XT1 Rod - Spinning & Casting

This rod is really impressive for the price! I have a zebco hotcast rod, costing about $7 from Wall Mart and this kalex rod for comparison. The zebco rod is fiberglass, 6'6, medium moderate. It is thick, heavy, has a short rod butt which isn't good for supporting any real weight, and is fairly solid under a high load. I could hook into a large fish and be relatively sure the rod will hold up. It is dependable, but very basic tech, and a bit awkward. It feels very floppy and bendy, and not very sensitive at all. This rod, the kalex, is also 6'6 medium action, but with fast tip and much better construction. In reality, it is about an inch longer than the zebco. It is stiffer, more sensitive, much, much lighter and much thinner near the base. The feel of this rod while casting is really nice. I would say it isn't capable of handling the amount of weight the zebco rod could, but it doesn't need to. I've seen medium action rods which could tow a car. This isn't one of them. This rod is what I would call a very high quality light duty rod. It feels like an expensive ultralight backpacking rod. I would happily use it for small panfish or small bass, and would use it with a bit of caution with larger bass/crappie weighing multiple pounds. I wouldn't 'bank-flip' anything over 1 pound with this. If I hooked into a 30-lb redfish, I might land it, but I would be extremely careful with setting drag and fighting gently to avoid snapping this lil guy. For this price, I highly recommend this rod for light baitcasting needs. It will be great for lighter spinnerbaits like beetle spins and weightless worm setups, as well as my go-to panfish rod. The balance in hand is amazing. I can cast with the lightest flick of the wrist and the rod is comfortable enough to hold forever, very light. The rod butt is a bit short, but it doesn't need to be longer, as it isn't for fighting huge fish. It provides just enough support for the job is was designed for and it is comfy enough. And I can afford to buy multiple spares in case I break one! And did I mention it looks great? Mostly black with lots of blue near the reel. Looks classy. Looks well designed, and looks expensive. And best of all, they break down into a tiny package, come with their own bag, and are easy to travel with. The joints are designed differently than ye olde 2-piece rods of yesteryear and seem plenty strong. The storage bag is simple and cheap and not very protective, but you can pack/transport this guy safely and much more easily than a one-piece rod. It will be even better if you make/buy a better rod case. The weak point will be the thin, stiff construction of the rod which may snap like a brittle twig if abused. I will update if I have any issues, but I think it will be fine so long as I don't chase big fish with it. I have other travel rods for that. I am now ordering the 7' casting version and a second of the shorter casting rods for the future. They seem like a very fair investment. I want them now before they disappear or the prices go up to match their value. If you handed me this rod and told me to guess the price, I would have guessed anything from $50-$150. These are a steal! Buy several if you use light/ultralight rods!

Long overdue review. Had this rod for over a year and it has been the best purchase of my life. Literally taken it everywhere and it has handled amazing. The rod for sure punches above its weight class, from big bass in Texas, to trout in Canada, to 30-40LB Amber Jacket in Florida. It’s compact for traveling but a beast on the water.

Great affordable for ultra light fishing. Bought it to fish while backpacking remote lakes. Definitely not top of the line, but it’s already helped land 5 bass (1-3lb range), 3 trout (1-2lb), and a handful of Bluegill. Have 10lb braid, a little 1000 reel and it casts pretty good for an ultralight! Not Meduim like description says. Would buy again for a pack rod that I might not worry if I break it. So far so good! Had for a few weeks. 6-7 fishing sessions with no problems!

I bought this rod for $7... Looks like they've gone up on price quite a bit. First one broke on a two pound bass and I got a free exchange. After almost three months of regular use (twice or more per week), this thing is still holding up really well. I've caught many bass on it, including several three-pounders and a four-pounder just yesterday. It gets the job done and at a low price!

First time out creek fishing as a replacement rod for an ultralight reel and within about 30 minutes I snagged the bottom of the creek and the rod broke. Sad because it was extremely portable and light, just not durable enough for my needs.

Easy to Travel With, light weight , comes with nice bag and it’s only 12$. It’s not that strong, it’s okay for Bass fishing but if you plan to catch something larger you need to set your reel drag little loose so it won’t break on you. Ugly Stick makes a very nice travel rod but it’s 3 times the price of this one.

Good rod but I rigged my line a little bit to make sure my bait was secure and the top 2 eyes of the rod snapped off

I'm ashamed of the amount of $ I have spent with Amazon on fishing this year. It is quite addictive. That said I have not been impressed more with any brand than the Plussinno. I put this on a Kalex XT1 4 PC rod and it casts and retrieves like a dream. I'm pitting this one in a contest today with a similar rod with a broadcaster with braid to see how it compares with this spinner with 6 lb. Monofilament. Bobbers, Egg Sinker, #1 hook all the same. Both rigs will see a slip bobber with no top knot, a loop knot 18" up with the snelled hook, followed by a adjustable slip Egg sinker below, followed by a snap swivel the end the rig on the end, secures to the rod, grin. See next report.