Cabelas New Magtouch & XMLTi Rods; & BPS Rods

I bought both a few days ago. The Cabelas close to me FINALLY got in the Magtouch rods. I've been waiting for them to show up & check them out.

Also at the same time, the XMLTi rods were on sale for $109.99. That's $70 off the regular price. I ended up buying 2 of them. 6'10" med/hvy baitcast rod & 7' med spinning. The models I bought were the split grip ones. They feel quite balanced & the recoil guides intrigued me. I've read that braided line aren't good for the recoils. And then I hear & read about the recoils on Cabelas catalog that braid should not harm the guides. I'll use them & see for myself, if the recoil guides fail, I know Cabelas will take them back.

I bought 5 of the new Magtouch rods, 4 spinning & 1 baitcast rods. I like the graphite handle & the exposed reel seat. It has pretty good sensitivity & very nice looking also. One big complaint is that there is no hook hanger. You have to buy separately the Fuji hook hanger. Another thing I noticed is the handle of the Magtouch rods are a bit smaller in diameter than rods w/ cork or eva grips. But the graphite weave does give you a pretty good grip. That was a concern whether the grip would be smooth & slippery cuz of the graphite. But the graphite weave does have some texture that you can grip the rod, not sure how well it will be when the handle gets wet. But I think I have a solution. I'll wrap the butt end w/ black cloth tape so I have better traction when gripping the handle. I don't need to wrap the whole handle, just the part where my hand needs to be when gripping.

Even though both rods are made in China, the quality of the builds are spot on. I did go through the models I wanted & checked out a few to make sure that the guides & overall quality was there. I did see some of these rods that the guides were just a shade off.

I really wanted to pick up a couple E21 Carrot Stix at the store. But they still don't have any in stock. Also online, they show as N/A...till when? I want the LTX which retails for $150. I think these are great looking rods & was ready to buy. Since the store didn't have any, I settled w/ the 2 XMLTi rods. I may get a third XMLTi rod at the sale price, which ends March 12.

I have not used either rods, but will be giving them a shot tomorrow. Just static testing these rods, casting 1/2 oz weighted plugs out in the front, they worked pretty good. Now I need to find out for myself if they handle as good as they look.

3 of the Magtouch rods, I got them as combos w/ the Prodigy reels. 2 spinning (2500 & 2000) & 1 baitcast reels. The reels seem to be very good quality & are similar w/ slight modifications of the Daiwa Advantage reels.

I still want to get the Carrot Stix, but just waiting till I can handle them. I hate buying when I can't see for myself the quality of the fishing rods. However, the sales guy told me that the Carrot stix will probably be online orders only. But you can go to a Cabelas store & order it & get free shipping to that store, then you just have to go & pick it up.

I did buy a new BPS Extreme 7', medium extendable butt baitcast rod. I like the concept of this rod, you twist the end & it can extend 6 more inches. I wanted this rod for crankbaits & rattle traps. It has good flex amount w/ good backbone.

Also bought the new BPS Pro Qualifier 7'6", medium spinning rod. It has a split grip & has great feel for a long spinning rod. I intend to use this for drop shotting & for river fishing.

Also these new 2008 BPS rods have hook holders...FINALLY!!!