Did a comparison between the 894 and 895 as far as balance. With a metainium xg on each one, the 894 balanced at the nose of the loomis logo, the 895 balanced at the tail of the fish logo. I'm guessing that's around 3/4" of difference. The reels had no line on them btw.

Jdmbassman wrote:Take a look at the TackleTour review of the Daiwa STZ741XHFBA-XBD. It seems a good choice for what you have in mind

I agree totally but not anywhere near the price range of the tatula and zillion options given.

I read one post that indicated the butt length on the 895 was shorter then his 894. Shocking but if remotely true explains the balance issue. I posted that, and would appreciate if anyone with both would check theirs as well. I bought these rods as soon as they came out and wondered if they were ea...

DavidSA wrote:wow, if the 895 handle is shorter then the 894 then that is quite interesting

Don't have a MBR844 or MBR843 to compare to the NRX854 do you?

No, the only mbr I have is a 784glx. I don't know if I have early 895s or what, loomis shows them all having the same handle length.

I started oiling and respooling some rigs today so I compared the 854 to the 873 both with steez 103sha reels. The balance point on both was right in front of the windings for the hook keeper. I can't imagine you'd be able to tell any difference. I haven't made it to the 894s and 895s yet but did no...

The 873 is probably the most likely. The extra 2" is partially in the handle which would put the balance back a bit. The only other possibility might be the 894, again with more length in the handle.

This is just my opinion but for what you describe using it for I feel like the 783 is too light. The 845 or 855 would probably be more what I would chose.

I use mine for squarebills in heavy cover where I don't need a real long cast. A 1.5 size is as small as I go with it, anything smaller doesn't work very well. I think it'd be good for lipless cranks too. It's a pretty stout rod really, I feel like you could fish plastics with it if you needed to. M...

As far as the initial purchase, they were ordered Christmas Eve, Christmas Day was Friday then the weekend. Shipping on the 28th was the earliest possible they could have gone out. Even if ups picked up Christmas eve they would have sat in the local terminal until the 28th.

Another Steez or Metanium vote. I can't say as I have a strong preference for either but if I had to pick I'd go with the Metanium HG or XG.

Oh my dont even give the compile x rods another thought! I have metanium xgs on my 895s and a 100xs steez on the 894 both are pretty nice.

I have two 895s and an 894 both are outstanding. They typically have a 3/4-1oz wobble head, football jig or big shakey head on them fishing deep. I don't think you'd go wrong with either.

I still have a couple 7'1 compile x rods, sold the 8' and another 7'1. I still use them some but the nrx line is what I go to now.

I would think the 7'9 would be a little long for walking a frog. The steez ags would really have to perform in the sensitivity area to justify the price tag. It seems pretty universal that the 7'1 compile x fell short in the $500 price range.

Thank you! I did a search but only saw issues relating to the front part of it.