Fenwick Boron X 6' Pistol Grip

[Big-Bass]

Today at a fishing show, I picked up a really nice vintage Fenwick Boron X pistol grip casting rod.  It is a 6' one piece medium action rod (5 power) rated for 8-20lb. test and 1/4-3/4oz. baits.  I put my Daiwa PT33C on it and it launches baits!  I figure I will use it for cranks and spinnerbaits.  My question is:  Does anyone know anything about these rods?  There seems to be (or used to be) a bit of a cult following on them and while I know many boron rods of the 80s were known to be brittle, similar rods to this one have sold online at auction sites for $300-400.  Does anyone have any other information on them as this model seems to be kind of rare/hard to find and not much is available online.  Thanks for any/all help and responses and best wishes on the water!

[spoonplugger1]

They weren't around long, production costs were high. The boron crystaline structure is formed on very fine tungsten wire that's many time harder to work with than an upset porcupine. Requires special gloves, etc. Has a bit of a comback in the last decade, a small amount of the material is used in the Winston Boron fly rods. Both the Borons and the old Iron Feather rods were very innovative for their time and held up well if treated with respect, remember at fhe time we were in the hinterlands as far as graphite and Boron was concerned. They didn't have the rod design software Gary Loomis had with the help of Boeing graphite engineers.

[Zimbass]

Had a few back in the day, and was happy with the performance of the blank. The issue with them was the pistol grip. If I recall correctly, they were made by Fuji, or some other company. The handles broke at the point where the blank was inserted. This happened on more occasions than I care to remember !!