hey guys,

had a questions about action in rods from different companies. I used to build golf clubs and and the stiffness in graphite shafts were diffferent from company to company i.e a stiff shaft from one company may be the same stiffness as a regular from a different company there is no set standard for how stiff a regular shaft has to be.  Is this the same as fishing rods? is a medium heavy action on a rod from one company the same as another company? is there a set standard for how stiff a rod should be in order to be labled medium, medium heavy etc.??

yes they are different depending on brand. many people only buy one brand of rods.

a mh loomis and mh st croix are very different

Rods are all different, some have stiffer tips, some have softer tips, even if they're both MH XF.

As bigfruits said, a lot of guys stick with one company for rods for this very reason, makes things easier.

Just to clarify...you are referring to a rods power; i.e. medium, medium heavy, etc. referres to the power rating. Fast, X-fast, and moderate would represent a rods action. To answer your question; there is a pretty wide margin in each power rating between manufacturers. There is no standard on how a manufacturer rates their rods. To further confuse things (sorry ), fast/X-fast rods are generally deemed more powerful than moderately fast rods by most anglers. This really isn't true....an X-fast blank's power is just moved closer to the tip so it feels 'stiffer' and more powerful. You can have the same blank in a moderate action that has a limber tip, yet shows it is a heavy powered rod a little ways down the blank versus up front like and X-fast.  Hope that makes sense  

Yes. There are differences. Much of it has to do with the types of material used in the rod and how it's made.

Which is why many use the same brand of rod. I wouldn't want a bag of 14 different golf club brands anymore than I want 14 different brands of rods. I chose one brand I really like and am very comfortable with the consistency and feel of the rods regardless of what lure technique I'm using at the time.

Thanks the info has been most helpful for me to understand rod power/action between different manufactures.  But i do have one more question ( i apoligize if i'm asking a bunch of silly questions but i am new to the sport and i think the more 1 knows about equipment and how its made the better he/she will be able to correctly use it) . How much does feel/looks matter to you when selecting a rod? If you looking to buy a 6'6 mh rod and  you used all diawa rods would you buy there rod if it didn't look/feel good to you because it would match the action of your other rods or would you chose to look at a different brand? thanks again for the info ,you guys are a wonderful source for info.

Feel and looks are very different characteristics as well. You're probably not going to use a rod that doesn't feel good in your hands though. Why waste your money on something you might not use or have to replace down the line?  

That being said, I stay with one brand of rods as well. I'm not sure why this particular MH is different from your other rods. Most folks seem pretty happy with Diawa; especially Team Diawa sticks.

You can 't compare rods from different manufacturers, two different animals; to make it more complicated you can 't compare even between two rods made with the same blank material with different actions or different styles.

For example a GLoomis SJR782 IMX ( spinning ) doesn 't behave the same way of a MBR782 IMX ( trigger ), both are built with IMX material, both are medium power fast action but both not only feel different but behave different.

No if you compare two trigger rods like a MBR782 vs a MBR783 in which in theory the only diffrence is the power rating ( medium vs medium heavy ) you 'll find that both rods are different.

I wpuldn 't purchase a rod that doesn 't "feel" well, feel is highly subjective, what feels well for you may not feel well for somebody else. Personally I like GLoomis rods, I like the way they feel, I 've been fishing with them for many years and when I purchase a GLoomis rod I know what I 'm going to get.

About looks, it would be great to have a rod that looks good and feels good, but I will not purchase a rod that looks good but doesn 't feel good. Feel and the way the rod behaves are more important for me than how well it looks.

If you want feel you are familiar with but also want looks ---> better have a custom built than an off the shelf.

I fish with one particular brand of rods also which is Cabelas but kinda by accident in not really knowing alot when I started purchasing rods. After my first Fish Eagle II and then a XML I have only stuck with their brand of rods. I know what I'm getting and have several XML's in different lengths and power ratings. I also have there lower rod offerings as well and no need to warm up to a feel or action when I reach for another rig.

Far as feel vs looks I wouldn't by a rod that doesn't feel good but looks good. It would be a waste of money because it wouldn't get much use cause I did like the way the combination felt.

I have a 7' med-hvy st croix avid with a moderate action and a gander mountain guide series tournament rod also 7' med-hvy but fast action. the gander mountain rod is softer than my avid and works great as a crank bait rod. so yes all rods are different even though they are rated the same.

I have all shimano rod/reels, 2 convergence 1 claurus, 3 compre, 2 crucial, and 1 cumara! Love them and love the warranty!