I recently bought the rod, especially for pike when you crawl under bushes, look for parking spaces and the rod should be as short as possible, you don't have much space to cast out, the shorter the better, use the rod with a escalde 1120 and 12lb line and .0,27 flexonite. The first use 2 pike Ü60, absolutely no problem, the rod is sensitive, you notice every touch, I would not have thought of the price, tip relatively stiff but you get everything, so overall top rod for the money, I say almost.... The handle is actually a 15mm blank, cuts into your hands, is no fun, so I ordered 22 structured shrink tubes, they are available in different colors and structures, the handle (blank) is lined with fabric adhesive tape and 2 Layers of shrink tubing over it, now measures 24mm, and the rod is really great for the price, but the visual drawback is, the first ring on the lower part is so big, why?, doesn't match the overall look, but it's great for fishing. One more thing, after lining up the grip, the balance is now right in front of the reel, before it was a bit top-heavy.