Soobz

This is fascinating.

Thought I better stick in a final shot. Epoxy on. Think I will leave it unpainted.

It's a reflection or something, just checked under strong magnification and it's all smooth. I used soft/padded tools when I removed it.

Some idiot broke the tip of my Savage Black rod. I've repaired it, so I thought I'd document it. Damage was right at the very tip I wanted to reuse the tip if I could, so I had to strip back the epoxy and remove the old rod graphite, a simple scrape with stanley knife exposed the wrap I unwound that and measured the old tip thickness No wonder it broke, so bloody thin Removing the old rod section I was now not worried about damaging it so I used a hot air gun which would damage the resin of the graphite but hopefully not the eyelet but would melt any glue. Easy peasy. I put a 1.4mm drill down it to clean out the gunk but was obvious the sleeve was 1.5mm to allow for glue space so I also put a 1.5mm down it Forgot to take a photo, but the break was pretty clean and the break end on the remainder of the rod was 1.45mm so I decided to glue the tip straight on. I used superglue aka cyanoacrylate which apparently is commonly used. To align it I used a bamboo skewer through 3 eyes with tape around it to match each eye diameter, a blurry photo but I think you get the idea I then bound (wrapped) the eye end to the rod with 80lb braid and used a bit of superglue to hold that in place. I'm probably going to epoxy it as well. I could have used thinner braid but this stuff I use for assist hooks and I liked the idea of a bright orange tip The 6'10 rod is more like 6'9 now , but at least it's not a bin job!

The new Laguna 1000 is not particularly light, about 208g, (220g for 2000 - bet won't see 1000 here) but it is a lot lighter than the horrible purple version we have here atm (2000A = 265g). https://daiwaproductshowcase.com/products/laguna-lt A$80 delivered for a 1000 from Tackledirect in the US

Looks really nice, and I really appreciate they give you a spare spool and cork + EVA handle knobs. Pretty pricey though as you say. The MGX is a fair bit cheaper, still really light, wonder what you're losing.

Butt plug? but I thought it was for a reel not a rod? Is this what's used for balancing a setup then?

I have no words...

Thanks @MAH. People are claiming the Vanford is the Stradic FL in a Ci4+ body and MGL rotor to get the weight down, all else is the same as far as I can work out. Supposedly there is another bearing somewhere too but cant find it yet. $30 buys you 30g less lol. Would like to see Tackle Advisors dude do a Vanford teardown to confirm. Not convinced the X Protect does much.

Based on where he puts his finger the Pursuit 2500 is a perfect balance , but clearly to me it's a bit heavy for this rod. I think it's a lot more complex to work out balance than a single pivot point as rod angle / lure type and preferred hand position and grip will have a big effect on comfort.

Oh, this shows what I mean about the 3000 being the same size as the 2500, it's only the spool capacity that changes and the handle length. (All the reading I've done suggests the Vanford is just the renamed Stradic Ci4+ as a 2020 version because they didn't want 2 Stradics in the lineup.)

Yep

For you guys that favour the 1000s, I'm still unclear what is it about them that you like? Just the light weight? Do you prefer the smaller handle? It's interesting that Dawia mostly do not sell 1000 size in Aus anymore.

Oh and yeah if the Sol was $300 instead of $380 I would be leaning to that lol

Thing is the 3000 vanford is probably a little smaller than the 2500 Sol, its certainly a fair bit smaller than the pursuit 2500 and even exceler 2000 as I had those 3 side by side. I wish they'd publish dimensions.