Happened fast. Just read they were bringing over the PG, and sure enough...there it was on TW. My favorite JDM line, despite this new model not being attractive. I think they priced right, with most models $549. Would be a great Christmas sale buy @ $439.

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Shimano_Poison_Glorious_Casting_Rods/descpage-PSGLC.html

I'm not against it.

I'm a little more interested in the newer Adrena models they added.

Just real hard to argue with P5 around $500.

Glad they aren't using the ugly red accents anymore.

I like my red accents on my zodias…

15 hours ago, SuperWetBlanket said:

Glad they aren't using the ugly red accents anymore.

'16 was the one with red accents, however minimal. My favorite of the last 3 designs.

'16

'21

10 minutes ago, KP Duty said:

'16 was the one with red accents, however minimal. My favorite of the last 3 designs.

'16

'21

The 21 looks pretty slick. The newest one looks like a downgrade in the bling department.

5 minutes ago, SuperWetBlanket said:

The 21 looks pretty slick. The newest one looks like a downgrade in the bling department.

When I saw they were bringing over this new model, it all made sense. Inexpensive build + US release = lots of profit.

44 minutes ago, KP Duty said:

When I saw they were bringing over this new model, it all made sense. Inexpensive build + US release = lots of profit.

The unfortunate truth.

That PRICE!!

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On 7/16/2026 at 2:57 AM, KP Duty said:

Happened fast. Just read they were bringing over the PG, and sure enough...there it was on TW. My favorite JDM line, despite this new model not being attractive. I think they priced right, with most models $549. Would be a great Christmas sale buy @ $439.

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Shimano_Poison_Glorious_Casting_Rods/descpage-PSGLC.html

Appears to be a pure downgrade in aesthetics and materials. Who’s paying over $500 for no name brand guides? The blank construction hasn’t changed via their press releases and the cork over monocoque looks bad.

Look I get that they have a passionate following but let’s be real. This rod isn’t 85% the rod+warranty an NRX is.

2 hours ago, TNBankFishing said:

Appears to be a pure downgrade in aesthetics and materials. Who’s paying over $500 for no name brand guides? The blank construction hasn’t changed via their press releases and the cork over monocoque looks bad.

Look I get that they have a passionate following but let’s be real. This rod isn’t 85% the rod+warranty an NRX is.

No name? Shimano produces them in house. Theyve been around for a little while and are on flagship products. If there was any issue with them, it would have been exposed by now.

Shimano has a good track record when it comes to new tech or features. They test them thoroughly enough to debut them on flagship products, and the tech trickles down into lower PPs eventually.

Daiwa, they seem to have a different philosophy. Often, they have new tech, it goes on a mid PP or lower upper end products, to see how it fares. If everything goes well, they will incorporate that tech or feature into upper PP and flagship products.

Info on the new giides...

New X-Guide Touch-Free Titanium Single for smooth line convergence

The spinning model employs lightweight, compact φ20 guides. The guide weight has been reduced by up to 31.3% (compared to the same model number as the previous model), improving its ability to handle light lines, which are frequently used in tournaments and increasingly high-pressure fields. The new X-guide, Touch Free Titanium (single), has a redesigned frame shape that smoothly converges the line released spirally from the spool, while also reducing weight. Even with fluorocarbon lines or stiff PE lines, the guide frame and blank are less likely to come into contact, reducing the reduction in casting distance and casting noise, and minimizing line damage. By fully equipping the rod with Shimano's original X-guide design from the tip to the butt guide, the rod balance has been dramatically improved.

43 minutes ago, GetFishorDieTryin said:

No name? Shimano produces them in house. Theyve been around for a little while and are on flagship products. If there was any issue with them, it would have been exposed by now.

Shimano has a good track record when it comes to new tech or features. They test them thoroughly enough to debut them on flagship products, and the tech trickles down into lower PPs eventually.

