well i just got my second crucial. best part about it was that i got it at cabelas. i got their employee discount coupon and got the price including tax for 129! the selection was very low at the east hartford site. i really wanted to compare it to an avid. wish these stores had some dobyns or other interesting rods. i did feel the new g loomis nfx? or nlx. and man thats the nicest rod i ever felt. for a 7 foot 3 it must have abeen a hair over 4 ounces. nuts. anyway pumped about the new shimano. !

You'll love it.  The only complaint I have about them, all Shimano rods really, is the hook keeper design.  Thats easily fixed with a Fuji EZ-Keeper though.  They're right on par with the Avid.  I just didn't like the handle on the Avids, thats why I've gone with the Crucials.  I'll be adding a few more of them to my collection before too much longer.

i have the 7'6" split grip crucial that i use for c-rigs. it is amazing.

i solved the uninspired hook keeper problem with a cable ziptie. the kind with a loop to mount with a nail.

works like a charm- i have them on most of my rods.

I prefer the Avid's grip over the Crucial, but everybody's hands are different.

Avids are also a bit under-rated compared to the Crucials. Meaning, a med. Avid is somewhere between a med. and a med/hvy Crucial.

In regards to their sensitivity, I don't think there's a nickel's worth of difference between the two.

I prefer the Avid's grip over the Crucial, but everybody's hands are different.

In regards to their sensitivity, I don't think there's a nickel's worth of difference between the two.

I just didn't like the small bulge behind the reel seat.  Other than that, liked the rods.

Having used both, I've gotta agree about the sensitivity.  Certainly not enough of a difference either way for me to notice.

Congrats on the Crucial. I'm jealous. ;D

Seriously, I'm jealous. Gotta get me one o' dose rods.

Congrats on the Crucial. I'm jealous. ;D

Seriously, I'm jealous. Gotta get me one o' dose rods.

I picked up one also this summer based on the praise it recieved here, and I couldn't love it more. Great rod  8-)

I am going to get one for my spinning rod most likely.  I fish Compres for casting rods though.  Would love a Crucial for that too, but cost is too high to get them for every rod I want.  For a spinning rod though, the Crucial handle is perfect.  I can't stand the foregrip on the Compre spinners. 

Some of the Crucial spinning rods do have that notch though.