13 Fishing Omen

[sarcazmo]

I just did a comparison handling the these rods or you can say fondling them at the store with reels on them. Too bad I did not have my Dobyns 744c and 704c to throw into the mix.

New GLX BRC 855C
Blue NRX 854 JWR
Blue NRX 855 JWR
St. Croix Legend Elite 7'0" MH
13 Envy Black 7'3" Heavy
GL2 844 (for kicks and giggles)

Tip heavy - from most to less:

GL2 844
St.Croix Legend Elite 7'0" MH
NRX 855 JWR
NRX 854 JWR
(Tie) GLX BCR 855c & Envy 7'3" Heavy

Yes, I was surprised the Envy was not as tip heavy as the NRX. And being the Envy was 2inches longer than the GLX, I had to check the models 3 times just to make sure I had the correct rods!

The NRX was still tops in a crisp feeling blank but not by much either. Without a scale and actual measurements, the Envy 7'3" Heavy did not feel any different from the NRX at all. Yes, in hand, I was surprised as well. However, the GLX had more of a tip vs the NRX and Envy.

Both the NRX and Envy blank size were almost identical. Both rods had very small tip but transition into powerful backbones.

Lets say this much - If I blind folded you and put the same handle and reel seat on both the NRX blank and Envy Blank, then gave them to you, I gurantee, you would not be able to tell much of a difference. Let alone paint the Envy the same color as the NRX and not many will be able to tell the rod is an Envy.

Now one thing before people start jumping on me, granted the models I tested were all Casting and close to power and length. I cannot speak for Spinning Rods though.

Lastly, I am 90% sold on these rods. I fished the OMEN from August until Octoboer 2012 and was really impressed. $200 GL2 - no comparison to the Omen. $240 GL3 - no comparison to the Omen. $280 IMX - no comparison to the Envy. Dare I even say, if the Envy is anything what the Omen showed me, the Envy may be on par with Legend Xtremes and Dobyns Extremes to maybe even the GLX/NRX?!!!! Only time will really tell on the water! Let us say, you can guage a rod's performance - if at half the cost of GLX, NRX, and other hight rods, yet the Envy performs 70% - 80% on par with these high end rods, it is absolutely a no brainer! I just spent alot of money aquiring three Dobyns DX and now wished I would have bought the Envy's instead.

I will get an Envy and as soon as I can use it, I will post more information. Using and feeling the rod at a store is completely different. So I guess you can say, take what I just stated above with a grain of salt?

Really interested to hear your thoughts on the envy. Love my omens!

[jerrylo913]

I too was very impressed with the Omen. However I have yet to test out a Envy but I wouldn't hesitate to buy one blindly because of the quality of the Omen itself. Just from personal experience, the Omen feels better than a GLX. Just hope Cabelas or BSP stocks up on the Envy so I can try em out. I keep reading about people switching from Dobyns, Loomis to Envy's. Not surprised if it was true.

[mikeysam]

I have fished an Omen side by side with a Mbr 843 glx, and while the Omen is a nice rod it is no Glx.

[Chode]

I too was very impressed with the Omen. However I have yet to test out a Envy but I wouldn't hesitate to buy one blindly because of the quality of the Omen itself. Just from personal experience, the Omen feels better than a GLX. Just hope Cabelas or BSP stocks up on the Envy so I can try em out. I keep reading about people switching from Dobyns, Loomis to Envy's. Not surprised if it was true.

wow...when u say the omen feels better than a glx, in what way r u making this statement?

[USA-RET]

I have a M 7'6" power Envy, F5 7'6" Megabass Nautilus and a Loomis BCR 893 GLX. The Loomis was my favorite Senko rod. It's still my boat rod and sees action every time I go out.

