Horizon Rod - Stillwater

[Uli@84]

Good morning,

I am busy crunching numbers to buy a proper stillwater set-up.

I see upstream has a range of Horizon Rods marked MRS/XRS/TRS which seems to be reasonably priced, in comparison to the sages

A few quick questions if someone can help:

1. Can someone maybe explain the differences between the various designations?
2. How is the Warrantee/Gaurantee in terms of these rods? Anyone has first hand experience on after sales service?

Any feedback will be much appreciated.
Cheers & Thanks in advance

[Gerrit Viljoen]

Phone Frontiers in JHB they are the distributors of the rods afaik.

[FishWhisperer]

I may be flamed for this comment but the warranties I have claimed against haven't been worth the paper that they are printed on - all except the Sages. Reason I say this is they charge you to send the rod away and back again and the price of 'postage' effectively equates to the price of a new rod! Take for instance my Greys claims - R750 per section! No discount on that price for multiple sections. Same with most other brands I have experienced. At least the Sage dealers will help you out and send your rod away with their orders to save you a bit on postage - and it is actually postage that you are paying.

With regards to the more reasonably priced rods, I'd just ask the agents what a spare section costs because that is what you will be paying. I have no real experience with Horizon but the guys from Stealth are sh1t hot! I think its R250 for a section and the service is quick!

If it was my money Id look into a 10' 6# Stealth Infinity or save up for a Z-Axis (You'll probably need to find this second hand) or a Zenith if you really want to spend the bucks.

Ahhhh, the Zenith ...

[Uli@84]

With regards to the more reasonably priced rods, I'd just ask the agents what a spare section costs because that is what you will be paying. I have no real experience with Horizon but the guys from Stealth are sh1t hot! I think its R250 for a section and the service is quick!

If it was my money Id look into a 10' 6# Stealth Infinity or save up for a Z-Axis (You'll probably need to find this second hand) or a Zenith if you really want to spend the bucks.

Ahhhh, the Zenith ...

Thanks for the advice. Will take into consideration.

All I know is that budget constraints sucks when it comes to gear acquirement

Cheers

[FishWhisperer]

Haha, aint that the truth! Been needing to upgrade my stillwater rods to 4pcs. Ive decided on the Z Axis for dredging and blobing and a Zenith for the remainder... the R15k price tag is the only thing getting in the way!

Sent from my GT-I9500 using Tapatalk

[smallstreams.co.za]

Horizon is (afaik) replaced over the counter if they have a section (which they should have mostly). Not sure re costs.

[Uli@84]

R15K is bit above my paygrade, I think if I sold my bakkie I wouldn't even net that

I am just looking at a nice 6Wt 10Ft, think it should do the job sufficiently on the CT stillwaters,Lakenvlei in effect and if the day comes that I can make that Orange river trip, would serve well for Nymphing required.

Do you know the retail price for the Stealth Infinity at the moment?

[Uli@84]

Horizon is (afaik) replaced over the counter if they have a section (which they should have mostly). Not sure re costs.

Thanks Mario, that would be quite a good deal if same applies down here.

[emjaysmit]

The Horizon XRS 9' 5wt 4 piece is a awesome rod.....mine works on textured lines just fine right through from 5-7wt lines...handles everything like a bomb.....the service you get from Frontier cannot be touched in this country. Snapped my tip section due to my own stupidity. Phoned Tom and Mike up...between the two I was getting pricing etc as well as enquiring about a textured line.....tried to do the payment urgently as I needed the rod before the weekend for a trip but the weather and floods knocked out our adsl lines so I couldn't do a transfer and couldnt get to town as we were in the middle of a strike....the tip and line was on it's way to me before I could even explain the situation to them and managed to sort them out afterwards....tip section cost me R300 and it landed at my office the next morning together with my line....

As for the rod it's right up there with some of the best. It's very fast but very forgiving at the same time. Fast but not Ticrx fast. Very similar to my Sage XP just lighter and slightly stiffer tip. You cant go wrong with it. I would reccommend it above the TRS as this is the successor to the TRS although it's still in production. Any of the Horizon products are great value for money and like I say, it can rub shoulders with the best out there for a fraction of the price...even their reels are awesome for the money and you would be left thinking they are way more than the price tag suggests.

Ferrules allign superbly, the cork quality is better than that on my Sage. The wood reel seat is also exeptional good quality. No excessive glue or epoxy around the guides and the guide warps are spotless and very clean. The blanks colors are also very nice. I don't believe they are a spin off of any rod out there, I believe they are unique and worth every penny especially considering the aftermarket service and price tag. At that price point NOTHING comes close....



That is service

[smallstreams.co.za]

Thanks Mario, that would be quite a good deal if same applies down here.

At Frontier only, as they are the supplier/dealer of Horizon.