I purchased the SDS-C-801XH and am quite happy with the appearance of the rod. I paired it with the Daiwa Lexa HD 400 and have used the rod with topwater, jerkbaits, and crankbaits. Overall, the rod feels nice but the butt of the blank isn't long enough. The weight of the rod is enough that my hands are fatigued throwing large lures on my setup, and I would like to have the back end of the rod under my armpit so that my hands are not the only support. More length on the back would improve the design.

The tip of the rod has nice sensitivity despite the power of the rod.

If the handle were longer, I would use this rod more.

I use this rod mainly for casting crankbaits for big pike and I am very happy with it.

And it cast like the wind blows! Really far! I love it!

Very good rod! After catching a dozen sand bass, I let a friend try it, He loved it as well, in fact we both agreed it was better than his very expensive Cousins rod.

Great rod for my okuma arena 400 reel, they really balance each other out. It's great for big reds and black drum out in the bay.

Sent me the wrong rod, but whatever. I received the heavy instead of the medium heavy. I put an Okuma Andros 5Ns reel spooled with 30 lbs braid on it. Caught some yellowfin tuna in the 15-20 lbs range. Fun lightweight setup!