Please be aware that there are a large number of inconsistencies in Phenix blank specifications between the phenixrods.com website and the Mudhole website, particularly within the UMBX range. I have alerted both companies to this issue, but for some reason both seem unbothered (or reluctant) to do anything about it.

Although most discrepancies are minor, there are some differences that could certainly be the difference between ordering components of matching dimensions. For example, the UMBX-S706M-B has a tip size of 4.5 listed on Mudhole, but this is listed as 5.5 on phenixrods.com. In fact, 10 out of 18 tip size dimensions and 7 from 18 butt diameter dimensions are mismatched in this range. The butt size for the UMBX-S700L is 0.378 inches on Mudhole, but 0.518 on phenixrods!

There are also differences in the listed actions of these blanks, with 8 out of 18 blanks mismatched.

As mentioned, these differences are only from within the UMBX range, but there are also differences in the other Phenix blanks that Mudhole sell.

I think it is only fair that a customer is made fully aware of what they are purchasing.

Dane,

Thanks for the "heads-up" as I was wondering about the tip size on a Phenix X-10 CB rod I just finished for a customer. The Mudhole's site indicated it was a 4.5 tip, which I ordered. I ended up having to file down the tip of the blank a little to get the tip top to fit. My tip top gage indicated it was a least a 5.0 if not a 5.5 tip top size. I put tip tops on with 5 min. epoxy so I wasn't to concerned with having to file the top top down a little. Next time I will confirm the tip top size on the Phenix website.

I have another Phenix blank on order right now but the Mudhole site indicated it was out of stock and on back order. I will check the Phenix site to see what they indicate the tip top size to be.

Thanks again for the heads up.

Don Campbell
don@sensorfishingrods.com



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/09/2015 10:57AM by Donald R Campbell.

When you order a blank order the tip top at the same time and ask them to fit the model tip top to the blank.

Capt Neil Faulkner

Hi Dane,
Phenix notified me last week of a tip size inconsistency which we corrected, I am currently in the process of correcting all the specs as it appears some of them have changed since the information was originally entered into our inventory system/website. We are more than happy to confirm tip/butt sizes for you when you order int he future. Sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused! If you would like to discuss anything further, please feel free to email me directly ([email protected]). Thanks for your continued business and sorry again!

Kind Regards,

Brook Oliva
Mud Hole Custom Tackle, Inc.
brook@mudhole.com
(866)-790-RODS

With mudhole it's not only the phenix line they do this with. I had ordered an atx live bait blank it was listed at a 9 tip when I received it the tip was a 5 no where near what they said. I also had ordered a crb value line kit they listed this kit as fast action but the blank would bend half way down the blank.

Did anyone tell there suppliers the problem ???
If you don't say anything they will not know and can not fix the problem

Bill - willierods.com

There are a great many models to cover and occasionally specs may not be transferred or recorded correctly, if they were even correct at the outset from the manufacturer. When in doubt, ask.

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

Yes they were informed about it

Yea
But a thicker tip only means more lure weight it will handle So the blank is NOT what it should be

It does not matter who - or how - it happened but it should be fixed

Bill - willierods.com

Yes they were informed but it just stinks to have to tell someone they have to wait longer for the rod they ordered . Then hope your next choice in a blank is what it is specified. Or cancel the order all together

The last time I had seen something wrong with a Batson blank was in 2002 They went to who was making there blanks at that time and Corrected The Problem - never herd of it again

Why not get there blanks Or another company I have never used Phenix blanks Was thinking of it Now ???
There are to many Good Companies out there If you find a problem with one -- go to another

if this is a customer's rod Tell them of the problem

Bill - willierods.com

Thanks for clarifying Brook. I was pretty much convinced that Mudhole had the same specs all along and instead, the specs on the phenixrods.com website had been modified some time during the past year or two - obviously without also notifying you guys at Mudhole or us customers. However, since I obviously never recorded the specs on the phenixrods.com website from 2 years ago, I have no evidence to back this claim up. And the people at Phenix have provided me with no answer on this query - nothing. And worst of all, I also believe that the specs on the phenixrods.com website have been modified because the actual blank recipes have been modified - again without any notification to Mudhole or their customers.

I became aware of these inconsistencies after I had ordered a Phenix UMBX-S700L blank for a customer early last year from Mudhole. This particular customer had accidentally broken his UMBX-S700L that I had built for him two years prior. It was his favorite rod and so he wanted a replica of what he had before. So when the replacement blank arrived, I just went ahead and glued on the grips and seat and bound on the guides. But when I tried to transfer the tip top over from the original rod to the new blank, it didn't even come close to fitting. I then put the two blanks side by side and it shocked me by how different they were. The action and feel of the new blank was also considerably different. After double checking that the specs of the replacement rod failed to match up with those listed on the Mudhole website, I took a photo of the two blanks side by side and sent it to Mudhole and Phenix claiming it to be a manufacturing defect.

