I can’t seem to find much about this rod, does anybody have anything?

TW says backordered till May 15. I'm waiting myself for same rod to go with Calcutta Conquest BFS reel.

Is this a new rod?

New rod? 

Is it a new model

It's probably a 2pc joint at the handle glued together and sold as a 1pc rod on the USDM like all shinano rods.  It might be new to the US market but I doubt it is "new".

Ok now I know what you mean. I reckon it's the current model and TW sells the one piece blanks. 2 piece Expride BFS are from overseas. I've not heard of a new model of Expride for 2024.

15 minutes ago, Bigbox99 said:

It's probably a 2pc joint at the handle glued together and sold as a 1pc rod on the USDM like all shinano rods.  It might be new to the US market but I doubt it is "new".

I've held the Expride BFS 1 piece and it is all one blank and not a 2 piece glued. 

43 minutes ago, ghost said:

Ok now I know what you mean. I reckon it's the current model and TW sells the one piece blanks. 2 piece Expride BFS are from overseas. I've not heard of a new model of Expride for 2024.

I've held the Expride BFS 1 piece and it is all one blank and not a 2 piece glued. 

How do you know?  I've seen broken poison adrenas where monocoque handle has shattered and there is definely a blank jammed into a handle tube visible.  On all my 1pc Shimano USDM rods there is a metal ferrule under the lock nut that the blank is slid into and it appears identical to my 2pc rods that separate at the handle and use this peice for the connection.  Also the JDM versions of the USDM rods I have are all 2pc that separate at the handle.  Furthermore not a single shimano rod I own has what looks like an exposed blank at the reel seat and "exposed blank area" has a different paint finish from the blank and matches that of the rest of the handle.  The old zodias have a split grip with a larger diameter "blank" section that is much larger than what the actual blank would be indicating that it is a separate peice.  With the new monocoque carbon tube handles this is certainly still in practice.  I believe with 100% certainty that the USDM 1pc rods are intact 2pc that join at the handle and are glued together because the USDM has a phobia of 2pc rods. 

I have one and put an Aldebaren BFS reel on it and love it. I have been fishing a Lucky Craft 65sp on it in my pond and catching a lot of crappies and bass and working great. I would give it a 10 so far

I saw this rod at the Indy Boat Sport and Travel Show. Nice rod. It felt similar to the NRX+ 802 but with a softer tip. I'm not quite sure I would call it a BFS rod, if you are wanting to throw 2.0 or 3.0 gram lures. It seemed more like the other Shimano offerings, like the Curado BFS in terms of power. 

7 hours ago, FishTank said:

I saw this rod at the Indy Boat Sport and Travel Show. Nice rod. It felt similar to the NRX+ 802 but with a softer tip. I'm not quite sure I would call it a BFS rod, if you are wanting to throw 2.0 or 3.0 gram lures. It seemed more like the other Shimano offerings, like the Curado BFS in terms of power. 

That's actually how bfs rods are "supposed" to be.  They're bass rods for small jigs and plastics.  The really whippy noodle rods casting rods are for trout. 

If I were going BFS I would go longer than 6-8.  The length helps get some distance on light stuff and with the light power blanks, they balance quite well even in the longer lengths.

On 3/11/2024 at 5:40 AM, MickD said:

If I were going BFS I would go longer than 6-8.  The length helps get some distance on light stuff and with the light power blanks, they balance quite well even in the longer lengths.

I agree but I couldn’t believe the distance I could get with Expride 6’8” casting a Lucky Craft SP65 and length was great for working small jerkbaits. I also have an NRX Plus 841c Inshore and I don’t think it could get any better than this