I purchased the F5 Megabass Nautilus as another Senko rod (for my pond outings around my home). Another amazing rod. Looks-wise it is head and shoulders above the Loomis (IMO) and while it is very sensitive, I think I would still give BCR 893 the edge in overall performance (for 4-6 inch Senkos) due to the XF taper. Now bear in mind the Nautilus has a rod blank that can cover a wider range of lure weights and the diameter of the MB rod blank actually smaller than the Loomis.

I then purchased the 7'6" M power Envy (only because I was so impressed with the Omen), I wanted to see what and extra $150 brought to the table. After fishing the Envy for a while and comparing the three rods against each other fishing the same baits, I find there isn't a lot of difference in performance between those three rods (when throwing identical Senkos, feeling the lure work, detecting bites, settling the hook and landing the fish).

When fishing each rod, I was feeling obstructions and bottom composition equally with the three rods as I retrieved baits. When I got bites, there was never any doubt (regardless of the rod I was fishing), and hook-sets with all three were everything you would expect. Although I would rate the Nautilus a bit below the other two in this regard (probably due the the more moderate blank tapers Megabass routinely uses).

I weighed and measured balance of all three rods, with and without a 6 ounce reel attached.

Surprisingly the Envy balanced better than the other two rods with and without the reel.

The Megabass Nautilus had the thinnest blank of the three measured at the foregrip. The BCR and Envy diameters were identical.

Rod weight - Megabass was the lightest at 4.6 ounces while the BCR and Envy both weighted in 4.8 ounces. Kudos to MB for making a rod with the thinnest blank, the lightest rod overall and rated to handle the widest range of lure weights.

All three rods felt great in hand with the Envy being just slightly more balanced than the other two ( but we are splitting hairs on this point)

I tried to compare these rods based on similar length, designated uses and fishing one specific bait using identical reels. While the MB Nautilus has a wider range of uses than the other two, Senko fishing is certainly within it's capabilities (and I happened to have one on hand ).

Looks (on the other hand) are a matter of personal preference. See below*










*I would rate the Megabass as #1 (Megabass rods are pretty much flawless in finish and have nice multicolor wraps and design ques). The Envy a solid #2 (with less wrap detail but very nice appointments and an exotic JDM look). The Loomis BCR 893 is a distant #3 since it is pretty pedestrian when compared to the other two rods (the old style GLX rods had great wraps and excellent fit and finish, they however lack the "bling" of the newer rods)... . Your results may vary if you prefer full grip vs. split, cork vs. EVA vs. combo of both, and so forth.

[jerrylo913]

at chode,

As other users mentioned on different threads, I'm not the only one who agrees that these rods are better than Loomis

[Chode]

at chode,

As other users mentioned on different threads, I'm not the only one who agrees that these rods are better than Loomis

I mean I could be wrong but I've heard of people saying the envy is better than the glx but never the omen. My friend recently bought an omen and they're great rods for the money but not even close to the performance of the glx. I guess to each their own.

[BucketHunter]

at chode,

As other users mentioned on different threads, I'm not the only one who agrees that these rods are better than Loomis

I mean I could be wrong but I've heard of people saying the envy is better than the glx but never the omen. My friend recently bought an omen and they're great rods for the money but not even close to the performance of the glx. I guess to each their own.

Yes many have sung the praises of the ENVY vs Various other highed rods.
The OMEN is no GLX though. That's a fact. Best rod at $100? Quite likely. Punching at 3 times it's weight? Not gonna happen.

[Weedsnager]

Is the fit and finish a lot better on the envy then the omen? I finally got a chance to put my paws on the omen today and I wasn't impressed with the fit and finish. Every rod I picked up had a blemish in a different spot

[USA-RET]

Is the fit and finish a lot better on the envy then the omen? I finally got a chance to put my paws on the omen today and I wasn't impressed with the fit and finish. Every rod I picked up had a blemish in a different spot

Not in my opinion. Better components and blank on the Envy. Fit and finish is similar on both. 3 Omens and one Envy, I only had one issue which wasn't cosmetic.