WTF?! : Evergreen International's Fastbreak Alley-Oop!

Total Score: 8.00 + ULTIMATE ENTHUSIAST AWARD!

Introduction: As March Madness takes full effect across the country, I am reminded of one of my absolute favorite basketball plays, the alley-oop. For those not familiar with basketball jargon the alley-oop is an impromptu play involving two players. Player one controls the ball and is usually somewhere between mid court and the top of the key. Player two is on the move closer to the basket, usually along the baseline (the extreme boundary of the court behind the basket). The ball is lobbed by player one in a move that for all intents and purposes, looks like a shot, but is really a pass to player two who is streaking towards the basket and in one fail swoop, jumps in the air, catches the ball mid-flight, and before coming back down, continues his trajectory towards the basket, ball in hand, slamming it home. Timing of the play is critical but if completed successfully, quite often results in resounding cheers and applause by the crowd.

Introducing Evergreen International's Alley Oop!

Evergreen International is no stranger to applause receiving similar accolades across the industry in their efforts to deliver some of the most well regarded, high end fishing tackle available to the bass fishing public. When it came time to research their product in hopes of finding a suitable candidate for our finesse themed year, imagine the smile that came across my face when presented with the name of their Kaleido series, TKLS-64LX spinning rod, the “Alley Oop”!

Impressions: I had heard the accolades, and tried in vein, to experience the mystique of Evergreen International’s sticks on my own but after going through three or four of their top end sticks, had come to the conclusion they just weren’t for me. For the most part, all their sticks were just too moderate for my liking. Then, last year, in a “one last chance move” during our Search For One campaign, I fished my first stick from their Kaleido series, the Black Raven. Finally, a current production stick with the precision and feel worthy of all the accolades.

The Kaleido series from Evergreen is as good as it gets.

The TKLS-64LX Alley Oop is a six foot, four inch spinning rod rated between one thirty second and one quarter of an ounce in lure weight and between three and ten pound test in line specification. It features the signature Kaleido series carbon cross weave blank up to the second guide from the tip top where it transitions to a standard looking blank. Though the rod’s rear grip is split, the rod is not lacking in a foregrip though it’s a little difficult to tell where the reel seat ends and the foregrip begins. The handle on this rod is beautifully sculpted.

Fig 1: This chart illustrates the deflection characteristics of the TKLS-64LX (red curve) vs two sticks from GLoomis. Note how much the TKLS-64LX flexes with minimal weight at the tip, yet, as more load is applied to the blank, the rod's rate of deflection flattens out. This is a demonstration of how quickly this rod sets up to its backbone.

The Lab: Originally not in the habit of wracking spinning rods, considering the number of spinning rods at TT HQ for this year's theme, we're making a go of it. The TKLS-64LX Alley Oop could not escape the lab. What we discovered is the rod behaves true to form of its rated taper in that the tip is very soft, but as we increased the load, the rate of the Alley Ooop's deflection lessened to the point where it flexed less than our baseline G.Loomis sticks. It transitions quickly and efficiently to its backbone which should translate to very good results out on the water.

Weight and balance of this stick test favorably as well as the TKLS-64LX weighed in at only 3.6 ounces and had a balancing torque of only 0.10ftlbs. More data points that point to a favorable impression out on the water.

Don't let the ratings deceive you, this stick is powerful.