the lightning rod, arid-x, or any other H rod mentioned (nearly any H F or MF) will work fine for frogs. The big trade off is going to be when you have something other than a frog tied on. It comes down to if you want to pay extra for versatility, cosmetics, and comfort. 

So I was mainly thinking of a rod for a frog and some swimbaits but based on what you're saying, you think I could get a 7 ft mh/f and that would handle what I'm talking about well (provided the swimbaits aren't over the weight limit of the rod)?

@FishNTell typically, a heavy is better. Frog hooks are large and require quite a bit of force to set. I don't know if you plan to fish pads or weeds, but a H is usually required to handle that stuff. You can get away with a MH that has a max lure weight of 1oz, but braid is a must and you might struggle around cover (especially vegetation, fish go down into it).

Again, this is all just my opinion based on my experience. 

I’m going to go out on a limb here and actually recommend a entirely different rod from the ones you are interested in.

 

On The Tackle Trap there is a rod in the Megabass JDM Orochi line called the  X7 Destruction. I own the Carbon Head version which is called the Wild Bunch and that rod has serious “it” factor. Frogs in heavy slop? Done. 1/2oz chatterbaits with a cowboy trailer? Easy. 6 inch Megabass Freestyle? Yup.

 

If you’re willing to spend a little more those two rods will do everything on the half ounce to two and a quarter range and do it very well. There are also a couple codes floating around to get 10% off. 
 

I had a hard time justifying spending big bucks on what will essentially be a frog rod, but on reading up on the wild bunch and x7 I found something which could cover so many bases. 
 

As a fair warning it does say up to 2oz but dont try to punch with it. I did last summer and while it handles a 1.25oz weight it does NOT have the leverage to pull a hog outa the salad. 

I think heavy rods have their place and are very specialized. If you own a boat or you constantly fish lily pads or structure then i could see the necessity to spend high dollar on a rod. For me, I don't come across many situations like this, so my heavy rod is the cheapest in my arsenal. I wouldn't spend over $100 for one or try to find a high end rod on clearance. 

 

I think you have to ask yourself how frequently are you going to use a heavy rod. 

In my opinion, a frog rod is no place to skimp on cost.  You need a stick with some tip, backbone, and you need it light enough to constantly twitch it to impart that walk the dog action to your frog.

 

I feel a fifty dollar heavy at the end of the day.  I even feel my one hundred dollar Tatula XT at the end of the day.

 

The absolute bargain bin option for frogging and lighter swimbaits, in my opinion, is a Shimano SLX combo from *** Fishing.

 

On the opposite end I would start looking at the Tatula Elite, Shimano Exprides, Champions, and Fred's Magic Stick from iRod.