I'm looking to purchase a $50 - $60 6' medium spinning combo as a gift for a 10 year old.  Is there any real difference between the following combos:

 

Ugly stik GX2 

Kastking Centron

Abu Garcia black max

Pflueger president/bass pro graphite series

 

Undoubtedly the Bass pro combo is probably the highest quality, but it's also over budget ($80) and out of stock.  The Abu gets OK reviews and it's still way over budget ($75).  The GX2 is an indestructible rod but the reel doesn't get great reviews.  So, I'm leaning towards the Kastking because Amazon has it in stock and it seems to deliver the most performance within that limited budget unless someone can point me in a better direction.  

Im not so sure about the reel but if you want a reliable rod for 40-50 bucks, go with the ugly stik, that was my first rod and it has caught hundreds of fish and hasnt broke.

For a 10 year old.  I'd get the Ugly stick.  Even in Canada the combo is cheap.  I like the toughness of this rod.  You won't have to stress yourself out or constantly nag the kid about always being careful not to break the rod.  Let the kid be a kid.  Use the reel for a season then wait for a sale on a Daiwa Revros or lower reel when they go on sale.

Although I’m not familiar with Kast king spinning reels, I purchased a royal legend 2 baitcast reel from them and have been using it for 2 years with no issues. I will say I’m using it in ponds that yield mostly dinks with the occasional 2-3 pound bass but as long as your not targeting 5 pound plus bass your gift should provide years of adequate service. I’ll also recommend the ugly stick as well, although never owning one their reputation for being indestructible should again provide years of usage. Also I own 4 Piscifun reels and would recommend them also. They have a reel called viper X in spinning that’s in your price range when you subscribe on their website it gets you 15% off your order. Good luck and happy shopping.

Personally - I'm happy with my Avocet RZTs - better than other reels at their price point.

 

2000-size on a 6'6" Medium/Fast rod for $40 - they're on clearance because Mitchell dropped the Avocet line.

https://www.scheels.com/p/mitchell-avocet-rzt-spinning-combo/8950-1347888.html

I too vote for the Ugly Stik, but at that price point for a kid, I would probably pick based on color. You're not going to see a massive difference in performance between them so I would focus on cool factor.

1 hour ago, MN Fisher said:

Personally - I'm happy with my Avocet RZTs - better than other reels at their price point.

 

2000-size on a 6'6" Medium/Fast rod for $40 - they're on clearance because Mitchell dropped the Avocet line.

https://www.scheels.com/p/mitchell-avocet-rzt-spinning-combo/8950-1347888.html

Those are such a great reel for what they cost

Ugly stik GX2  is your best option in that range price, their reels are also good, Ive seen so many good feedback about them, I have 15' uglystick big water spinning rod and looks good and price so cheap.

1 minute ago, MiceNReets said:

Those are such a great reel for what they cost

I know - braid ready (aluminum spool, line-roller bearing) and I've been a Mitchell fan-boy since I got a 320 for Yule back in 1967 - when the Avocet RZTs went on discount, I grabbed four reels...already had rods lined up for them.

 

 

TBH, I'd steer away from combos. You'll get much better value buying separate. If I was setting up the most bang for the buck spinning setup for a 10 y/o, Ugly Stick GX2 with an Okuma Alaris. You'll spend about $80-$85, but the Alaris is stupid smooth with insane line lay for $30 and the Ugly Stick is indestructible. 

 

Bottom line, get a decent reel. The reel in the Ugly Stick combo is such a piece of junk it's embarrassing. A 10 y/o needs a reel that helps them with line management, instead of making it more of a struggle. 

If you're stuck on a combo, the Shimano Sienna combo may be worth a look

 

For a 10 year old an Ugly Stik Youth Combo is another good option. It's $40 and has a 2 piece 5'6" medium rod. It's lighter and has a thinner split grip which is good for smaller hands. You can use the leftover $20 to buy some hooks and plastic worms.

 

https://www.purefishing.com/products/gx2-spinning-youth-combo-1292385?variant=34572589629573

 

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Ugly-Stik-GX2-Youth-Spinning-Reel-and-Fishing-Rod-Combo/33588651

 

I had the same decision last year when I bought my 6 tear old Grandson a spinning rig. His first "real" set-up. I went with the Ugly stick Combo. The reel is not very good, but then it isn't much worse than any of the other junk that they put on that kind of combo either. My logic is that the Ugly stick has a good chance of outlasting a 7 year old and if the reel shoots craps, I'll just replace it with a $30 Pflueger. So far so good. Both rod and reel are intact.

Lews xfinity spinning combo is a great combo and plenty of positive reviews on it. Sold at Walmart . 

6 hours ago, MN Fisher said:

Personally - I'm happy with my Avocet RZTs - better than other reels at their price point.

 

2000-size on a 6'6" Medium/Fast rod for $40 - they're on clearance because Mitchell dropped the Avocet line.

https://www.scheels.com/p/mitchell-avocet-rzt-spinning-combo/8950-1347888.html

I was going to suggest the same.  If the rod is anything like the Avocet from years ago, it is a surprisingly sensitive and durable rod.   Amazon has them for similar price.

