St. Croix Rods Legend Elite EC70MF Casting Rod Product Review

Rod Review

Is the Search Over? St. Croix's New Legend Elite EC70MF Casting Rod (continued)

Power: Looking at the EC70MF's RoD Deflection Chart below, we can see this stick's deflection curve is just ever so slightly above that of our 2010 The Search For One baseline stick, G.Loomis's MBR843C GLX. Hence the impression this stick can handle a bit more than its recommended lure range when casting.

Fig 1 : The chart above illustrates the deflection characteristics of our St. Croix Legend Elite EC70MF against our 2010, The Search for One baseline rods.

Out on the water, hook sets with treble and single hooked baits were no issue although unfortunately, I didn't hook into anything to really challenge the rod's ability to control your catch. However, this stick does feel softer than the MBR843C GLX during a fight so perhaps it really is more a true "medium" than "medium-heavy".

Performance Ratings for St. Croix Legend Elite EC70MF
Pitch (1-5)	Cast (1-5)	Sensitivity (1-5)	Hook Set (1-5)	Control (1-5)	Total	Possible	Rating (= Tot/Pos * 10)
5	5	5	4	4	23	25	9.2

This new Fuji reel seat is quickly becoming a favorite with the comfortable flanged edges helping guide your fingers around the bottom of your reel.

Features: The EC70MF's grip is made with a quality of cork I've not seen or perhaps haven't noticed in a long time. There is filler of course, but it's not excessive and doesn't fall out after a few uses. The guides on this stick are the highest end you can go with the latest Fuji Torzite normally found on rods over $500.

St. Croix uses a very good quality cork in the grip of this rod.

The reel seat is a new design from Fuji - their TVS blank touch reel seat. This seat is similar to Daiwa's design with flanged edges that help wrap your fingers around the fishing reel. This is a very comfortable reel seat and instantly my new favorite from Fuji. The comes with a closed double loop hook keeper by Kigan and is supplied with a custom rod sleeve by St. Croix. It's the same material used by a couple of rod sleeve only manufacturers and great for use in rod lockers. The only downside is the occasional popping of your rod's guides through the fibrous material.

Features Ratings for St. Croix Legend Elite EC70MF
Grip (1-5)	Guides (1-5)	Reel Seat (1-5)	Hook Keeper (1-5)	Rod Sleeve (1-5)	Total	Possible	Rating (= Tot/Pos * 10)
4	5	5	4	4	22	25	8.8

Another look at that very comfortable reel seat.

Design/Ergonomics: The Legend Elite EC70MF weighs 4.2 ounces with a balance point of eight inches (8") above the midline of the reel seat. This all translates to a very good balancing torque of 0.19ftlbs. It is light and balanced in hand and really easy to fish with over extended periods of time. In fact, I'd be happy with just three or four of these exact sticks on my deck rigged and ready to go with different baits.

Lab Results for St. Croix Legend Elite EC70MF
Model	Avg RoD (2-32 oz)	Taper	Measured Weight (oz)	Balance Point (inches)	Balancing Torque (ftlbs)
St. Croix Legend Elite EC70MF	2.12	Fast	4.2	8	0.19
MBR783C GLX2000	1.72	Fast	4.8	5	0.11
TSFO 26 Rod Avg	1.69	--	4.92	7.65	0.19

The rod's cork grip is comfortable to grasp and the old school full rear grip and foregrip design suits this overall, conservatively wrapped rod. Note, the foregrip is rather minimal and that's a good thing. The rod's graphics keep in line with St. Croix's understated tradition.

Design & Ergonomics Ratings for St. Croix Legend Elite EC70MF
Grip (1-5)	Colors / Graphics (1-5)	Balance (1-5)	Weight (1-5)	Total	Possible	Rating (= Tot/Pos * 10)
4	4	4	4	16	20	8.0

Kigan is taking over the hook keeper market.

Application: St. Croix's Legend Elite EC70MF is an excellent choice in that search for one stick to do it all. Because of its smooth taper, it's particularly adept at moving bait applications but also excellent with jigs, and weighted or unweighted soft plastics. That springy tip that's really good with rip baits is also excellent for working topwater walking and popping baits. I can't think of anything this stick can't do with baits within its rated lure range.

Bass Rod Application Ratings for St. Croix Legend Elite EC70MF
Rip/Jerk (1-5)	Steady (1-5)	Lift & Drop (1-5)	Drag (1-5)	Twitch (1-5)	Total	Possible	Rating (= Tot/Pos * 10)
5	5	5	5	5	25	25	10

Ratings:

St. Croix Legend Elite EC70MF Ratings (?/10)
Construction/Quality	The precision of this build is remarkable	10
Performance	This is a high performing stick with excellent sensitivity	9.2
Price	A top end blank and build with Fuji titanium and Torzite guides on a stick that's not just under $500, but under $400?!?	8
Features	Quality blank and components throughout	8.8
Design (Ergonomics)	Conservative but very good weight and balance combination	8.0
Application	Want one rod to do it all? Your search may be over	10
Total Score		9.00
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

Pluses and Minuses:

Plus	Minus
+ Excellent Versatility	- I'd love to fish this stick with an unpainted blank
+ Top end blank and components
+ High end performance, components, construction for under $400!

Conclusion: It is unprecedented for a stick of this quality both in terms of build and components to receive such a high score from us, but St. Croix has really knocked it out of the ballpark with their new Legend Elite bass rods. How can they offer a Made in the USA fishing rod with top of the line Fuji titanium framed, Torzite guides for under $400 when other companies are offering a similar pedigree only with stainless steel framed SiCs for over $500?

Looking for value in your high end tackle choice? Your search is over!

Throw on top of that fact the EC70MF is light, balanced, casts well, and has excellent sensitivity and what more could you want? Oh, a hook keeper that doesn't get in the way and a rod sleeve you can use to protect the rod in your rod locker? Done! If this stick had the flare of some of the JDM competition, not only would it have won this Editor's Choice and Best Value Award, it would have been our very first triple crown winner in the rod category. But alas, maybe it's not so perfect after all. Great job St. Croix. Thank you for a high end stick that is affordable and worth fishing.

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