I just received a couple of Castaway setups from the cajuns (Bill and Lance), and I have to say that I am very happy. I was skeptical of the claims but I put a bit of stock into these boys so I had to order a couple of sticks just to see what the talk was about.

The blanks I got were straighter than other blanks that cost much more and the finish was top notch. I beat the heck out of them trying to make them fail until I was uncomfortable with what I was doing. The advertised weights were within .2 oz. The reel seats? Just as good as I could make myself but for the price, far more cost effective. They were well machined, requiring almost no work at all on my part yet lighter in weight than comparable Pacbay or Fuji exposed blank seats, which require arbors. They do have some mold lines that need trimming, but no more than any other seats. I prefer to do my own grips, but went with what they offerred, and was not disappointed. The cork is not top notch, but is better than most preformed grips. I thought I would have to toss them, but they are of high enough quality that I will put them on a rod along with my name.

Bottom line, in my opinion, these are very good blanks. When you factor in cost, they are outstanding blanks. I look for durability in my rods as well as sensitivity and usefullness, and I'm sold on these Castaways. If I had to compare them to a "big name" that I routinely deal with, I would say that they are comparable to a middle ground between St. Croix SCII and SCIII.

For value, these are really nice sticks.

As a disclaimer, I have no affiliation with Swampland or Castaway. I'm just an average rodbuilder who is happy to see a really good blank that is affordable and offer apologies to other sponsors who may offer similar blanks that I have not built on yet.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/08/2008 08:27AM by Tom Kirkman.

Mind telling me the price range for the blanks..

Castaway guys I emailed ya please get back to me.

Henry, the average price is about $50.

Mick, Swampland certainly appreciates the "first" review of the Castaway XP3 blanks on this web site. We feel your post was quite objective and to the point. This type of product review by a custom rodbuilder is "priceless"!

The extremely durable multi modulus XP3 blanks target the bass rod market that many custom builders may shy away from due to potential warranty exposure to loss of labor charges. The new fully exposed reel arborless seats are unique to the market and match up quite well with the preformed split grips. The blanks and components are available to custom builders interested in building technique specific rods for bass fishermen.

For information or direct contact:

stevens.bill@cox.net
or
swamplandrods@msn.com

Are these imports?
Thanks, Ed

The Castaway XP3 is a proprietary blank built exclusively for and to the exact specifications of Castaway Rods, in an Eastern Rim manufacturing plant, using "state of the art" tooling and high quality materials. The factory blanks are subject to an extremely high level of quality control. Prior to shipping from the Castaway facility in Montgomery, Texas all blanks are carefully inspected and each blank is subject to passing an amazing "production" type blank stress load test by a highly trained technician.

Swampland



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/08/2008 07:56PM by Bill Stevens.

Bill -

I really like you ... but that is the BIGGEST whitewash job I have seen in a LONG time. The man asked a really simple question - "Are these imports?" THREE words. One word would have sufficed for an answer.

I know that I, for one, am not in need of more marketing hype ... please don't go there. You have chosen to become a forum sponsor - thank you for that, this board is needed. However, give me the straight and skinny ... I expect that from someone of your caliber and experience.

Jim -


*** POST edited specifically to make the above opinion, strictly that of my own and not that of the forum moderators, forum owner(s) or other forum members. No other modification was made.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/08/2008 05:13PM by Jim Gamble.

What is Eastern Rim?

Jim;
While I appreciate your perspective, I for one would like to decide for myself how I like to be marked to.
Speaking for yourself and how you like things to be presented is great.

Deciding for the rest of us as to how we would like to be marketed to? Is not productive.

Bill as a sponsor has paid for the right to market his product. If it did not answer the mans question, he can ask again if he wants to.

Sometimes it takes more than a simple "yes or no" answer to accurately answer a question. After all, how would most of us respond if asked, "do you still beat your wife?" A simple yes or no might not do it for most of us.

When you tell someone that a blank is made overseas certain images of poor quality may come to mind - but this isn't fair. Surely there are some terrible blanks made overseas, but there are some very good ones made overseas as well. A little additional explanation is not only helpful, but fair.

Bill has a flair for words and that is to his credit just as it is to the marketing departments of most of the major rod manufacturers. Maybe it's time that some of that same ability was used in the custom rod building world. And... a flare for wordsmanship or colorful phrasing does not necessarily mean that the information is false or misleading.


....................

Tom -

I wholeheartedly agree with you ... good marketing IS solid business practice. Had Bill answered the question directly (e.g. YES, they are) and THEN offered his opinion on the product, a peep from me would have NEVER been heard. However, to "dance around" the question with all that hooey just got my goat today.

IMO (and strictly my own) this board excels in revealing the TRUTH ... about blanks, guides, techniques, etc. Lord knows that a person would surely be mentally and financially challenged to build a superior rod without it ... there is simply too much information and too much misinformation in today's marketplace.

NEVER once did I say that his statements were not factual or even relevant. What I did say is that it was "whitewash" ... my meaning was that it was at best a highly confounding way of answering a mighty simple question.

Jim -

P.S. My apologies to Mr. Gardner and anyone else that might have been offended by my inclusion of the phrase "most people" in my earlier post. I have now edited the post to be strictly from my own (singular) perspective.

I happened to buy 2 - XP3's from Bill at the show. He was busy marketing a product...I was busy bending, pulling, and feeling. Both Bill and the blanks sold me.

I cant wait till someone asks me where I got the blanks and with a straight face reply..Eastern Rim.

Mike

NERB that types with a bar of Ivory soap in his mouth.

"The Castaway XP3 is a proprietary blank built exclusively for and to the exact specifications of Castaway Rods, in an Eastern Rim manufacturing plant, using "state of the art" tooling and high quality materials. The factory blanks are subject to an extremely high level of quality control. Prior to shipping from the Castaway facility in Montgomery, Texas all blanks are carefully inspected and each blank is subject to passing an amazing "production" type blank stress load test by a highly trained technician."



Personally, I found this to be pretty straightforward and about as simple as you can get and still give the man adequate information for what he most likely wanted to know. For me, "yes" or "no" would not have been sufficient. Only the person asking the question can say if Bill gave him enough, not enough or too much. But it is very similar in content to what many other manufacturers, including Loomis, St. Croix, Batson Enterprises, Lamiglas, CTS, etc. all use in describing the origin and manufacturing process of their blanks.

............

The question was answered in a straight forward way. Bill is an educated man with great marketing ability. Just had to attend his seminar in custom rod marketing to see this. Its not Bill`s concern that some people are not really proficient in geography. An import could come form Canada,Japan,China, East Jabip etc. He narrowed it down a little for us with out disclosing his manufacturer.

Freddwhy (Rapt-Ryte)

"Are these imports?".........................................does it really matter? The question or the answer? Think about it.......(I'm hoping for Fuji Guide Manufacturing Plant, Detroit ,MI...so I can get ALL of there non imported stuff without dealing in YEN )
Too many people get hung up on WHERE something is made....if I thought like that, and hated New Zealand for some reason..I'd never own a CTS. You wanna talk about Taiwan and China? or Portugal?

Somebody please show me an All American fishing rod.

NERB that types with a bar of Ivory soap in his mouth.

As soon as he told me the price I knew it where it was made more or less. im sure no one else was surprised.