Phenix K2 715 vs 736

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Cal
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Re: Phenix K2 715 vs 736

Post by Cal » Fri Jun 17, 2022 12:48 pm

Measures from the approximate location of the butt… I say approx because the cap is extends roughly a quarter to half an inch beyond the butt so I’m estimating the location of the actual end of blank…

At 2” ~15mm

24” ~ 12.5mm

48” ~ 8.5mm
Cal, Managing Editor
"fish with mindfulness : beware the darkside"

twburgner
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Re: Phenix K2 715 vs 736

Post by twburgner » Fri Jun 17, 2022 7:52 pm

Bfweld wrote:
Wed Jun 15, 2022 6:52 pm
twburgner wrote:
Wed Jun 15, 2022 10:05 am
Yeah, I highly suspect that Cal got some PB731MHXF blanks that were mislabeled as "PB731HXF". I have close to 20 custom Point Blank rods made, and this happened to me on 2 of their blanks that I ordered. I had ordered 2 PB731MHXF rods I had ordered from Voodoo Rods several months ago. They were actually the PB731MXF blanks and it was a bit hard to tell that they were off to begin with as they are very strong for a Medium Power rated rod, but when I weighted them they indeed weighed only 54grams or roughly 1.9 ounces. I would say the 7'3" Medium is far stronger than most over medium rod and you could consider it as more of a medium+ to a light-medium-heavy blank. As far as the PB731HXF goes, it is extremely powerful, and I only use mine for 1/2oz baits and up, as anything under that it simply just is too much rod for. If anyone has any questions about most of the 7'3" and under, I have most of them built.
The Point Blank Rods I have made are:
6'6" Light
6'6" Med-Light
6'6" Medium
6'9" Med-Light
6'9" Medium
6'9" Med-Hvy
7' Light
7' Med-Heavy
7'3" Medium
7'3" Med-Hvy
7'3" Heavy
That PB731MHXF is a great blank too, getting diameter measurements on Cal’s rod would help prove our theory.

Since you’ve built both, which blank would you say is better for vision 110 and similar jerkbaits…the PB691MXF or the PB691MLXF?
twburgner wrote:
Wed Jun 15, 2022 10:36 am
Now, as for the K2 Phenix rods, I only have 3 custom K2 rods. One of the rods broke on it's first outing (The 715) a couple months ago and am in the process of getting it rebuilt. It had a defective blank and popped on the first hookset using 14 sunline shooter. So, I can't comment on the 715 other than that it was amazing for the first hour I was fishing it. Amazing in both the weight and balance of the rod, as well as the sensitivity! I would also like to brag on Phenix Rods! Their customer service was amazing and had a brand new blank to my doorstep within 3 days of them receiving the defective blank from me. Just be sure to keep track of your receipts! The 736 is one amazing beast of a rod! It is both sensitive and powerful. For it's power, I would rate it as the most sensitive heavy powered rod that I own!!! It is unbelievable for large jigs, big worms, and carolina rigs. The 736 is a very, very stiff rod, so if you don't like a stiff rod, this is not for you. The 715 was basically a slightly less powerful version of the 736, being equally sensitive and stiff. The only other K2 I have built is the 684, and it is rated as a MH powered rod, which I would say is way of the baseline for MH powered rods. The 684 is way less powerful than the 715, and I would rate it as a Medium to Medium+ power rod at best, and the action is more on the slower side of fast or even mod-fast in action, which was surprising to me considering the stiffness and how fast both the 715 and 736 were.
Would you say that the 715 and 736 have a pretty similar tip, with the 736 just transitioning to a more powerful midsection? Or would you say that the 715 has a lighter tip than the 736?
I would actually say I like the 6'9" MLXF better than the 6'9" MXF for jerkbaits. The 6'9 MLXF has a slightly lighter tip and balances slightly better overall too. It also has a slightly more crisp action than the Medium. The 6'9" MXF is not quite as strong as the 6'9" MH both they are both extremely close, but strangely enough has just a hair larger tip diameter than the 6'9" MH. I was able to use a 4.5 tip on both the 6'9" ML and MH(just barely), but had to use a size 5 tip on the 6'9 M.

The tips on both the 715 and the 736 took the identical tube size for the tip. They both weighted within a gram of their stated weight from phenix as well, with the 715 being exactly 49grams as printed on the blank, which I thought was quite impressive. The factory butt diameters are a bit off however. In the butt section. I had originally purchased a few matagi ecs painted reels seats to use for those 2 builds with a 13mm ID. The ecs seat fit almost perfectly where I like to grip a rod of that length for the 736 at approximately 11 inches from the bottom of the butt to the bottom of the reel seat. It barely had to be reamed out at all I believe to around 13.1 or 13.2mm if I remember correctly. Much to my surprise, the 13mm id ecs reel seat slipped right over the entire blank of the 715. I ordered a 12.5mm id ecs grip from fuji and it was so close to perfect I don't even believe I reamed it out at all as it was within about a half inch of where I wanted it anyway. Overall, I would say the 736 is a lot stronger in the mid section and has a decent amount more power in the butt compared to the 715 too.