Daiwa, they seem to have a different philosophy. Often, they have new tech, it goes on a mid PP or lower upper end products, to see how it fares. If everything goes well, they will incorporate that tech or feature into upper PP and flagship products.

Just because Shimano makes them doesn’t mean they are the same quality as Fuji. Paying a premium for in house brand guides isn’t a smart move for consumers. It’s Shimano saving cash and charging you more for the same rod blank that came out 5 years ago with worse guides.

24 minutes ago, KP Duty said:

Info on the new giides...

New X-Guide Touch-Free Titanium Single for smooth line convergence

The spinning model employs lightweight, compact φ20 guides. The guide weight has been reduced by up to 31.3% (compared to the same model number as the previous model), improving its ability to handle light lines, which are frequently used in tournaments and increasingly high-pressure fields. The new X-guide, Touch Free Titanium (single), has a redesigned frame shape that smoothly converges the line released spirally from the spool, while also reducing weight. Even with fluorocarbon lines or stiff PE lines, the guide frame and blank are less likely to come into contact, reducing the reduction in casting distance and casting noise, and minimizing line damage. By fully equipping the rod with Shimano's original X-guide design from the tip to the butt guide, the rod balance has been dramatically improved.

Marketing jargon sounds great. Until someone breaks them down and confirms the weight savings vs TI Torzite I’m not sold.

12 hours ago, TNBankFishing said:

Just because Shimano makes them doesn’t mean they are the same quality as Fuji. Paying a premium for in house brand guides isn’t a smart move for consumers. It’s Shimano saving cash and charging you more for the same rod blank that came out 5 years ago with worse guides.

Marketing jargon sounds great. Until someone breaks them down and confirms the weight savings vs TI Torzite I’m not sold.

Anyone who isn't living in a cave knows prices have gone up considerably. There have been 2 large increases in price in the past 5 years. The vast amount of products cost 20-40% more than they did 5 or 6 years ago. Comparing current prices to what they were a half decade ago, is akin to grandpops musings of how many ferry rides and hot dogs he could buy with a nickel when he was a kid.

Objectively, Shimano is known for making pretty good products. Arguing that Shimano is a "no name' brand is a dubious undertaking. I could understand some trepidation if the guides were new, however that's not the case. Its been about a decade since they were first introduced to flagship Shimano products. Enough time has elapsed since the introduction of the X guides to determine their quality. Not only have the guides performed well, but Shimano has expanded their guide production into several different iterations. If the surf guides hold up, its pretty safe to say that the design philosophy and process is sound.

Obviously, the frame material is the same when comparing Torzites to the X guide. The advantage of Torzite over Sic or Alconite is the weight reduction of the insert. Torzite inserts can be very thing without compromising the integrity of the insert. Torzite compares to Sic very well as sic inserts are almost double the weight. There are slim sic inserts in Titanium frames available, but I think theyre only available in smaller sizes for lighter gear. Directly when comparing Ti X guides to Tozites, the X guides do pretty well. Shimano's ability to manufacture products with very tight tolerances, enables them to produce thin, yet strong Ti frames with very thin ceramic layer. When comparing size for size, the X guide is a lighter product.

Does that mean X guides are the best guides? IMO, no. If you're goal is to get the lightest guide possible, than neither Torzites or X guides are the best choice. AGS guides are far an away the lightest guide I know of. When comparing the weight of SS Alconites to an AGS train, the reduction in weight is drastic. While the difference isnt as great as when compared to SS, AGS guides are considerably lighter than even torzites. You can come close to cutting the total weight of the guide train in half by using AGS instead of torzite guides.

As good Fuji guides are, they aren't the only game in town anymore. Other than Sea Guide, American Tackle and Alps, more and more rod companies are making their own guides. As disposable and discretionary income wanes for the majority of the country, I suspect we may see more competition for the best budget products. Brands that produce their own components, save a little, which hopefully is passed onto the consumer.

