Megabass Lays Destruction to the Perception of JDM

[Cal]

Megabass Lays Destruction to the Perception of JDM



Introduction: Megabass was officially established in 1985. It wasn’t until 2003 that I fished my first rod from this company, and already at that time, there were discussions of “the good ole days” with many feeling Megabass had passed its prime. Any time a small builder grows and begins to offer their product on a larger scale, people will gripe. Despite the criticism, Megabass has continued to grow and while there are many other manufacturers in Japan, they, along with Evergreen International, are the top two rod companies that come to mind when anyone on our side of the pond begins a discussion concerning Japanese domestic market (JDM) fishing rods. Of course, with official US distribution channels and a new US consumer friendly warranty, Megabass is not purely “JDM” any longer.

Complete Article: http://tackletour.com/reviewmbx4destruction.html

[Carlos Carrapiço]

Dear Cal,

For many year I have followed TackleTour reviews and learned a lot. My first Daiwa was an Advantage that I bought based on TT's review.

Following my admiration for your work, is with great respect that I will try to make a constructive critic.

Comparing the reviews of the F6-72X4 Orochi X4 and Evergreen International TKLC-71MHX Super Stallion, I found myself puzzled.

http://www.tackletour.com/reviewmbx4destruction.html
http://www.tackletour.com/reviewevergre ... llion.html

A closer look to the final tables leads me to think something must be wrong.
Performance wise I cannot state anything as I did not participate in the test but the evaluation done on Features and Design (Ergonomics) for both rods show something that would not be consistent.


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F6-72X4 Orochi X4 Destruction Ratings (?/10)

Construction/Quality ----- Reserved for Megabass, but beautifully crafted nonetheless. ------------ 9.5
Performance --------------- This rod really surprised me ---------------------------------------------------------- 9.5
Price -------------------------- For JDM? a 9, but in the grander scheme of things, very good. ----------- 8
Features -------------------- The new X4 blanks are good. Components are solid. ----------------------- 8.5
Design (Ergonomics) --- I thought that rear grip was going to be too thin, but as it turned out, it's really comfortable. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9
Application ------------------ Suitable for just about any bait between half and ounce up to two and a half ounces - a really versatile stick for its power. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9
Total Score ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------->> 8.92

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Evergreen International TKLC-71MHX Super Stallion Ratings (?/10)

Construction/Quality ------ It doesn't get much better than this ------------------------------------------------ 9.5
Performance------------------ outstanding ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10
Price----------------------------- you have to not care ------------------------------------------------------------------- 1
Features ----------------------- top end components - I'd have preferred an eva or hypalon grip -------- 8.5
Design (Ergonomics) ----- conservative but elegant nonetheless -------------------------------------------- 8.5
Application ------------------- you name it, the Super Stallion can do it----------------------------------------- 10
Total Score ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------->> 7.92


Ratings Key: 1 = terrible : 2 = poor : 3 = lacking : 4 = sub par : 5 = mediocre : 6 = fair : 7 = good : 8 = great : 9 = excellent : 10 = unbelievable!
For More Details of the updated rating system visit our explanation here

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Features: MB "The new X4 blanks are good. Components are solid" gets 8.5 and EG " top end components - I'd have preferred an eva or hypalon grip" gets 8.5 despite the MB being pointed in the Pluses and Minuses tables as "Stainless framed guides instead of titanium" !!!

Design (Ergonomics): MB gets 9 while the EG that weights less, has better balance and less torque, being more powerful gets 8.5 for being "conservative but elegant nonetheless"

Finally, Construction/Quality: Does the MG really compares in construction quality with the EG?
The pictures seem to show a much more well designed EG rod when compared with the utilitarian MB design , components and the lack of differentiation between rods in the line up. Something that is present in all EG Kaleido series.
I have seen so much criticism to the Jackall rod for being assembled outside Japan and none with the fact that MB blank are rolled in China just like Jackall.

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My points are.
TT has put the expectations about their reviews in a very high level due to the outstanding work done. We all know to be very difficult to do reviews without putting a little bit of ourself. Nevertheless seems to me that consistency between reviewed material could be improved.

Second, I believe the rating done on the prices should be avoided as this ends up leveling all gear around the 8 mark making them all great for the price.
I believe one should decide if a item with a 6 is still a great buy for the price tag or you are willing to get nothing less then 8 grade gear even if you have to pay the triple.

This is just my opinion and shouldn't have more importance than that.

[Cal]

Sorry for the brevity but I am not at my comp...

Yes, the X4 Destruction is crafted just as nicely as the Super Stallion... Design: Details on the stallion photograph more easily because of the contrast. Ergonomically, that small diameter handle on the Destruction is VERY comfortable to fish. The cork on the Super Stallion now looks like crap.

The Jackall rods were heavily criticized for being fully assembled in China and with JDM pricing and no indications of this on the rods - ours arrived with the "made in china" sticker taken off. The mb blanks are rolled in China, yes, but according to the label they are finished/assembled and inspected in Japan... Mixed origins.

You are more than welcome to disregard the pricing evaluation if this factor does not matter to you.

[Fishingelbow]

In both comparisons, the rod that balanced out better, had a higher balancing torque! That's completely counter intuitive, but goes to show you that you cannot go by balance point alone.