Now, the first 715(the one I gave you specs for) I owned was defective and broke on my first trip on a hookset with 14lb sunline shooter. Phenix was great and immediately sent me a new blank. I had sent them the defective blank cut into pieces with the break marked with tape and they got it back to me all in under a week. So, I will say their customer support was very impressive. It was a pain removing all of the guides, but it is what it is, I just had to replace the butt, rear grip, and real seat... no big deal. Much to my surprise, when I get the new "715" blank in, my 12.5mm id fuji ecs real seat I ordered to rebuild the new blank was too big??? I actually had to go down all the way to a 11.5mm id to make it work with the new one they sent me. In addition to this, the tip was also just slightly smaller too which was strange. I called their customer support about this and apparently they told me it was an updated blank version of the 715?! I still haven't built out the new blank they sent me, but it is the next on my list, so I will let you all know how it goes. Interestingly enough, the blank they sent me has a weight of 45 grams(1.7oz) which is 4 grams lighter than the first one I had, has a tip very close to a 5 where the original took a 5.5, and a butt diameter that is off by nearly 1mm. So, there is obviously some variance there. HAHA!

Bfweld
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Re: Phenix K2 715 vs 736

Post by Bfweld » Fri Jun 17, 2022 8:15 pm

Cal wrote:
Fri Jun 17, 2022 12:48 pm
Measures from the approximate location of the butt… I say approx because the cap is extends roughly a quarter to half an inch beyond the butt so I’m estimating the location of the actual end of blank…

At 2” ~15mm

24” ~ 12.5mm

48” ~ 8.5mm
Are you 100% positive those measurements are correct? If so, the butt diameter is a half mil off. The specs for the PB731HXF butt diameter is in the 14.40’s, which matches my blank. The PB731MHXF is a little under that in the 14.30’s which also matches my blank. Your 24” and 48” measurements are definitely off for the PB731MHXF, they are close but still seem a little off for the PB731HXF. Based on that, it would appear it may have been a bad/oddball blank. The only other thing I can even think of is that you got a PB761MHF that was 3” short, but since the butt diameter of all PB blanks extends up the blank a number of inches, that wouldn’t match your butt diameter spec unless it too was an off blank.

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Re: Phenix K2 715 vs 736

Post by Bfweld » Fri Jun 17, 2022 8:26 pm

twburgner wrote:
Fri Jun 17, 2022 7:52 pm
Bfweld wrote:
Wed Jun 15, 2022 6:52 pm
twburgner wrote:
Wed Jun 15, 2022 10:05 am
Yeah, I highly suspect that Cal got some PB731MHXF blanks that were mislabeled as "PB731HXF". I have close to 20 custom Point Blank rods made, and this happened to me on 2 of their blanks that I ordered. I had ordered 2 PB731MHXF rods I had ordered from Voodoo Rods several months ago. They were actually the PB731MXF blanks and it was a bit hard to tell that they were off to begin with as they are very strong for a Medium Power rated rod, but when I weighted them they indeed weighed only 54grams or roughly 1.9 ounces. I would say the 7'3" Medium is far stronger than most over medium rod and you could consider it as more of a medium+ to a light-medium-heavy blank. As far as the PB731HXF goes, it is extremely powerful, and I only use mine for 1/2oz baits and up, as anything under that it simply just is too much rod for. If anyone has any questions about most of the 7'3" and under, I have most of them built.
The Point Blank Rods I have made are:
6'6" Light
6'6" Med-Light
6'6" Medium
6'9" Med-Light
6'9" Medium
6'9" Med-Hvy
7' Light
7' Med-Heavy
7'3" Medium
7'3" Med-Hvy
7'3" Heavy
That PB731MHXF is a great blank too, getting diameter measurements on Cal’s rod would help prove our theory.