47 minutes ago, GetFishorDieTryin said:

Anyone who isn't living in a cave knows prices have gone up considerably. There have been 2 large increases in price in the past 5 years. The vast amount of products cost 20-40% more than they did 5 or 6 years ago. Comparing current prices to what they were a half decade ago, is akin to grandpops musings of how many ferry rides and hot dogs he could buy with a nickel when he was a kid.

Objectively, Shimano is known for making pretty good products. Arguing that Shimano is a "no name' brand is a dubious undertaking. I could understand some trepidation if the guides were new, however that's not the case. Its been about a decade since they were first introduced to flagship Shimano products. Enough time has elapsed since the introduction of the X guides to determine their quality. Not only have the guides performed well, but Shimano has expanded their guide production into several different iterations. If the surf guides hold up, its pretty safe to say that the design philosophy and process is sound.

Obviously, the frame material is the same when comparing Torzites to the X guide. The advantage of Torzite over Sic or Alconite is the weight reduction of the insert. Torzite inserts can be very thing without compromising the integrity of the insert. Torzite compares to Sic very well as sic inserts are almost double the weight. There are slim sic inserts in Titanium frames available, but I think theyre only available in smaller sizes for lighter gear. Directly when comparing Ti X guides to Tozites, the X guides do pretty well. Shimano's ability to manufacture products with very tight tolerances, enables them to produce thin, yet strong Ti frames with very thin ceramic layer. When comparing size for size, the X guide is a lighter product.

Does that mean X guides are the best guides? IMO, no. If you're goal is to get the lightest guide possible, than neither Torzites or X guides are the best choice. AGS guides are far an away the lightest guide I know of. When comparing the weight of SS Alconites to an AGS train, the reduction in weight is drastic. While the difference isnt as great as when compared to SS, AGS guides are considerably lighter than even torzites. You can come close to cutting the total weight of the guide train in half by using AGS instead of torzite guides.

As good Fuji guides are, they aren't the only game in town anymore. Other than Sea Guide, American Tackle and Alps, more and more rod companies are making their own guides. As disposable and discretionary income wanes for the majority of the country, I suspect we may see more competition for the best budget products. Brands that produce their own components, save a little, which hopefully is passed onto the consumer.

I understand what you’re saying about inflation and the benefits of bringing guide production in house. The touch free guides were designed initially for saltwater fishing and I can’t seem to locate direct comparisons of the ones used on the new PG to current models offered from other brands. Does this mean they are inherently bad? No. Does it mean they are still house brand wine? Yes. I’d say the same thing if Megabass unveils the new Yuki Ito “7.5D TI Dragon Power” guides.

If I buy a brand new Chevy truck but find out the tires are now made in house by Chevrolet I’d have questions. No matter what marketing said about those tires I’d never truly trust them until I’ve seen them on the road for a decade. To keep the analogy going not only did Chevy bring tire production in house but they raised the price on their new trucks.

I strongly feel like Shimano is price gouging based on their market position. The P5 destroyers haven’t had 2 or 3 price increases over the last 5 years. And the price increase Megabass did do was walked back. St Croix has increased prices but not nearly as much, and all of their high end rods are made here. Dobyns didn’t have any massive hikes until they were bought out. Everyone else is under the same pressure to sell products but treats their customers with a modicum of respect.

It's not cute but the more I think about it, the more I like the cork covering the monocoque.

I drop an Adrena on concrete at least once a week.

5 hours ago, TNBankFishing said:

I understand what you’re saying about inflation and the benefits of bringing guide production in house. The touch free guides were designed initially for saltwater fishing and I can’t seem to locate direct comparisons of the ones used on the new PG to current models offered from other brands. Does this mean they are inherently bad? No. Does it mean they are still house brand wine? Yes. I’d say the same thing if Megabass unveils the new Yuki Ito “7.5D TI Dragon Power” guides.

If I buy a brand new Chevy truck but find out the tires are now made in house by Chevrolet I’d have questions. No matter what marketing said about those tires I’d never truly trust them until I’ve seen them on the road for a decade. To keep the analogy going not only did Chevy bring tire production in house but they raised the price on their new trucks.

