hey all. hope everyone had a great holiday!!

for christmas, a BPS gift card fell into my lap.

since it is "free" money, im wanting to purchase a new wading rod. i am contimplating a BPS Microlite rod or a St. Croix Triumph rod. obviously there is about a $30 difference between the two.

would i be wise to save $40 and buy the BPS version or should i not sacrifice the cost and buy the st. croix??

both rod specs are the same for both rods so im not losing out on one over the other. its coming down to quality and performance for the price.

any advice which route to go? :-/

Better warranty on the Triumph, better guides, nicer cork, and the ability to trade up to a better St. Croix rod in the future, if you choose to. Seems like a pretty simple decision to me.

If you're planning on driving to the store to pick it up, call first. Not all of the BPS stores stock the Triumph.

Better warranty on the Triumph, better guides, nicer cork, and the ability to trade up to a better St. Croix rod in the future, if you choose to. Seems like a pretty simple decision to me.

If you're planning on driving to the store to pick it up, call first. Not all of the BPS stores stock the Triumph.

Yep. The older Microlites were an ok rod, they went cheap on the current lineup by putting on all metal wire guides (they claim in their advertising they "lightened" the rod up by doing so ) It's still not half the rod a Triumph is. Plus the Triumph has a 5 year warranty. The choice is obvious.

The Triumph uses the same blank as the Premier and the Mojo.

Now ask yourself, is the BPS MicroLite comparable to either of those models?

I have had two Triumphs. The first was a 7'0 M F action. It fell into the bottom of a lake never to be seen again. I loved that rod for anything from dropshot to shakey heads to jigs and texas rigs.

The one I have now is a 5'6 UL Fast action beauty. I have caught more fish on that rod than all my other rods combined. It is extremely sensitive for what it is. It is really nice, the craftsmanship is ridiculously good when you think about the price.

Triumphs and the Crucials definitely fall under the the best rods for the money category.

thank you for the advice. i expected that response but figured id ask.

i do have a shimano crucial for my BC set up and the rod that im looking to get is for my micro lite set up which i will use for wading.

well, i think i will definitley go the st. croix route. didnt realize it had a 5 year warranty on it. that works for me!!

one last question.  how much of a difference is there from using a Light Action rod compared to a Light action?  is the difference noticeable?

...one last question. how much of a difference is there from using a Light Action rod compared to a Light action? is the difference noticeable?

Umm, no   

thank you for the advice. i expected that response but figured id ask.

i do have a shimano crucial for my BC set up and the rod that im looking to get is for my micro lite set up which i will use for wading.

well, i think i will definitley go the st. croix route. didnt realize it had a 5 year warranty on it. that works for me!!

one last question. how much of a difference is there from using a Light Action rod compared to a Light action? is the difference noticeable?

Did you mean the difference between ultra lite and lite ?

my mistake, i meant difference between light action and MEDIUM light....sorry