And ended up REALLY liking it to the point you wanted to keep it?

 

So my wife has wanted a Lews Mach Crush combo ever since she saw our favorite YouTube personalities using them a good bit. I personally thought she wanted one because of the color scheme, but I ordered the combo as part of her Valentine’s Day gift from sportsman’s outfitters and it arrived yesterday. I took it out of the box on the carport so I could sneak into the house easier out of her sight and I was not ready for how good this thing felt and handled. This thing felt great! 
 

I ordered her the 7’ MHF combo since that’s what I use predominantly and she usually grabs one and goes. The reel is very nice and smooth and the rod feels really great. I am an Abu and Dawia guy myself with only a single Lews reel in my Arsenal that I personally try to avoid using because it doesn’t palm well at all(tournament slp model). 
 

I think I know what the next batch of overtime at work is gonna pay for

 

edit:$182 shipped is what I paid for the combo. I couldn’t find it anywhere else online in stock.

Yes.

Yup same thing happened to me recently with a Lews Mach 1 spinning outfit I got for my nephew for his 1st rod/reel.

Feels VERY well balanced at just above the reel and not nearly as heavy as the Mach 2 counterpart.

Gotta go back and grab another one for myself as a backup.

Yeah, I bought a cheap "youth sized" 13 spinning combo for my son for Christmas. I almost kept it for a vertical dropshot rig, the action on the rod seems perfect for it. 

I bought a G Loomis IMX JWR/Shimano Bantam reel with the intentions of giving it to my friend as a gift.  When it arrived, I ordered a second one, sold both reels, and put a nice Curado 70 on the rod I gave him.  It made me feel as though I had given my friend a nice gift without spending "too much", since these were pretty fantastic deals.  In reality, that's a nice rod, but it's one of several I have that pretty well do the same thing.

Every time I buy a rod it is a gift to me.  I always tell my wife it is for Christmas, or my birthday.

I have bought at least a dozen setups for my wife and son-in-law just to keep them from wanting to use mine.

17 hours ago, NavyVet1204 said:

And ended up REALLY liking it to the point you wanted to keep it?

 Every.Single.Time.

I have my two grandsons set up with SC Bass X’s and Shimano Nasci’s. One fishes a ML the other a Med. I can’t say I coveted them and didn’t want to give them up. But that did let me fish with them a few times. 

When I give rods/reels as gifts it’s usually one of two scenarios.  First is for someone who is either just getting started or is a novice and they want an all around combo.  In that case I will give them an inexpensive combo that you can get in most big box stores.  Not cheap but not expensive.  The second is a retirement or other occasion where I know the person is an accomplished angler.  For them I will dig into my private stash and let go of a more expensive setup.  When I was pro staff for Bass Pro, I used to give the JLM reels because they came in a nice case and had spare spool etc.