I strongly feel like Shimano is price gouging based on their market position. The P5 destroyers haven’t had 2 or 3 price increases over the last 5 years. And the price increase Megabass did do was walked back. St Croix has increased prices but not nearly as much, and all of their high end rods are made here. Dobyns didn’t have any massive hikes until they were bought out. Everyone else is under the same pressure to sell products but treats their customers with a modicum of respect.

If you think its just Shimano raising prices, you're not looking around. MB, 13 and a select other companies are outliers. In fact I'm fairly certain Daiwas' prices have taken a larger jump, especially when it comes to reels. Many companies put out multiple notices within the past 5 years about 20-35% increases on products and had an exact figure on each category of products, rods, reels, lures and so on. The first price hike came in 21 or 22 and the 2nd was last year.

You mention SC and other domestically made products. Honestly, I'm surprised you don't understand how the tariffs affected the industry. It was kind a big topic here.

As far as the X guides go, Shimano has introduced multiple designs of the X guides in the past decade. They have a tangle free double foots and 1 piece tips designed for surf fishing, and they're VERY GOOD. Designing a guide that is light, can hard impacts without failure and constrict 80+ yards of widely coiled heavy PE, in just a few years is impressive. It took Fuji years to get the concept surf guides to work well and even more time to iron out the problems.

I could understand your initial point, if it was 2017. Or if Daiwa hadn't made a proprietary guide that by your own criteria, beats the pants off Fujis flagship guide, in terms of weight. You yourself litteraly said...

8 hours ago, GetFishorDieTryin said:

Marketing jargon sounds great. Until someone breaks them down and confirms the weight savings vs TI Torzite I’m not sold.

Its confirmed, yet you do not yield and start to move the goal posts to Shimano is gouging people. Which I dont really think is the case.

Expride would have sold less for $350, but it still would have sold, the rods are that good.

You mentioned NRX being the best. Although NRX has had some slight improvements, it was released in 2010, 3x the amount of time you're getting on Shimano for. Which by the way Shimano wants you to buy NRX, they own G Loomis. The warranty is nice, but it's not what it used to be in the 90s or like SCs transferable lifeitme warranties back before that company started to rot from the inside out.

1 minute ago, GetFishorDieTryin said:

If you think its just Shimano raising prices, you're not looking around. MB, 13 and a select other companies are outliers. In fact I'm fairly certain Daiwas' prices have taken a larger jump, especially when it comes to reels. Many companies put out multiple notices within the past 5 years about 20-35% increases on products and had an exact figure on each category of products, rods, reels, lures and so on. The first price hike came in 21 or 22 and the 2nd was last year.

You mention SC and other domestically made products. Honestly, I'm surprised you don't understand how the tariffs affected the industry. It was kind a big topic here.

As far as the X guides go, Shimano has introduced multiple designs of the X guides in the past decade. They have a tangle free double foots and 1 piece tips designed for surf fishing, and they're VERY GOOD. Designing a guide that is light, can hard impacts without failure and constrict 80+ yards of widely coiled heavy PE, in just a few years is impressive. It took Fuji years to get the concept surf guides to work well and even more time to iron out the problems.

I could understand your initial point, if it was 2017. Or if Daiwa hadn't made a proprietary guide that by your own criteria, beats the pants off Fujis flagship guide, in terms of weight. You yourself litteraly said...

Its confirmed, yet you do not yield and start to move the goal posts to Shimano is gouging people. Which I dont really think is the case.

Expride would have sold less for $350, but it still would have sold, the rods are that good.

You mentioned NRX being the best. Although NRX has had some slight improvements, it was released in 2010, 3x the amount of time you're getting on Shimano for. Which by the way Shimano wants you to buy NRX, they own G Loomis. The warranty is nice, but it's not what it used to be in the 90s or like SCs transferable lifeitme warranties back before that company started to rot from the inside out.

