ICAST Coverage Day 3 (Rods) - Let the Rod Wars Begin! (continued)
 

Daiwa: Daiwa enters the rod wars with not a new series, but rather reloads with new additions to their ultra refined Steez lineup. If you haven't fished a Steez rod then you are missing out. These rods exhibit amazing sensitivity, but what strikes anglers most is what isn't there....the weight. The Steez rods are amazingly light, and after fishing with one for just an hour everything else feels like your flinging around a flipping stick. Speaking of which, Daiwa introduced a brand new Compile-X flipping rod at ICAST which is the most robust rod in the series yet, but still possesses that same light overall weight.

The Daiwa Steez family just grew by three

While nothing cosmetically different than their pre-existing siblings in the lineup, the new STZ701MHFBA (7’-0”, MH, one-piece, SVF graphite casting stick), STZ701MFLSA (7’-0”, ML, one-piece, SVF graphite spinning stick), and STZ802HFBA (8’-0”, H, two-piece, SVF Compile X graphite casting stick) are welcome additions to the lineup.

The flipping stick is actually a two piece rod

All of the rods feel crisp and feature fast tapers. It remains to be seen if the Compile-X graphite will be able to handle the demands of heavy fishing in cover, but if it can it will likely be the lightest, most sensitive, flipping stick ever built by Daiwa.

The heaviest most powerful Steez rod yet still feels lighter than just about any normal rod out there

We already reported on the Shimano Cumara rods earlier in our coverage, and while the Cumara is truly a premium offering the Steez still stands apart as a true Japanese "Enthusiast" offering, one that can go neck and neck with the likes of Megabass and Evergreen in many respects. Fishing one of these rods is dangerous (at least to your bank account), as the refinement alone suddenly makes it painfully clear just how sensitive and lightweight a rod can really be.

The first SVF graphite spinning rod in the Steez family