Daiwa Steez STZ701MLFSA-AGS Medium Lite AGS Spinning Rod Product Review

Rod Review

WTF?!? : Does Daiwa's Steez AGS Deliver As Expected?

Date:	4/6/15
Tackle Type:	Rod
Manufacturer:	Daiwa
Reviewer:	Cal

Total Score: 8.54 - ULTIMATE ENTHUSIAST AWARD!

Introduction: There was no greater buzz at ICAST 2014 than at Daiwa and it had nothing to do with their latest T-Wing enabled reel. No, those with a keen eye had their sights and attention fixed on the very unique and intriguing new Steez spinning rods featuring carbon fiber framed guides. Daiwa's Steez AGS spinning rods were easily one of the highlights at the show and today, we take our very first detailed look at one of the sticks from this lineup. Introducing the STZ701MLFSA-AGS (7'-0" medium light) by Daiwa.

Daiwa Steez STZ701MLFSA-AGS Specifications
Material	Daiwa SVF Graphite Blank
Length	7'-0"
Line Wt.	4-12 lb.
Lure Wt.	1/16 - 3/8oz
Pieces	One
Guides	8 + Tip Daiwa AGS guides
Rear Handle Length	8.5 inches
Power Rating	Medium Light
Taper	Fast
Rod Weight	3.7 oz
Origin	Made in Thailand
MSRP	$529.99

Introducing Daiwa's Steez STZ701MLFSA-AGS.

Quality/Construction: The STZ701MLFSA-AGS is a seven foot, medium light powered spinning rod from Daiwa. It is built on an unsanded blank but finished with a light, clear gloss coat. The grip is made from EVA foam and epoxy work around the threadwraps securing those unique AGS guides is good. The rod's blank and guides are straight and perfectly aligned.

Quality Ratings for Daiwa Steez STZ701MLFSA-AGS
Finish (1-5)	Grip (1-5)	Epoxy (1-5)	Blank (1-2)	Guides (1-2)	Total	Possible	Rating (= Tot/Pos * 10)
4	5	4	2	2	17	19	8.95

Performance: There two reels in my arsenal worthy of this stick. First, I paired it with my Megabass LIN 2506 spooled with Daiwa Samurai Braid, then I turned to my Daiwa Exist Hyper Branzino to fish this rod with fluorocarbon.

Steez represents Daiwa's flagship bass line.

Casting: This rod is rated from Daiwa as a Medium Light but it comes with a very restrictive recommended lure range of 1/16 oz - 3/8 oz. This seems a lot more like a light than medium light rating to me. Nevertheless, first casting duties were handled on the California Delta with a quarter ounce swim head tipped with the new Missile Baits Shockwave 3.5 - a smaller version of their original paddletail swimbait. The STZ701MLFSA-AGS handled casting and pitching duties fine with this bait.

Checking out that tip.

The rod's tip loads predictably through the first four or five guides and releases with very little reverberation for accurate casts and pitches to target. Switching up to a drop shot setup with fluorocarbon line, results were equally good.

This rod's reel seat locks up from the bottom.

Sensitivity: Daiwa's SVF Steez blanks have always had good sensitivity, but when matched with these new carbon fiber framed AGS guides, that sensitivity is greatly enhanced! Brett Ehrler was not lying to us at ICAST when he touted these rods' unusual feel and sensitivity. Those carbon guides really make a difference as vibrations are transferred from the rod into your hand so much more efficiently.

The AGS guides greatly enhance sensitivity.

Power: Looking at the STZ701MLFSA-AGS's RoD Deflection Chart below, we see it does indeed have a very light tip but then transitions to a good backbone as pressure is applied. This same, fast yet smooth power curve showed up on countless occasions out on the water.

Fig 1 : The chart above illustrates the deflection characteristics of our Daiwa Steez STZ701MLFSA-AGS against our 2011 WTF baseline rods.

This rod's combination of nice, light tip and good backbone is reminiscent of my favorite spinning rods from over twenty years ago - G.Loomis's Mag-Light rated spinning rods in their MBR series of rods - and makes for a deadly finesse applications taper.

Performance Ratings for Daiwa Steez STZ701MLFSA-AGS
Pitch (1-5)	Cast (1-5)	Sensitivity (1-5)	Hook Set (1-5)	Control (1-5)	Total	Possible	Rating (= Tot/Pos * 10)
4	5	5	5	5	24	25	9.6

If you look closely, you can see the carbon layering.

Next Section: AGS by Daiwa