I have owned this rod for about a month and it is quite impressive for a $60 rod. I love the reel seat and how it really makes the rod feel like an extension of your arm and puts a lot of your hand in contact with the blank, which makes for a very sensitive rod. The first guide seems a bit small and causes some vibration when reeling with braided line that i believe is due to the angle that the line must come off of the reel. The reel that I'm using is a 30 size Lew's spinning reel which is not a large reel for a 7'1" MH rod. This seems to be a trend that many rod manufactures are following. I feel that it can cause the false sensation of a strike when slowly reeling in a bait but i tend to move my baits with the rod and only reel to keep slack out of the line with most baits. Another possible concern for some may be that this rod doesn't seem to have much of a protective layer of clear coat over the carbon blank. A small chip or fracture in a high carbon blank could cause the rod to snap like a twig on even a light hook set. This is true for all rod manufactures and is the cause for many poor reviews on many different rods. This is not the rod manufacturers fault but user error (in most cases). Even tho it may seem like they weren't doing anything wrong at the time of the rods failure. I have not broken my rod but it would not surprise me if some bad reviews popped up due to neglect for proper rod care. This is a great rod for the money and I will likely buy more unless I decide that the new Omen Black is worth the extra money. 13 Fishing's new lineup looks to offer a lot of rod for your money. Bottom line, would recommend, would buy again.