I am wanting to build a small, light rod and am looking at rodgeeks carbon 4 7' 3wt. Does anybody have experience with rodgeeks blanks? I understand they are basically St. Croix blanks or at least built the same as St. Croix SC IV blanks were. Is this blank a good choice for this build? Grazie!

I have no experience with their fly blanks, but have with St Croix, and have good experience there. The Rod Geeks blanks I've used are spin, and are very good quality at a good price.

My experience was good. I broke the tip of a four piece fly rod and they worked with me to replace it. I would definitely buy from them again.

Thanks. I have loved St. Croix blanks from way back but lost a little love when they started having blanks made out of the U.S. and then sold some of their rights to RODgeeks because I believe they are building blanks in Mexico. I read not long ago that St. Croix bought out RODgeeks share and now are the owners again. Confusing. I am American and still love America.

I have quite a few St Croix fly rods and always found them to be excellent rods especially for the money. I had a rod geek rep tell me that their carbon 4 SC IV blanks were mirror images of the Imperial blank from St Croix. A friend of mine built a 5 wt on this blank from rod geeks and it certainly looked and cast like the old Imperial. IMO St Croix Imperial rods were the best mid price rods you could buy and if rod geeks can replicate them you should be very happy

Thanks Jim. I ordered one of their blanks and am excited to work on it...and especially fish it. I have a Legend Ultra from the late 90's. I had to check but I thought the SC rating was St.Croix's SCIV. I think that was the highest modulus rating back in that day. So I hope the carbon 4 by RODgeeks is the same material.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/13/2021 09:45PM by Todd Andrizzi.

Found this on the RodGeek site:

These American made rod blanks are constructed with St. Croix's highest modulus carbon fiber (SCV) and are produced in their Park Falls, WI factory. They are sent to our factory in Mexico so they can be painted to order and shipped directly to your door, just like our RODgeeks offerings. They include the best of St. Croix's engineering know-how: IPC (Integrated Poly Curve) and TET (Taper Enhancement Technology) production techniques ensure the blanks have the smoothest actions possible, while ART (Advanced Reinforcing Technology) and FRS (Fortified Resin System) materials dramatically increase the durability of the blanks while keeping them extremely light and sensitive. When you need to build the highest performing rod in the world, use these blanks.

These blanks are ?Made in the USA

The SC V still carries the St. Croix name and is said to be made in USA. It's seems expensive to make a blank in USA, send it to Mexico to paint and then back to new York to RODgeeks? I am not doubting that...just think it has to add price to the product. I read an article on global fly fisher from 2002 and updated in 2016 on the Ultra legend. It mentioned the graphite rating was SCIV on the rod then. I couldn't find a current Legend to see what they are but saw a bass rood that was SC VI. The Imperial is a mix of SC IV and SC II. I was lucky to see a leftover on MH 2 years ago and snapped it up. The reason I was looking at the RODgeeks Carbon 4 is because I love my old Legend and hopefully this RODgeeks Carbon 4 will be as good. I hope I have given correct info. I know on the Imperial rod decal it says SC IV and SC II. I recently bought a trout series light spin rod and it also has the rating on the decal as SC VI and SC II. Back in the older days, I think the highest rated material St. Croix had was SC IV. Thanks.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/14/2021 02:14PM by Todd Andrizzi.

I think the Legend Elite is the only St Croix rod to currently use SCV carbon and you can still get them from St Croix in WI, I think. You are correct the Imperial was SCIV in the butt and mid sections with SCII for the tip, made it more of a mod/fast blank in comparison to the Elite. I own 2 Legend Elites and they are great rods but fast, if you want to throw 60 feet of line effortlessly they will do it but I still enjoy using the Imperial blanks for "everyday fishing" lot easier on tippets

I agree...the Legend is a casting rod. It's a great rod. Back when I bought mine it had a lifetime warranty. I think they have since gotten rid of that warranty. Hope mine is still covered.

Todd Andrizzi Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thanks. I have loved St. Croix blanks from way
> back but lost a little love when they started
> having blanks made out of the U.S. and then sold
> some of their rights to RODgeeks because I believe
> they are building blanks in Mexico. I read not
> long ago that St. Croix bought out RODgeeks share
> and now are the owners again. Confusing. I am
> American and still love America.

Mexico is in North America, just like the US and Canada. It's better than coming out of China making the CCP the most powerful government in the world.

Lance...I agree it is a lot better than coming from China. When ever possible I choose USA. Still...Mexico is not USA.

The SCV blanks Rodgeeks is selling are not fly rod blanks. I think they are St. Croix blanks produced in Wisconsin and sent to Mexico for sale and shipment. Maybe they were discontintued models and left over blanks. St. Croix is no longer selling blanks and has pared down their fly rod line up.

The Rodgeeks carbon 4 fly rod blanks are esentially the exact same as the St. Croix Imperial blanks, they are just produced in Mexico.

[rodgeeks.com]

I had heard ( but it has been a couple of years) that St. Croix was still going to make their higher end blanks but turning the other blank production to RODgeeks. I also read more recently that St. Croix bought out RODgeeks interest. At the same time I read that Lamiglas has started to produce some of their blanks and rods in Mexico.

I am hoping the RODgeeks Carbon 4 blank is a step above the Imperial blank. I built on the imperial blank...a 8'6" 5wt. It's a good rod but nothing like the Legend Ultra SCIV.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/15/2021 07:01PM by Todd Andrizzi.

Yeah, would be nice if Rodgeeks made some Legend Elite based blanks. Maybe down the road.

What I don't understand is how I can buy a St. Croix inshore rod for $100, but can't buy a blank for under $180.

Danny Smith Wrote:
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> What I don't understand is how I can buy a St. Croix inshore rod for $100, but can't buy a blank for under $180.

Because their Inshore rods are $650

They no longer produce Legend Elite fly rods, and now produce Legend Extreme along with Legend Elite for spinnng, casting, muskie, etc. These Legend non-fly rods cost from $280 to $650.

The Legend Elite fly rod line had some very nice rods, but as that line of fly rods aged, the technology and weight did not keep up with mid- and high-end competitors, some of whom were using blanks from over seas that cost far less than those produced in America. So I guess St. Croix decided to exit the mid and high-priced fly rod market as they could not be cost competitive. Too bad.

I use many RodGeek blanks for builds - I consider them every bit as good as the SC as even though they are mfg in Mexico (Still North America) they are built with SC recipes. The price point is a winner for my Bass market and have never had a problem. Don't be afraid of these!

I've built four rods on the 7' Carbon 4 blank and one rod on the 7' SCV blank and love all of them. Lately I've been building on NFC IM and HM blanks and love them even more, although it took three tries to get me a straight HM blank, so they obviously have QC issues.