Even with a balance point that's closer to the reel seat, a higher rod weight would bring the balancing torque right up, wouldn't it? While the math is not as straightforward, isn't this similar to the reel diameter/gear ratio combining to determine the amount of line retrieved per handle turn?
I completely agree that the balance point alone doesn't account for the balancing torque, but the fact that the rod's weight also has an impact doesn't strike me as "counter intuitive". Am I missing something?

[Carlos Carrapiço]

Sorry for the brevity but I am not at my comp...

Yes, the X4 Destruction is crafted just as nicely as the Super Stallion... Design: Details on the stallion photograph more easily because of the contrast. Ergonomically, that small diameter handle on the Destruction is VERY comfortable to fish. The cork on the Super Stallion now looks like crap.

My arsenal has 9 cork against 6 eva rods. I'm 0k with eva but cork is still the special material that makes the rod bound to you. This is my opinion and therefore particular bringing nothing new/valuable to the vast public that TT addresses. The reviewer opinion is always welcome but his preferences shouldn't reflect in the score.
BTW the slim grip found on MegaBass rods has been used for several years in the EG Tactics series.(sounds like reinventing the wheal)

The Jackall rods were heavily criticized for being fully assembled in China and with JDM pricing and no indications of this on the rods - ours arrived with the "made in china" sticker taken off. The mb blanks are rolled in China, yes, but according to the label they are finished/assembled and inspected in Japan... Mixed origins.

MG is just following the footsteps of Jackall on this.
The Poison Heritage series is JDM rod and therefore priced like. If the JPY was like it was in the summer of 2008, it would have been a cheap price to pay for these rods. The Japanese don't really care of our poor occidental economy unless they want to work with our markets. They price their rods accordingly to their market standards.

You are more than welcome to disregard the pricing evaluation if this factor does not matter to you.

It is not a question of mattering or not.
The question to me is simple. Despite your personal preferences about cork or eva and taking in consideration that based on your review, I'm getting a much better performing rod going with the MG. In reality this might no be the case at all.

The true value of a review is to give the reviewed item a mark that would reflect the potential value of it.
When this is preponderant with the value to pay for it that is also a subjective analysis of your perception of the world, then we get nothing.

Just my opinion.

[Cal]

I'm 0k with eva but cork is still the special material that makes the rod bound to you. This is my opinion and therefore particular bringing nothing new/valuable to the vast public that TT addresses. The reviewer opinion is always welcome but his preferences shouldn't reflect in the score.

We can agree to disagree here. The scores are all about our opinions. To you, cork is a special material. To me, cork is great when new but terrible once you use it a few times. It stains and pits and sure, you can clean it up to look good, but it never looks the same as when brand new and for me, it is simply not as comfortable to fish with all day.

The arguments against foam is it dents/deforms and has a tendency to absorb odors. I've experienced the former but have never noticed the latter. Dense foam handles win out for me because they are far more comfortable to fish all day long and they hold up better after a few trips than cork does.

BTW the slim grip found on MegaBass rods has been used for several years in the EG Tactics series.(sounds like reinventing the wheal)

And I'm sure there are several manufacturers that have done this before Evergreen. I never said that Megabass invented this. I simply gave them props for having that design on these rods and for the fact it made this particular stick very comfortable to use.

MG is just following the footsteps of Jackall on this.

80% if not more of the manufacturers have some components of their rods made in China. I have from very good sources that Evergreen's rods are even made in China. Unless I see it with my own eyes, or see a label on the rod that states this fact, I give the manufacturer the benefit of the doubt.

The only way I knew that Jackall's rods were made in China is I saw the stickers on their rods at ICAST. Until that time, we were led to believe otherwise and even on the rods we had in for review, these stickers were removed to further the inference that they were made elsewhere.

In several Megabass rod reviews, I brought the question of origin to light noticing that while some sticks (like those from Daiko and Evergreen) state "Made in Japan".. Megabass rods state "Built by Megabass"... so I already had a suspicion that the MB rods were entirely made in China, and felt MB was concealing this information. But the info for the origins of each Megabass rod were there all the time on the dog tags that are attached to the rod sleeves. I never noticed this before the review for the X4 series.


You're obviously questioning my objectivity. And you're more than welcome to do so. People do it all the time claiming we never give negative reviews. If you follow the site closely enough and pay attention to what is written, you will know this is not the case.

I've stated in several reviews that Evergreen's rods and myself have had a tough relationship up until I tried the Kaleido series. Up until that point, it's been disappointment after disappointment for various reasons. The Kaleido and Heracles series have changed all that. Those sticks perform to the level I expect from Evergreen and so far, each stick I've fished from both series have been fantastic. But the simple fact of the matter is these rods are outrageously priced - especially with the weak dollar. You can try to slice it anyway you want, but this is a factor in making a decision to purchase a rod.

I came down just as hard on the Megabass Paraizo with regards to price.

Anyway, like I said, you have issue with the review and my take, that's fine. We will simply agree to disagree.

[Johnny A]

There are some cars you brag about how little you paid and some cars you brag about how much you paid.

[BASSLAYER]

someone got served

[Carlos Carrapiço]

Anyway, like I said, you have issue with the review and my take, that's fine. We will simply agree to disagree.

I agree with the above.

[RWSCHMITZ]

someone got served