**Note I am not associated with the seller or the manufacturer**

I was perusing ebay, as well as the classifieds on here, and came upon some Kistler rods with starting bids of ~$30. I looked into them and found they are reconditioned rods from Kistler, being sold by a guy in Texas. I watched a few go by and decided to bid on a Magnesium TS H/XF rod. The rod was originally 7'8" long, but had been sorted through the reconditioning process into a ~7'2" rod.

Being of the cynical sort I didnt expect much from the rod, but I figgured it would be worth a try at ~$40 after shipping. After a small mixup with shipping, my fault come to find out, I got my rod today and have to say that I am pretty impressed. And definitely looking forward to fishing it tomorrow.

It has a telescopic handle, pretty slick setup.

Originally 7'8", shorter by around 6" now

"Reconditioned No Warranty" is under the epoxy. Although this is a down side, unfortunately we know how Kistler's warranty is anyway, so they all might as well be sold as is.

Looking forward to seeing how it goes with the Citica tomorrow.

I contacted the guy via ebay to see if he is going to have any more available. If so I plan to grab a few more.

NGaHB

I wouldn't recommend a reconditioned rod. I went to a flea market that had reconditioned St. Croix Avids, LTBs, and premiers for $30 each. Picked them up and they were crap.

Packard, I figgured reconditioned rods would be hit or miss, but this time it seems to have been ok.

I got a chance to go try out the rod today. I pulled in several fish with it throwing jigs. It seems to handle fine and got a 3.5# in without any problem at all. Pretty happy with the purchase so far.

NGaHB

Good luck, heck of a deal if it performs fine.

Great rod, lost mine in a boating accident. With it missing 6 inches the thing is gonna be a broomhandle.

It's stiff for sure, threw a ~2 oz swimbait wonderfully tho.

Glad your here to type about that boat accident, could have lost alot more than a rod.

NGaHB

Great rod, lost mine in a boating accident. With it missing 6 inches the thing is gonna be a broomhandle.

Thanks for getting your toes in the pic

I'm always leery of broken rods but if they fill a specific need in the arsenal then go for it.

Hmm...

Hope it works out for you, but it's nothing I would recommend or

even consider. Sounds like junk to me, $30 flushed down the toilet.

It's caught fish without any complaints yet, I'll just keep using it till it decides to stop.

NGaHB

Hmm...

Hope it works out for you, but it's nothing I would recommend or

even consider. Sounds like junk to me, $30 flushed down the toilet.

Interesting. If it works for you, that's all that matters.

I was wondering about the "reconditioning" process though. Do they just chop off the broken tip and put on new guides? And if they do that off an extra-fast or a fast rod, all that's left is the backbone; isn't it?

Not a criticism, I'm just trying to figure out the actual process and how it affects the "action" of the rod.

Ive wondered my self. The tip is still relatively small, not much bigger than my MH kistler tips. Im guessing the 6"s came out of the area that is the telescopic part. It still has some play up at the tip, a 1/2 oz jig still puts some decent bend to the tip when the jig is underwater.

I dont want to come off as being defensive, I just have the rod in hand, so I dont know that automatic assumptions that it is junk are proper. As I said tho, this is an investment I made, not saying anyone else should make the same gamble, I wouldnt make the suggestion to anyone, unless they had the money to spare and a couple of rods they already had confidence in.

NGaHB

Interesting. If it works for you, that's all that matters.

I was wondering about the "reconditioning" process though. Do they just chop off the broken tip and put on new guides? And if they do that off an extra-fast or a fast rod, all that's left is the backbone; isn't it?

Not a criticism, I'm just trying to figure out the actual process and how it affects the "action" of the rod.