To their credit, the people at Phenix in the U.S. responded well and arranged for another UMBX-S700L to be sent to me. After a number of stressful dealings with Phenix's truly incompetent Australian distributor (I'm Aussie by the way), the new S700L finally arrived. But you can then imagine my shock when the newly arrived (#3) blank was exactly the same as the one I was claiming had a manufacturing defect! I had to double check the blank label to make sure it was a S700L - which it was. I triple checked the specs listed on the Mudhole website, again mismatched. I then checked the specs on the phenixrods.com website and lo and behold, the specs listed on this website were different from Mudhole's these 'new' specs and instead matched those of the newly arrived blanks. At this stage I was dumbstruck - I had been a fan of Phenix rods for a fair while now and I could have sworn that the specifications listed on the phenixrods.com website (that I have trawled thorough many times previously) had exactly the same specs as those at Mudhole. Apparently not anymore!

This now left me between a rock and a hard place, as I had been commissioned by the customer to build a replica of his previous rod - the rod that matched exactly with Mudhole's specs. And as any custom rod builder knows - close enough is nowhere near good enough! But since the 'old' version of the S700L apparently wasn't manufactured anymore (which Phenix has yet to admit to), and the 'new' version of the S700L lacked the whippiness and feel of its predecessor, I ended up digging my heels in and saying that this new version of the S700L simply isn't good enough for my customer - which it wasn't. Again to their credit, the Phenix people in the US and another much more competent Australian distributor (Chesney) seemed to understand my dilemma and offered a more up-market K2 blank instead, which I accepted (what else could I do?).

While the overall service from Phenix has been great up till now (with the notable exception of one Australian distributor), I am deeply surprised by the lack of response to my repeated queries about these blank inconsistencies. I would have thought that maintaining the trust of customers would have been paramount for any corporate venture. However, it is apparent to me that Phenix believe they can simply (sneakily, perhaps) change their blank recipes without any notification to their distributors or customers apart from updating their own website, and then fall silent when questioned about the issue. The only action taken by Phenix so far is to alert Mudhole to change the tip size of the S700L from 4.0 to 4.5 - that's it! Where's the trust in that?!

Oh, just in case there is any doubt that the Mudhole website may have had the specs wrong all along and not the phenixrods.com website, I also have a copy of the Phenix Australia catalogue (i.e. independent of Mudhole) that lists the exact same specs as Mudhole. Phenix - please explain!

also Phenix changed the K2's they are now sanded so the cross weaver texture is less prominent. I believe someone had some data on how the power changed also, it was reduced from memory.


Dane,

Your actually the first person ive heard of having dealings with Phenix AU, didnt think anyone could get stuff from them, well apart from used demo rods anyway...

to befairLast year I order 2 blanks as directed from there web site an both blanks were the same but the tips were not as stated on the web site , called them up an explaned my problem an they took care of the problem with 2 new tips [ FREE ] so I was extreamly happy with the out come , even the blank maker was off so it made ne hole an was extreamly happy ,
good fishing Bil
stuff happends no matter how close you look l

William Sidney
AK



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/09/2015 11:51PM by william G Sidney.

You will also find what I believe to be errors in the casting weights. For example, the freshwater M1 range. The MX72MH-B has only a narrow 1/2 to 3/4 ounce casting range listed while the next model up, the 72H, has a wide 1/4 to 1 and 1/4 ounce range. It seems strange the heavier rod has a lighter minimum and also the next length up in the MH, the 74MH which has the same line rating and tip size as the 72MH, shows a 1/4 to 3/4 of nice casting range. So the 1/2 to 3/4 ounce range for the 72MH must be incorrect.
I've found quite a few of these types of errors and pointed them out in the past. I know there's a wide range but with a little effort these things can be fixed with an audit of sorts on the specs.

I need to emphasize that the specification inconsistencies are not just in regards to the tip size. The differences or 'errors' are found across the board - e.g. blank action, blank weight, lure weights, butt diameter, tip diameter, etc.

And as I mentioned before, I do NOT believe that these issues are really to do with sloppy errors on the Mudhole website (i.e. Mudhole are NOT at fault here). I believe that the specifications on the Mudhole website were correct before Phenix underhandedly modified their blank recipes without notification to their suppliers or customers. I would like to think there is a more simpler explanation than this, but the Phenix staff have offered ZERO explanation to these queries - a silence which only reinforces my suspicions.

I sincerely hope that they can explain themselves on this forum!

Ben, yes I believe that Phenix are currently trying to get a foothold into the Australian market and are approaching tackle stores around the country with pre-built rods. I'm sure they will supply blanks as well if requested. It was not a choice of mine to deal with the Australian distributor and I will never deal with this guy again. However, I emphasise in this case that this was only one person at fault. The Phenix U.S. team and their Melbourne-based dealer (Chesney) were very good to deal with.

Dane,

They have been trying for a while now, well the guy we are both talking about has, Chesney is fairly new to the 'team'

alot of issues with Phenix Aus...

Last time I got mudhole on the phone with a problem the disinterest was deafening.