Achieving Balance (reel weight vs. counterbalance kit)

[bl8ant]

Many anglers remain opposed to the idea of adding weight to the butts of their lightweight, high-end rods to achieve a tip-neutral balance point. Many of these same anglers however are more than willing to purposefully seek out heavier reels (or avoid lighter reels) to get as close as possible to that tip-neutral balancing point.

The purpose of this post is to determine which of these two methods (weight at the reel vs weight at the butt) allows for the lightest tip-neutral setup with the equipment I have at my disposal.

WEIGHTS OF THE VARIOUS COMPONENTS
• Shimano Metanium MGL XG w/full spool of 30# braid:6.3 oz
• Shimano Curado I 7:2:1 w/full spool of 30# braid 7.8 oz
• Kistler Z Bone ZB3LMH70: 4.0 oz

WEIGHTS OF UNBALANCED COMBOS
Metanium/Zbone combo (no weight added) balance point 2.5" ahead of the centre of the reel: 10.3 oz
Curado I/Zbone combo (no weight added )balance point 2" ahead of the centre of the reel : 11.8 oz

WEIGHTS BALANCED COMBOS
Metanium/Zbone combo balanced to centre of the reel (tip-neutral)
required 1.3 oz for a total combined weight of: 11.6 oz

Curado I/Zbone combo balanced to centre of the reel (tip-neutral)
required 1.1 oz for a total combined weight of: 12:9 oz

The balanced Metanium/Zbone combo weighed in at less than the unbalanced Curado/Zbone combo with a balancing point much closer to the tip-neutral goal that I find desirable for it's intended use.
This is not an argument about whether or not to balance a rod and is meant instead for people who are already setting out to achieve a desired balance by choosing a reel of appropriate weight or adding weigh to the butt of the rod. Less overall weight is required at the butt than at the reel seat.