KastKing Blackhawk II Telescopic Fishing Rods, Graphite Rod Blanks & Durable Solid Glass Tip, Floating Guides, 1pc Fishing Rod Performance, Comfortable EVA Handle, Newly Designed Travel Rod

Perfect for travelling .. awesome casting experience .. highly recommended ..

I'm headed to Washington in a few days and I wanted a travel rod that can collapse small enough to fit in my luggage, while being durable enough to last more than one trip. After reading a lot of reviews and checking out travel rods at local tackle shops, I decided on the Kast King Blackhawk based on reviews and comments from the tackle shop folks. Upon receiving the Blackhawk, I was not disappointed.First impression is that the build quality far exceeds other Amazon travel rods that are a few bucks cheaper. I had purchased another rod by Plusino for a lot less money and returned it the day I got it. Save yourself the hassle and just buy the Blackhawk. The eyelets are epoxied on the rod just like other high quality rods, the seat holds my Penn Battle II 3000 perfectly solid. No wobble. Finally, the color scheme is nice and clean, no over the top chrome or bright rainbow colors. Just a nice clean look.Fishing with the rod was a pleasure. On a test run, the rod did feel pretty close to a one piece rod. I didn't hear any creaking or snapping sounds. The rod flexed and handled surf perch like a normal 2 piece rod. From what I can tell, I don't think this rod will have any problem landing bigger fish on my Washington trip.Like they say, pay once, cry once. If you need a travel rod that collapses and extends to 8', I honestly feel there aren't any other options worth considering. Sure the Blackhawk is a lot more than other cheaper rods on Amazon, but I definitely think it's worth the extra money. If fishing is your thing, then spend the extra dough and get the Blackhawk.Update: I just returned from my trip to WA. I used the Blackhawk everyday for 6 out of 7 days and here’s what I think.+ excellent performance - I was casting Buzzbomb and other lures way farther than I thought I could. It was kind of crazy, but I felt it it could cast better than a similar 2 pc Okuma rod I use for surf fishing.+ being telescopic makes traveling with it a breeze+ reel seat is solid. My reel did not wobble or come loose at any point.+ sensitive, yet easily handled 2-4lb steelheads all day.- line guides (eyelets) tend to rotate alittle after some use. You have to readjust the guides throughout the day.- not the rod’s fault, but getting even a tiny bit of sand inside the rod makes it extremely difficult to collapse/expand the rod. Be sure to wipe down the rod before putting it away.Overall, I’m extremely happy with the Blackhawk.

Compact and durable so far

Purchased the MH 7'0" rod. I've only used this for a few days - it has been hard to put down. Between casting on the new rod with practice plugs... I had a chance to break it out at two local ponds this morning and in the afternoon - casting off the banks. I've been looking for a rod that fit better in small 2003 Camry without barring off a good section of trunk space, and this fit the bill!Caught a nice 3.92 lb largemouth bass this morning. The rod has great action, and I never had any concerns about the rod segments becoming loose and collapsing. Caught a half pound largemouth and a small pickerel in the afternoon, but my phone died.My only other rods to compare are: Cabela Fish Eagle 7'0" med, and Ugly Stik Gx2 7'0" med.Setup: Shimano Stradic 4000, 12lb Seguar red label.Pros:- Compact, the size is more convenient than having a two-piece setup up. I have a small 10L backpack that I fit this and an attached reel into (as well as a small waterproof tackle box, scale, and pliers), but a small length will stick out.- Sleek looks, plenty of compliments.- No need to fully break down the rod and lure setup every time. The protective cover can secure wacky-rigged soft plastic worm bait with a 2/0 hook. The plastic/elastic rubbery strap allows for slight adjustment to the rod and small lures.- A solid number of eyelets, casting feels smooth (the Blackhawk II and Fish Eagle both fed line more smoothly than the Gx2 that had one less eyelet and generally larger eyelets.- Great build quality, no visual defects.- Reel seat feels absolutely locked in (better visual build and feel than the Gx2, and a little more secure feeling than the Fish Eagle)- Casts light spinnerbaits (1/4oz) and weightless wacky and trigs well.Cons:- Straight eyelet Alightment and tight-full rod extension can be a small hassle to get consistently.- After pulling the rod to full length, casting and catching fish would cause the segments to slightly loosen and slightly twist eyelets off-center. Although the rod would "loosen," the segments NEVER collapsed. This is just a pet peeve of mine, no real noticeable harm is done to casting distance and accuracy.- The protective cap doesn't cover the first eyelet.What more would I want in this rod?- I wish the rod had a gold line running down the all the guides eyelets onspine of the rod for alignment. It doesn't have the line on the eyelets near the tip.- An improved rod cover that would house all of the eyelets and a lure.- Simpler hook keeper loop as opposed to the clip styled keeper.All rods will do the job... If you're really craving a good quality telescopic travel rod, go for it! The Blackhawk II won't hurt your wallet as much as some nicer travel rods. Either way, I'll still be using my two-piece rods on longer days, but for short trips before or after work, I'll break out this setup.

This thing is pretty sweet looking. Can't wait to try it out this weekend. Gonna be perfect for the bicycle fishing setup I'm building.

Few thoughts:1. Rod broke 1st time using it on nothing, lifted the lure through some fast water and it snapped in half.2. The ML action is quite “heavy” for a light rod, feels more like a Medium Heavy with Moderate action than a true ML rod for trout and other small fish.3. While the extra guides were nice compared to other telescopic rods, this rod takes a good few minutes to “deploy” because it’s rather annoying to line up every thing.4. For a “Travel” Rod, why is the handle below the reel so long? This thing is just as long as 1/2 of a two piece rod when broken down, so it wasn’t much of a difference in convenience compared to those style of travel rods.This was my first KastKing Rod, will be my last as well. Pretty disappointed to not be able to finish my backpacking trip with the fishing I wanted to do.