6 minutes ago, Choporoz said:

I was going to suggest the same.  If the rod is anything like the Avocet from years ago, it is a surprisingly sensitive and durable rod.   Amazon has them for similar price.

I'll second that. I bought an Avocet RZ combo a few years ago...2000 size on a ML Avocet rod.

Reel is in the drawer as an emergency backup. Rod is my main crappie rod with a new RZT-1000 reel on it. It is a very good rod for the money.

Thanks all for the suggestions.  I went to a store today and checked out the Mitchell Avocets, the Black max and some Lew's and 13 Fishing combos in person.  They were all nice, but I happened upon the last 2 piece 6'6" medium Pfleuger combo with a 30 size president reel for $59.  The rod is OK, but the reel seemed a lot nicer than the other combos, and the set was priced $20-25 less than most places online based on my hasty research.  The same store had one piece GX2 rods for $39 and President reels for $49, but I didn't think the extra $30 improved substantially on the all-Pflueger combo, so I went with that and put the extra cash into some baits and line.  

25 minutes ago, @reelChris said:

Thanks all for the suggestions.  I went to a store today and checked out the Mitchell Avocets, the Black max and some Lew's and 13 Fishing combos in person.  They were all nice, but I happened upon the last 2 piece 6'6" medium Pfleuger combo with a 30 size president reel for $59.  The rod is OK, but the reel seemed a lot nicer than the other combos, and the combo was priced $20-25 less than most places online based on my hasty research.  The same store had one piece GX2 rods for $39 and President reels for $49, but I didn't think the extra $30 improved substantially on the all-Pflueger combo, so I went with that and put the extra cash into some baits and line.  

Nice find. I’d say you’re going to see one happy 10 year old who hopefully gets hooked for life??  

Grab and ugly stick GX2 and a pfleuger Trion.  done and done. 

1 hour ago, @reelChris said:

Thanks all for the suggestions.  I went to a store today and checked out the Mitchell Avocets, the Black max and some Lew's and 13 Fishing combos in person.  They were all nice, but I happened upon the last 2 piece 6'6" medium Pfleuger combo with a 30 size president reel for $59.  The rod is OK, but the reel seemed a lot nicer than the other combos, and the combo was priced $20-25 less than most places online based on my hasty research.  The same store had one piece GX2 rods for $39 and President reels for $49, but I didn't think the extra $30 improved substantially on the all-Pflueger combo, so I went with that and put the extra cash into some baits and line.  

The President combo isn't bad - when you get some extra money, change out the rod for a Diawa Aird-X...you'll be pleasantly surprised.

 

23 minutes ago, Plottman1974 said:

a pfleuger Trion.

I got two Trions and for the money they're not bad...but the Avocet RZT at about the same price is an upgrade from those. Mainly line-roller bearing in the Avocet vs bushing in the Trion - my Trions will never get braid because of that, but I have braid on two of my four Avocets.

4 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

The President combo isn't bad - when you get some extra money, change out the rod for a Diawa Aird-X...you'll be pleasantly surprised.

 

I forgot to mention I looked for and found Daiwa Aird rods because of your comments about them here, but they only had bait casters.  That said, they were priced at $49 but seemed a lot higher quality than a lot of the other rods in that price point.  

5 minutes ago, @reelChris said:

I forgot to mention I looked for and found Daiwa Aird rods because of your comments about them here, but they only had bait casters.  That said, they were priced at $49 but seemed a lot higher quality than a lot of the other rods in that price point.  

I've check out Dobyns Colt at $80 - and I still prefer the Aird-X over the Colt.

 

If I wasn't using my Aird-X 6'6" Medium Spinning rod, I'd offer to sell it cheap...but it's one of my two shore/panfish rods.

That is one lucky 10 year old.  Glad that his Dad is planning on taking him fishing rather then letting sit in front of the TV all day.

The Shimano Seinna 2500 size and a Berkley lighting/shock rod I think makes a good quality combo for not much bucks. 

FM

 

p.s. That Pflueger President is a excellent spinning reel for not much either. 

On 4/29/2021 at 2:10 PM, @reelChris said:

Thanks all for the suggestions.  I went to a store today and checked out the Mitchell Avocets, the Black max and some Lew's and 13 Fishing combos in person.  They were all nice, but I happened upon the last 2 piece 6'6" medium Pfleuger combo with a 30 size president reel for $59.  The rod is OK, but the reel seemed a lot nicer than the other combos, and the set was priced $20-25 less than most places online based on my hasty research.  The same store had one piece GX2 rods for $39 and President reels for $49, but I didn't think the extra $30 improved substantially on the all-Pflueger combo, so I went with that and put the extra cash into some baits and line.  

The president is a pretty decent reel in my opinion. I use them on all my crappie rods and have had some for years with no issues.