I know it’s not only Shimano raising their prices more than is necessary. The PG just happens to be the newest addition to the list. You brought up and continued to bring up solid points about the guides being developed and employed through multiple lines across a decade. I fully understand those points. I still don’t agree with them being worth a premium when they are built in house and should provide cost savings to the buyer. If they are significantly better than all other brand offerings I’ll conclude they must be worth paying more than an equivalent AGS or Fuji train.

Daiwa is worse, and without JDM options I’d never spend $440 on a Zillion. While I love my Steez rods and my Zillions I’d never suggest anyone pay the absurd markup they’ve acquired over the last few years.

Yes the AGS guide is the lightest and is entirely proprietary outside of the Legend Xtremes. I’d love for Daiwa to spread the love but they won’t and at this point it feels like they even want to kill off the guides here. I don’t know if they’ll bother revamping the current AGS line for a US market.

I understand tariffs aggressively attacked many goods, not simply those imported but also the materials we use here to build products. It’s not a lack of understanding it’s frustration with a company feeding me their margin loss. I feel the same way about the absurd car market, bloat of consumer electronics, and how the idiocy of tariffs have damaged all of my other hobbies.

I compare the NRX+ to whatever because it’s an easy to understand thing. I can’t say a JDM Evergreen Rapid Gunner or Black Rose is this or that compared to the PG because the EG isn’t in the average fisherman’s lexicon. You’re right the warranties aren’t the same as they were, but both SC and the expiditor are still heads and shoulders above the competition. While Shimano owns Loomis at least it’s made here.

This is my hot take. The PG is a dressed up expride and the expride is one of the worst values in fishing. Only the zodias is worse. If you could obfuscate everything about the rods and give someone a MB levante and an expride I full heartedly don’t think they could tell the difference.

9 hours ago, PGA Dropout said:

It's not cute but the more I think about it, the more I like the cork covering the monocoque.

I drop an Adrena on concrete at least once a week.

I'll be the first to admit a fancy locknut would have me calling it bad arse, lol. I bet it fishes great.

9 hours ago, TNBankFishing said:

I know it’s not only Shimano raising their prices more than is necessary. The PG just happens to be the newest addition to the list. You brought up and continued to bring up solid points about the guides being developed and employed through multiple lines across a decade. I fully understand those points. I still don’t agree with them being worth a premium when they are built in house and should provide cost savings to the buyer. If they are significantly better than all other brand offerings I’ll conclude they must be worth paying more than an equivalent AGS or Fuji train.

Daiwa is worse, and without JDM options I’d never spend $440 on a Zillion. While I love my Steez rods and my Zillions I’d never suggest anyone pay the absurd markup they’ve acquired over the last few years.

Yes the AGS guide is the lightest and is entirely proprietary outside of the Legend Xtremes. I’d love for Daiwa to spread the love but they won’t and at this point it feels like they even want to kill off the guides here. I don’t know if they’ll bother revamping the current AGS line for a US market.

I understand tariffs aggressively attacked many goods, not simply those imported but also the materials we use here to build products. It’s not a lack of understanding it’s frustration with a company feeding me their margin loss. I feel the same way about the absurd car market, bloat of consumer electronics, and how the idiocy of tariffs have damaged all of my other hobbies.

I compare the NRX+ to whatever because it’s an easy to understand thing. I can’t say a JDM Evergreen Rapid Gunner or Black Rose is this or that compared to the PG because the EG isn’t in the average fisherman’s lexicon. You’re right the warranties aren’t the same as they were, but both SC and the expiditor are still heads and shoulders above the competition. While Shimano owns Loomis at least it’s made here.

This is my hot take. The PG is a dressed up expride and the expride is one of the worst values in fishing. Only the zodias is worse. If you could obfuscate everything about the rods and give someone a MB levante and an expride I full heartedly don’t think they could tell the difference.

Man I couldnt even be hyped for a week.