Daiwa Ninja X Tele, Telescopic Allround Fishing Rod

I have the 7.8 foot that casts up to roughly 1oz.Brought this rod with me as a backup on a trip to the Everglades in Florida. One of rods broke and we brought this one out. It ended up fighting a 4 foot shark for 15 minutes.I can’t speak to Daiwas quality control, or how these rods are treated in the shipping and fulfillment process, aaaand I have had rods break on me right out of the box while setting the drag for the first time, with several brands. What I can say is that the one I got did the job when it was called to action.A few things about this rod. There are only 5 guides. I wish there was a travel rod that was made by one of the big brands that actually felt truly premium. 5 guides feels a little budget for the price we are paying.Also, you can’t beat this thing up. It does come with a guide protector, but I snapped the tip off loading it into the back of a car. If you get this rod, you have to be careful.Additionally, it’s one of the longer travel rods when it is collapsed. It’s basically perfect for if you don’t have space for a two or three section rod in your car. It’s plenty small enough for tossing in a compact car, but I’d you’re traveling with it, it’s not going to be fitting inside of your backpack. It will be living in the overhead storage, where some idiot like yourself can smash it on other peoples luggage, or some other idiot will smash it for you. If you’re like me, you will keep it between your legs, or try to sit near a window and keep it along the wall of the plane and hope you don’t leave it behind as you are getting off the plane.All in all. It’s a great rod for the price. I’d they can add two more guides, and make it a little shorter, this will be a five star rod.For 140, I’d buy it again. It’s a good deal. Toss any lightweight 3000 series sealed reel on it, with 10-15lb braid, and youll have a great compact, all around travel setup.3 stars for durability4 stars for price3 stars for compactness5 stars for build qualityIf this were a car, Doug Demuro would probably like wit a lot.