Fantastic rod and very light for the length and action.

Good for surfcasting and feels great with the 70/30 split

I bought one of these while I was waiting for a custom rod to be repaired. It's a very decent rod for the money. Paired with a long-cast reel, this rod will let you throw lures in the same league as some of the big boys. I still have this rod around, and use it as a guest rod when friends visit and don't bring their own gear. They are usually impressed by the distance they are able to squeeze out of this rod.

It fights fish great. Plenty of backbone - I've never felt under-gunned even with some pretty decent fish.

I would very much recommend this to someone just getting into surfcasting or not looking to break the bank on some gear to get into fish.

work well with lure and bait

I have many rods and this is my favorite rod for stripers, blues etc. Caught a 70# striper last year on it.

I like the 70/30 split. It gives me some extra confidence in the spine, and I don't have to worry about half the rod getting out of alignment.

The 3/4-3 Oz rating is great for tossing 2oz spoons and plugs in the surf.

This clearly isn't an 8nbait rod, but feels very versatile. I wanted something that could do surf and jetties, and this really fits the bill for me.

i have seen a bunch of the standard airwave series break, on fish, snags and rocks.

the elite series however i have seen catch the biggest fish i have ever seen

light weight blank that distributes the load evenly through out.

Love this rod! Paired with a Diawa 3500 is quite the combo! Gets me out far enough in the surf for some sweet Pompano action and strong enough to wrestle in big reds and snook!

Great rod so far. Will cast a 6oz weigh and a 12 inch bluefish pretty well. Had one shark on and I forgot to loosen the drag on a 10500 with 80lb braid. The rod bent all the way over but did not break. Before I could get to it, the rod holder broke and the combo went surfing. I chased after it but wasnt quick enough. I thought it would be half way to Cuba the next day. Some pompano fishermen actually snagged it the next morning in the trough (shark not still attached) and gave it back to me. I rinsed it off and it is as good as new. Must be a tough rod to put up with that abuse.

I'm own 1002XH for 3 years now using mostly on jetties, fishing for Kings, JT's Bullreds, Sharks...So far all good, have no problem with the rod or guides.But a couple times just cut the main line because of large shark attack and swallow my King.

Lightweight for its size. the 1002 xh likes the 3-4 better than 2 weight it seems for me.

First time I bought a higher quality rod. Felt the difference immediately. Really like the 70/30 split

The 8’8” is perfect for playing with schoolie stripers, blues and albies. It does best with 3/4 to 1.5oz lures, doesn’t really load well with 1/2oz but it will work well enough for that in a pinch. The action is a little soft but overall it works really well and that seems to help with throwing lighter plugs like small mag darters without having them wobble as much on the cast.

I have several many more expensive rods ........... But, I always gravitate to this one .......

I throw a lot of swimbaits at the Cape Cod Canal, which cast terribly ..... This rod gets the most out of them ......

Also casting metals into the wind on the beach, this rod outperforms my Century for distance ...... lighter lure scale, a little looser ......

I also have a 11'4" I use on the Canal for jigging heavy 5/6oz, in heavy current .... Very stiff to get the jig off the bottom and can turn big fish in heavy current .....

For me, the very best value in surf rods ....... sub $200.00 .......

Bought it as a heaver for drums at the OBX. Its light weight and can cast 8nBait. Would consider it an entry heaver.