13 Fishing Omen Black

[STEEZMAN2]

I ordered the 7'3"H fast for a buddy of mine for Christmas. It came in today so I had to check it out before I give it to him.

All I can say is WOW! This rod is light, balanced, looks sharp, reel seat is comfortable etc....
Its rated as a fast and to me its more like an EXfast. After the relatively soft tip this rod SHUTS OFF bigtime! Wow!

After handling it, I can honestly say I don't even need hold the ENVY. I would be satisfied fishing this rod all day long baby, and I own several USDM and JDM Steez rods!

After more people get their hands on this rod for around $100, I can't imagine it being anything less than a complete GAME CHANGER. You wouldn't even consider a Veritas or other budget rod after handling these IMO.

Needless to say, I can't justify (at the moment )buying any more Steez rods when I could have 5-7 of these rods compared to 1 Steez.

[USA-RET]

I ordered the 7'3"H fast for a buddy of mine for Christmas. It came in today so I had to check it out before I give it to him.

All I can say is WOW! This rod is light, balanced, looks sharp, reel seat is comfortable etc....
Its rated as a fast and to me its more like an EXfast. After the relatively soft tip this rod SHUTS OFF bigtime! Wow!

After handling it, I can honestly say I don't even need hold the ENVY. I would be satisfied fishing this rod all day long baby, and I own several USDM and JDM Steez rods!

After more people get their hands on this rod for around $100, I can't imagine it being anything less than a complete GAME CHANGER. You wouldn't even consider a Veritas or other budget rod after handling these IMO.

Needless to say, I can't justify (at the moment )buying any more Steez rods when I could have 5-7 of these rods compared to 1 Steez.

I'm a fan of the Omen (hands down the best $100 rod available IMO) and got to handle a 7'3" Med Envy today, and it is amazing (unfortunately the rod is not mine but a buddy's).

The example I handled was flawless (to my eye) as far as workmanship, fit and finish was perfect. Balance was about 4 inches in front of the fore grip w/o a reel, but balances on the fore grip with a reel (Scorpion 1000XT) installed. I can see a lot of reels fitting quite nicely on this rod.

The rod is incredibly light and feels extra crisp in your hand. Reminds me very much of a Loomis BCR series rod the way it reacts in my hand.

Bending the tip, the rod reacts about like a fast action rod, but feels more like a XF for some reason (probably due to the way the blanks are rolled). Stiff, but not in a bad way. Certainly this model's tip would be soft enough to throw some hard moving baits as well as a variety of plastics equally well.

The rod appointments (gingerbread as I like to call it) are pretty impressive. The small details like the butt cap having vent slots cut into the trim ring and the same silver carbon weave around and in front of the reel seat shows through those vent slots at the butt end is very nice. Butt cap has a rubber protection ring and nice 13 fishing logo cap within. The fore-grip EVA is cut with a bevel and reminds me of Jackall Rushburn in appearance. The rod is very reminiscent of something I'd expect to be coming out of Japan.

I could not find anything about the rod I didn't like. While some may prefer full EVA, the cork mixed handle looks and feels great (IMO). The guides were all straight and wraps looked perfect with zero slop.

The badging on the rod blank is very tasteful and not over the top. The reel seat is the same that appears on the Omen, felt great in my hand and allows for a grip with maximum hand/finger contact to the rod blank.

The real test will come when it gets some on the water time. That should happen this weekend if we can get those bass to start biting.

[Deaknh]

I own 2 now, the 7'3" med casting and 7'1" med/hvy spinning. These are my favorite rods right now, I dont own a Megabass rod, but have almost every other brand going, and the 13 fishing are awesome for the $$

[sarcazmo]

I have 2 as well.

Tbh I never understood the veritas hype. The hype surrounding these is for real.

I was going to purchase an envy during the sale but bought a couple Phenix rods because of all the hub bub.

The envy is on my short list of rods to try next for sure.

I've also emailed them several times and their response times are short and their cs was wonderful.

[Deaknh]

I have emailed them as well, their customer service has been superior.

[dragon1]

I also very intrigued with this rod company based upon the reviews...I thought I read somewhere the the blanks were also Toray?

This rod is also on my list to check out...hoping they will have other options aside Recoils however.

[USA-RET]

I also very intrigued with this rod company based upon the reviews...I thought I read somewhere the the blanks were also Toray?

Yes, Toray 30T for the Omen 40T for the Envy.

[dragon1]

Thanks for confirming....

I really like Toray's blanks - good to see them being used in lots of other rods. I also assume that different blends/lengths/specs are being made for different Brands.

[bassbandit]

I am eager to get my hands on some of these. They look gorgeous and come in great lengths and tapers. I wish some place fairly local would stick these, but I'll likely have to go out on a limb and order one over the net.

[Fishntime]

I own 2 now, the 7'3" med casting and 7'1" med/hvy spinning. These are my favorite rods right now, I dont own a Megabass rod, but have almost every other brand going, and the 13 fishing are awesome for the $$

So would you use the 7'3" casting for small to medium diving cranks?

[tywithay]

Thanks for confirming....

I really like Toray's blanks - good to see them being used in lots of other rods. I also assume that different blends/lengths/specs are being made for different Brands.

I think both Phenix and 13 just buy graphite from Toray and roll their own blanks. Don't know if they're different blends, but they surely have different tapers.

[Deaknh]

I own 2 now, the 7'3" med casting and 7'1" med/hvy spinning. These are my favorite rods right now, I dont own a Megabass rod, but have almost every other brand going, and the 13 fishing are awesome for the $$

So would you use the 7'3" casting for small to medium diving cranks?

I emailed them as to what rod to pair with a Scorpion 1001 xt and this is what they recommended, finesse fishing.

[Traybird]

I bought two of their flipping rods (Envys) and love them!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I bought two more yesterday. Im going to be selling rods now so i can buy more. I have owned every flipping rod out there even the High end JDM and this rod BLOWS them away!

[StPaulPike]

I am super excited they came back in stock today at TW so my order shipped. If the weather holds i might get a day in with the new rod before it ices up here.

[Silas]

I bought the 7'3" on the Black Friday sale and on the whole, am satisfied with it. I have a Scorpion 1000 on it and have been using it for a few trips now.

I like the rod. It is well made, but I'm not completely happy with it. The cork grip seems really small and tapers too small for my hand.....yours may be perfect. So after casting for about 1/2 hour, I'm a little fatigued in the wrist.

Of course, this is MY issue......otherwise, the rod is fine. I look forward to using it for a light swim jig rod......it should fit the purpose perfectly.

And, the price was right......it just will never be one of my favorite rods. And, I really expected it would be.

So much for "Great Expectations." "Good Bang for the Buck" is its status now.