For what it's worth, I have both NFC and post-NFC (new) heliums from Kistler. I really can't tell the difference between the two, other than one is a little more shiny. 

 

 

14 hours ago, woolleyfooley said:

Would you say the Cara or expride are more sensitive than a Dobyn’s champion extreme? @GReb

I would say the Cara and extreme are about a push. I'm in the in the minority when it comes to the Expride.

57 minutes ago, rangerjockey said:

I would say the Cara and extreme are about a push. I'm in the in the minority when it comes to the Expride.

I ended up ordering a Cara Heavy Cover Jig. Gonna wait til Kistler does another one his sales/deals to get a Helium 

1 hour ago, dk2429 said:

I ended up ordering a Cara Heavy Cover Jig. Gonna wait til Kistler does another one his sales/deals to get a Helium 

Post a review of that rod when you get it and then again when you use it please.. 

45 minutes ago, F14A-B said:

Post a review of that rod when you get it and then again when you use it please.. 

Will do! I can already tell you, handling in store, those Cara’s are SWEEET. There’s a tackle store about 10 mins from me that sells Falcon from the HD up to the Cara. They didn’t have the HCJ model but had a few others I could use to get an idea of their feel. As soon as I picked one up I knew I had to have one. I’ve only used the Lowrider and Buccoos (which are still great rods), but that Cara series is in another world. 
 

I ordered it straight from Falcon with 10% off. Going to put an Lews Tournament Pro on it. Also took advantage of the TW sales and ordered a Dobyns Sierra 735 for frogs/moderate punching. I was close to driving up to Kistler and snagging a Helium, but I figured I’d just wait til he does another sale/deal on them (since that appears to be somewhat often.) 

20 minutes ago, dk2429 said:

Will do! I can already tell you, handling in store, those Cara’s are SWEEET. There’s a tackle store about 10 mins from me that sells Falcon from the HD up to the Cara. They didn’t have the HCJ model but had a few others I could use to get an idea of their feel. As soon as I picked one up I knew I had to have one. I’ve only used the Lowrider and Buccoos (which are still great rods), but that Cara series is in another world. 
 

I ordered it straight from Falcon with 10% off. Going to put an Lews Tournament Pro on it. Also took advantage of the TW sales and ordered a Dobyns Sierra 735 for frogs/moderate punching. I was close to driving up to Kistler and snagging a Helium, but I figured I’d just wait til he does another sale/deal on them (since that appears to be somewhat often.) 

Sweet. Sounds like you found something that’s gonna be your thing, that’s what it’s all about. 

7 hours ago, dk2429 said:

Will do! I can already tell you, handling in store, those Cara’s are SWEEET. There’s a tackle store about 10 mins from me that sells Falcon from the HD up to the Cara. They didn’t have the HCJ model but had a few others I could use to get an idea of their feel. As soon as I picked one up I knew I had to have one. I’ve only used the Lowrider and Buccoos (which are still great rods), but that Cara series is in another world. 
 

I ordered it straight from Falcon with 10% off. Going to put an Lews Tournament Pro on it. Also took advantage of the TW sales and ordered a Dobyns Sierra 735 for frogs/moderate punching. I was close to driving up to Kistler and snagging a Helium, but I figured I’d just wait til he does another sale/deal on them (since that appears to be somewhat often.) 

Congrats on getting a Cara!! I'm sure you'll love it!! I have 14 Falcon rods, 2 of them Cara's. Older but work great! Also have 1 Helium and 1 KLX. Excellent as well!

10 hours ago, rangerjockey said:

I would say the Cara and extreme are about a push. I'm in the in the minority when it comes to the Expride.

So you’d say the expride is less sensitive? @rangerjockey

10 hours ago, dk2429 said:

Gonna wait til Kistler does another one his sales/deals to get a Helium

Did you register an account and sign up for his emails/newsletter?

 

You might find better pricing sooner.

