help before its to late

**screwloose** · 23-04-2007, 13:19

hi i recently purchased a penn powerstick surf 13' for £70 now i due to try it out this friday, my original intension was to get the diawa sandstorm but i was convinced otherwise - have i made the right decision, i have little idea of what i should have been looking for so i relide compleatly on the store to give me the right advice?? any input would be apriciated :-)

**bluejt2000** · 23-04-2007, 13:25

Originally Posted by screwloose

hi i recently purchased a penn powerstick surf 13' for £70 now i due to try it out this friday, my original intension was to get the diawa sandstorm but i was convinced otherwise - have i made the right decision, i have little idea of what i should have been looking for so i relide compleatly on the store to give me the right advice?? any input would be apriciated :-)

The powerstick is a very popular rod. Do a search for it on the Tackle section of this forum and ypu'll see it's often recommended. Although the Sand Storm may be an excellent rod too, I don't think you need to worry about having made the wrong decision.

Cheers,

John

P.S. I think the Powerstick is in 3 sections, which is a bonus regarding transportation.

**thebigman** · 23-04-2007, 13:32

Ive got both of the rods and use them for different things. They are different rods.
I use the powerstix on the beach. Its a nice light rod and has some finesse but not brilliant when the surf is up. Bit floppy on the tip. I use the sanstorm for mixed ground and congering. Its a lot stiffer and heavier. I wouldnt want to hold onto that thing all night. As per always, there are some better rods on the market but for those of us on a budget have to make do. But 2 good rods. If i could only have one it would be the Penn everyday.

**Tyn** · 23-04-2007, 14:54

I've also got a 13' Powerstix - excellent rod and to my mind you made the right choice. Light and being a 3 - piece, easy to transport.

I don't know what sort of reel you have, but another benefit is that the rod is rated as an m/fs rod, which means you can use it with a multiplier or fixed spool reel. Great if you are starting out with a fixed spool, but choose to convert to a multi when you are al little more experienced.

**Snaggletooth** · 23-04-2007, 14:59

I reckon you had good advice. As a starting rod it is ideal and will be something you'll want to keep if you later upgrade to stronger gear.

**Mike_N** · 23-04-2007, 17:01

I was under the assumption that the sandstorm was a clean beach rod?

**sammyjo** · 23-04-2007, 17:10

good choice mate i have one in my collection and cant fault it

**lobbit** · 23-04-2007, 18:12

im sorry i have to dissagree with the majority here ,id go for the daiwa wouldnt have a 3 piece in my colection ,dont care what anyone says ive seen the spigots on penns and they look like the same old same to me despite claims to be better designed these days and the multi/fs combo oh please do me a favour
jack of all trades master of none designed to catch the lesuire angler on hols with no idea what reel to use or fish he is likely to catch
(sticks tin hat on and digs in )
sandstorm of the two or something else like an abu or mustad im afraid

**bluejt2000** · 23-04-2007, 19:05

Originally Posted by lobbit

im sorry i have to dissagree with the majority here ,id go for the daiwa wouldnt have a 3 piece in my colection ,dont care what anyone says ive seen the spigots on penns and they look like the same old same to me despite claims to be better designed these days and the multi/fs combo oh please do me a favour
jack of all trades master of none designed to catch the lesuire angler on hols with no idea what reel to use or fish he is likely to catch
(sticks tin hat on and digs in )
sandstorm of the two or something else like an abu or mustad im afraid

What, exactly, is "the same old same"? I have the Penn Jetstream 4-piece and Seatrek 3-piece and find them very fine rods that cast and fish just like 2-piece ones. The spigots are well designed and are no different from those on the latter apart from the strengthening rings on the Seatrek. There are some 3-piece rods in the budget bracket that might be rubbish, but the Penns are certainly not in that category and I wouldn't expect the Powerstick to be either.

I agree about hybrid ringing being a compromise and I prefer rods to be rung for one type of reel or the other, but this practice isn't confined to 3-piece rods. If the Powerstick is rung like the Seatrek then I'd say it was biased towards multipliers.

If you just don't like 3-piece rods then fine - but you shouldn't knock them unless you've tried them or have other, reliable evidence that they're inferior.

**philtherod** · 23-04-2007, 20:57

Interesting, still the same old bias against three-piece rods. Blackbeard used to kick out against them, he ended up designing three piece rods for Penn. My three-piece and Jo's one have so far been to Australia, Florida, Portugal, Jamaica, Ireland, Belgium, The Gambia, sometimes with us, sometimes on loan to friends, and they have always returned as they went. In a few weeks they will be travelling to Scotland, then perhaps back to Ireland a few weeks later, then back home to South Devon. Try taking your overlong rods on a plane these days, and see how you get on costwise. These rods were designed by Mike McManus, who knows little about fishing, but knows an awful lot about tubes and allied subjects, he is after all an engineer.

philtherod