im looking to fill the void between my 5'6" UL and my 6' M rods. not sure wether to pick up a light or ML rod to be paired with my abu 801. i will be using it as my 'general purpose' rod and be throwing everything with it , within its capacities of course.

the rods well within my budget and seem to have great reviews. im curious about the reel seat though. how well does that thing tighten down? http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_74068_100002002_100000000_100002000_100-2-2?ordProd=Y&CMID=BOTTOM_selectitems#itemDetail

mrlitetackle , i recall you mentioning you own one of these , care to chime in?

I owned one for 18 months (6' ul 2 piece). It was a great rod for the money. Then last June while fishing with it it snapped clean between the top guide and the next one down. I wasn't fighting a fish or pulling on a snag - it just broke.

BPS wouldn't do anything for me, but that's another story. I caught literally hundreds of fish on it from panfish to a huge foul hooked brown carp without any troubles.

As for the reel seat, mine would loosen up from time to time. That's easily fixed by wrapping teflon tape around the threads to take up the clearance between the nuts and the threads. Teflon tape has no adhesive on it so you can take it off whenever and not have any residue to deal with.

I owned one for 18 months (6' ul 2 piece). It was a great rod for the money. Then last June while fishing with it it snapped clean between the top guide and the next one down. I wasn't fighting a fish or pulling on a snag - it just broke.

BPS wouldn't do anything for me, but that's another story. I caught literally hundreds of fish on it from panfish to a huge foul hooked brown carp without any troubles.

As for the reel seat, mine would loosen up from time to time. That's easily fixed by wrapping teflon tape around the threads to take up the clearance between the nuts and the threads. Teflon tape has no adhesive on it so you can take it off whenever and not have any residue to deal with.

ouch.

i happened to come across this site that has the clarus models i was originally looking at - http://www.miklurchtackle.com/index.php?productID=40 - the 6'2 ML and the 6'6 L , but ive never seen anyone mention ordering from them.

just noticed *** does stock both of them but they are out of the 6'2 ML untill 10/3. hm...

I have a 6'6 ML MicroLite that I've used for kayak fishing rivers for 5 years now.  It has the screw-down type reel seat & I haven't had any problems with it coming loose.  I'd recomend the MicroLite, especially since it's on clearance for $40.

im waiting on a reply from TW.

bilgerats post about the rod snapping left a bad taste in my mouth. id rather have the warranty in case something like that does happen. the closest BPS is like 4 hours away - not worth the drive for a $40 purchase.

just found the thread man.......

i own 3 of the bps micro lites, and use them as my main setups for fresh and salt.....

i have one 6'6" ML on an old stradic 2000

1 7" Ml on a saros 3000

and another 7" ML on yet another saros 3000 (inshore salt)

...all in 2 piece (im not sure if they even come in a one piece??)

personally i love the rods, that is why i have purchased 3 of them....

never any problems with durability for me, in fact they hold up to great bass quite well......and some hard fighting salt species too!!! (most all of my quality bass have been hauled in on them!)....

...though, i love light tackle.... and still toss large swimbaits on these rods as well ...

yet.. never a problem..

as for the reel seat....

there are 2 fasteners, one main.... and one smaller secondary one to hold the base of the reel on.....

they do come loose from time to time.

if your using the rod for strictly fresh water use, then do as bilgerat said..... the teflon tape will work great....

as for my saltwater setup, i just deal with it, and tighten it up every hour or so...... mainly because the tape will hold salt residue on the metal... even after rinsing, and i dont want any corrosion.

just my opinion.... but i say go for it.....

they're no gloomis, obviously, but well worth the price!