3 hours ago, DogBone_384 said:

Did you register an account and sign up for his emails/newsletter?

 

You might find better pricing sooner.

I never could figure out how to register an account but I did sign up for the newsletter. I recently got one about a clearance sale on the KLX rods. 

Dobyns Champion XP and Kistler KLX are almost the same feel to me. I have had better luck with Dobyns. I broke 2 KLX rods on the cast. 

12 hours ago, woolleyfooley said:

So you’d say the expride is less sensitive? @rangerjockey

Not at all, I've owned one, I just don't think it's be all, end all that some make it out to be.

And , every time I see those 2 on tactical bassin' jump around like a couple of high school cheer leaders every time they pick one up gives me a headache.

On 1/4/2025 at 6:55 PM, Delaware Valley Tackle said:

It’s perfectly reasonable to have a brand preference, but to say unequivocally that any brand rods are more sensitive than another is impossible. Read opinions and weigh them. Then go with your gut and own experience. 

Thank God you said  that. Line is a much bigger factor imho.

9 hours ago, rangerjockey said:

Not at all, I've owned one, I just don't think it's be all, end all that some make it out to be.

And , every time I see those 2 on tactical bassin' jump around like a couple of high school cheer leaders every time they pick one up gives me a headache.

Ah, ok. So how would it compare sensitivity wise to a champ extreme?

1 hour ago, woolleyfooley said:

Ah, ok. So how would it compare sensitivity wise to a champ extreme?

One won't catch anymore fish than the other. I feel like it comes down to what you personally like. 

If I had to choose the most sensitive of those 2 I'd lean to the Expride. 

On 1/8/2025 at 5:39 PM, rangerjockey said:

One won't catch anymore fish than the other. I feel like it comes down to what you personally like. 

If I had to choose the most sensitive of those 2 I'd lean to the Expride. 

Interesting. Thanks!

On 1/7/2025 at 8:28 AM, F14A-B said:

Post a review of that rod when you get it and then again when you use it please.. 

Finally was able to get out and use the Cara today. I paired it with a Tatula Elite (officially a Daiwa fan by the way, that thing is awesome.) 

 

I really like it! I was mainly throwing 1/4oz tungsten Texas rigs and a 3/8oz finesse jig w/rage crawl. Sensitivity is great; I could feel just about anything when dragging along the bottom (as opposed to the Dobyns Kaden I had and returned the same day.) 
 

Fit and finish is awesome!! Looks don’t catch fish but it just has that sleek, classic look to it.  
 

It works a lot better with the 3/8oz I’ll admit. The 1/4oz t rig was fine, but I personally think it’s a bit heavy for that. It might just be something I need to adjust to, but it was a bit hard to get real accurate cast to the bank with the lighter weight. It has quite a bit of tip to it, which is not something I expected based off my research prior to purchasing. 
 

The Dobyns Sierra I purchased at the same time is better balanced. The Cara HCJ is a little tip heavy in my opinion. I noticed this same thing with the Lowrider HCJ. I figured the Cara would be better balanced but it’s the same deal. 
 

Overall I like it and plan to keep it. I will continue to wait for a sale on the Heliums though. Will likely make the Cara a C-rig/jig rod and get a lighter Helium for the Texas rigs. 
 

Do note, this is my first bass rod over $200, so take that as you will. Also, this is the first and only time out with the rod, so my views may change over time. 

 

 

4 minutes ago, dk2429 said:

Finally was able to get out and use the Cara today. I paired it with a Tatula Elite (officially a Daiwa fan by the way, that thing is awesome.) 

 

I really like it! I was mainly throwing 1/4oz tungsten Texas rigs and a 3/8oz finesse jig w/rage crawl. Sensitivity is great; I could feel just about anything when dragging along the bottom (as opposed to the Dobyns Kaden I had and returned the same day.) 
 

Fit and finish is awesome!! Looks don’t catch fish but it just has that sleek, classic look to it.  
 

