Shimano crucial...disapointed

[bh54lf]

Hey guys...

Ive had great luck with shimano rods, so i bought a new crucial spinning rod (crs68ma) with foam handles, meant for worms and jigs...so i was ezpecting something very sensitive. I put a sustain 3000fe on it with 15 pound braid and have been playing with it on my lake.

I am honestly appauled at the rubbery fiberglass feel of this rod, it has zero sensitivity even with straight braid and is very tip heavy. I am so disgusted by this rod that i am alost convinced its is a mislabeled blank meant for a different application

Does anyone have any experience with this rod? Am i going crazy? Is it possible to have a dud with uncured resin or something?

Feedback welcome!

Brian

[CALL ME RIFLE]

Have to agree with you,the new crucials are a disappointment.Looked at em about a week ago at Bmore BPS,they all felt off to me...alot of em had damage as well that I cant outright blame on Shimano(due to damage potentially being caused by customers and such),but still...very clumsy feeling in comparison to previous years.I definitely prefer the older cork models myself,they were some of the best rods for the dollar out there IMO...

[bh54lf]

Thanks for the reply im glad its not just me...this sucker is going back to bass pro this weekend. Now i need to find a good all around spinning rod

[ScoobyDoo]

It sounds funny but handling the compre to the cumara. The 2012 line up just seems like a step backwards. It really is interesting. I've come to notice over the years that about 75% of my gear says shimano on it...........Imagine that..... I've never owned a rod in a series lower than the crucial. ANd it seems that even the compre and sellus rods have a better feel to them, LOL. Dollar for Dollar the mid level shimano line up was horrendous this year.

MY THEORY (FOR THOSE THAT CARE TO READ IT)

Shimano cut as many corners as possible to minimize profit loss. They new when they changed the aesthetics to the slicker looking black foam grips. 99.999999% of the owners of the old stock would just bust em and have them replaced with the new ones (over the counter warrantee).....And after the inaugural year, come out with a better series.....ROFL (joking.....well......Kinda)

[Hogsticker2]

I was less than impressed with high expectations. They do feel tip heavy, and the blanks are much thicker than previous models

[21farms]

you are so not alone. i loved my crucials and cumaras and so when i read about the updated models, i was stoked. i ran down to fisherman's warehouse when they got them in and was shocked that they felt 1) heavier than before, 2) unbalanced (tip-heavier) and 3) less "lively". i really didn't know what to make of it and thought perhaps it was just me. i'm kinda even thinking of picking up some of the current cumaras on clearance before shimano "ruins" them

[John Puckett]

Wow, I'm really not liking this thread. I've played with some of the new Crucial's at two different tackle stores and I thought they felt pretty good. I was planning on buying at least 5 of them but now I may have to re-think things.

[bronzefly]

From my experience with the new Shimano Crucial rods, it depends on the model selected. I know I've fished a few of the new Crucials that could have felt better, but then I've fished some that I really liked a lot for their intended purposes.

[Lagvpi]

I ran into a Shimano rep last summer that said "you are going to love the new rods". They will blow away the Abu V series. I'm not crazy about the V series but...they feel a lot better than the new Crucials. The new Compre rods are even worse.

The two biggest dissapointments in rods - in my opinion - in the last few years are the new Crucials/Compres and the St Croix Rage.

Both use really short handles, heavy blanks, and have horrible balance.

[OhioChamp183]

Ya''ll think Shimano went a step or two backwards on their rods!....................have ya tried their new G series reels!!!
More like a few steps backwards on them!

[smalljaw]

I guess it was the fact that I only looked at the crankbait rods since that is what I needed at the time but the Curcial and Compre cranking rods felt pretty good to me and I came close to buying one. I didn't notice the rod being overly tip heavy and to be honest, unless it is a jig and worm rod, I like the rod to be slightly tip heavy, not a lot but a little is good.

[bronzefly]

Ya''ll think Shimano went a step or two backwards on their rods!....................have ya tried their new G series reels!!!
More like a few steps backwards on them!

Yes - I've fished the Citica G and the Curado G quite a bit, have you? They're very, very good reels for the money - not as good as the E series clearly, but for the prices they can be purchased at with the $30 rebate, they're a great deal. A new Citica G for a little over $80 and a new Curado G for around $110 after rebate and you want to complain about performance?

Back to the rods - smalljaw, the crankbait rods I fished were among my favorites. I also really like the 7'5"MH Topwater rod and the "Underspin" rod is a very cool rattlebait rod.

[John Puckett]

bronzefly, I'm glad to hear these possitive coments on these rods because I was really looking forward to getting them sometime in the near future. I've only handled them in the tackle store but I thought they were very nice rods. I was compairing them to my usual rods the Powell Max series in the store and I didn't find them to be overly heavy at all?? Different strokes for different folks I guess.

[bh54lf]

I thought it felt great in the store until I put a reel on it and started using it. Just keep your receipt incase you don't like it

[crank-beta]

There has been a lot of Shimano hate as of late around here. Personally I really like the new Chronarch reel for the price (upgraded all my Curado E's). I am also about to pull the trigger on a Crucial crankbait rod which to me felt well balanced, light and looked freakin sweet with the Chronarch. On top of that there is rebates available and they come with the best warranties around. I guess fisherman just like to complain a lot?