It works a lot better with the 3/8oz I’ll admit. The 1/4oz t rig was fine, but I personally think it’s a bit heavy for that. It might just be something I need to adjust to, but it was a bit hard to get real accurate cast to the bank with the lighter weight. It has quite a bit of tip to it, which is not something I expected based off my research prior to purchasing. 
 

The Dobyns Sierra I purchased at the same time is better balanced. The Cara HCJ is a little tip heavy in my opinion. I noticed this same thing with the Lowrider HCJ. I figured the Cara would be better balanced but it’s the same deal. 
 

Overall I like it and plan to keep it. I will continue to wait for a sale on the Heliums though. Will likely make the Cara a C-rig/jig rod and get a lighter Helium for the Texas rigs. 
 

Do note, this is my first bass rod over $200, so take that as you will. 

 

 

Congratulations and thanks for the review. 

On 1/2/2025 at 5:00 PM, softwateronly said:

I'm not familiar with Kistler, and am not impressed with Dobyns sensitivity in the fury and champ series.  I like the Xtasy's sensitivity but at that price point it's not remarkable in comparison to other manufacturers.  

 

scott

 

ps - Don't want to be all negative, I do love Dobyns actions and balance, just lacks a little in sensitivity.

I’ve read in a couple threads on various forums that the xtasy isn’t actually that much more sensitive than the champ extreme hp. Just food for thought.

24 minutes ago, woolleyfooley said:

I’ve read in a couple threads on various forums that the xtasy isn’t actually that much more sensitive than the champ extreme hp. Just food for thought.

 

I have a few different high end lines in terms of price, conquest, steez, xtasy, and adrena.  My 2 steez's are the best, but barely.  I'm most impressed with the mc days360, phenix feather, and adrena because they are 2/3 to 1/2 the msrp and are virtually indistinguishable in terms of catching fish.  I no longer have any interest in chasing more sensititvity, but I do have a minimum that I enjoy.  Xtasy does it for me while the champion series doesn't anymore when it comes to bottom contact.

 

scott

1 minute ago, softwateronly said:

 

I have a few different high end lines in terms of price, conquest, steez, xtasy, and adrena.  My 2 steez's are the best, but barely.  I'm most impressed with the mc days360, phenix feather, and adrena because they are 2/3 to 1/2 the msrp and are virtually indistinguishable in terms of catching fish.  I no longer have any interest in chasing more sensititvity, but I do have a minimum that I enjoy.  Xtasy does it for me while the champion series doesn't anymore when it comes to bottom contact.

 

scott

Do you have the steez AGS? How does that compare to the xtasy as far as sensitivity?

On 1/6/2025 at 11:08 PM, txchaser said:

For what it's worth, I have both NFC and post-NFC (new) heliums from Kistler. I really can't tell the difference between the two, other than one is a little more shiny. 

 

 

Ditto

5 minutes ago, woolleyfooley said:

Do you have the steez AGS? How does that compare to the xtasy as far as sensitivity?

Yes, power pitch, sensor and the 755 are my comps.  I'd rate it power pitch, 755, and sensor.  The sensor has a solid tip which probably hurts it a bit.  Dobyns does have a less sharp feel, but I still feel all that I need to.

 

scott

I find my DRX755 is a good bit more sensitive than my DX743. Both are sensitive. The Xtasy is lighter too IMO

$549 is just asinine for a rod. Sure, I can’t realistically afford one. Even if I could, that’s just nuts. It was hard for me to pull the trigger on my $250 Falcon Cara lol. This is especially true to me since I caught my 10.5lb PB on a $99 Falcon Bucoo

 

BUT, now it’s gonna be super hard for me to buy anymore rods under $200. Once you hit that price, it’s a big jump in quality IMO. I can’t even fathom a $500+ rod and likely never will

 

Still want to add a Dx743 to my lineup. Pending another sale