Since you’ve built both, which blank would you say is better for vision 110 and similar jerkbaits…the PB691MXF or the PB691MLXF?
twburgner wrote:
Wed Jun 15, 2022 10:36 am
Now, as for the K2 Phenix rods, I only have 3 custom K2 rods. One of the rods broke on it's first outing (The 715) a couple months ago and am in the process of getting it rebuilt. It had a defective blank and popped on the first hookset using 14 sunline shooter. So, I can't comment on the 715 other than that it was amazing for the first hour I was fishing it. Amazing in both the weight and balance of the rod, as well as the sensitivity! I would also like to brag on Phenix Rods! Their customer service was amazing and had a brand new blank to my doorstep within 3 days of them receiving the defective blank from me. Just be sure to keep track of your receipts! The 736 is one amazing beast of a rod! It is both sensitive and powerful. For it's power, I would rate it as the most sensitive heavy powered rod that I own!!! It is unbelievable for large jigs, big worms, and carolina rigs. The 736 is a very, very stiff rod, so if you don't like a stiff rod, this is not for you. The 715 was basically a slightly less powerful version of the 736, being equally sensitive and stiff. The only other K2 I have built is the 684, and it is rated as a MH powered rod, which I would say is way of the baseline for MH powered rods. The 684 is way less powerful than the 715, and I would rate it as a Medium to Medium+ power rod at best, and the action is more on the slower side of fast or even mod-fast in action, which was surprising to me considering the stiffness and how fast both the 715 and 736 were.
Would you say that the 715 and 736 have a pretty similar tip, with the 736 just transitioning to a more powerful midsection? Or would you say that the 715 has a lighter tip than the 736?
I would actually say I like the 6'9" MLXF better than the 6'9" MXF for jerkbaits. The 6'9 MLXF has a slightly lighter tip and balances slightly better overall too. It also has a slightly more crisp action than the Medium. The 6'9" MXF is not quite as strong as the 6'9" MH both they are both extremely close, but strangely enough has just a hair larger tip diameter than the 6'9" MH. I was able to use a 4.5 tip on both the 6'9" ML and MH(just barely), but had to use a size 5 tip on the 6'9 M.

The tips on both the 715 and the 736 took the identical tube size for the tip. They both weighted within a gram of their stated weight from phenix as well, with the 715 being exactly 49grams as printed on the blank, which I thought was quite impressive. The factory butt diameters are a bit off however. In the butt section. I had originally purchased a few matagi ecs painted reels seats to use for those 2 builds with a 13mm ID. The ecs seat fit almost perfectly where I like to grip a rod of that length for the 736 at approximately 11 inches from the bottom of the butt to the bottom of the reel seat. It barely had to be reamed out at all I believe to around 13.1 or 13.2mm if I remember correctly. Much to my surprise, the 13mm id ecs reel seat slipped right over the entire blank of the 715. I ordered a 12.5mm id ecs grip from fuji and it was so close to perfect I don't even believe I reamed it out at all as it was within about a half inch of where I wanted it anyway. Overall, I would say the 736 is a lot stronger in the mid section and has a decent amount more power in the butt compared to the 715 too.

Now, the first 715(the one I gave you specs for) I owned was defective and broke on my first trip on a hookset with 14lb sunline shooter. Phenix was great and immediately sent me a new blank. I had sent them the defective blank cut into pieces with the break marked with tape and they got it back to me all in under a week. So, I will say their customer support was very impressive. It was a pain removing all of the guides, but it is what it is, I just had to replace the butt, rear grip, and real seat... no big deal. Much to my surprise, when I get the new "715" blank in, my 12.5mm id fuji ecs real seat I ordered to rebuild the new blank was too big??? I actually had to go down all the way to a 11.5mm id to make it work with the new one they sent me. In addition to this, the tip was also just slightly smaller too which was strange. I called their customer support about this and apparently they told me it was an updated blank version of the 715?! I still haven't built out the new blank they sent me, but it is the next on my list, so I will let you all know how it goes. Interestingly enough, the blank they sent me has a weight of 45 grams(1.7oz) which is 4 grams lighter than the first one I had, has a tip very close to a 5 where the original took a 5.5, and a butt diameter that is off by nearly 1mm. So, there is obviously some variance there. HAHA!
Thanks for that info, I’ll consider it when I get around to deciding/ordering a blank for a jerkbait rod build.

Interesting that they have changed the 715 blank, I think that decides it for me too. I haven’t seen many size 5 tipped blanks that people seem to consider good for 1/2oz jigs, so I’ve been using 5.5 tip as spec I’ve been looking for. So I think I’ll get the 736. That will give me the PB731HXF, the k2 736 and an NFC sj765 x-ray(ordered, waiting to receive it)…to build all in the same way and put them against each other to see which is the best jig blank.

How would you compare the power and tip of the PB731HXF to the k2 736? Besides the PB731HXF having a faster action…

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Cal
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Re: Phenix K2 715 vs 736

Post by Cal » Sat Jun 18, 2022 5:47 am

for half mill accuracy, I'll need to replace the battery in my caliper :lol:
Cal, Managing Editor
"fish with mindfulness : beware the darkside"

twburgner
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Posts: 8
Joined: Sat Jul 07, 2018 6:10 pm

Re: Phenix K2 715 vs 736

Post by twburgner » Sat Jun 18, 2022 2:22 pm

Bfweld wrote:
Fri Jun 17, 2022 8:26 pm
twburgner wrote:
Fri Jun 17, 2022 7:52 pm
Bfweld wrote:
Wed Jun 15, 2022 6:52 pm
twburgner wrote:
Wed Jun 15, 2022 10:05 am
Yeah, I highly suspect that Cal got some PB731MHXF blanks that were mislabeled as "PB731HXF". I have close to 20 custom Point Blank rods made, and this happened to me on 2 of their blanks that I ordered. I had ordered 2 PB731MHXF rods I had ordered from Voodoo Rods several months ago. They were actually the PB731MXF blanks and it was a bit hard to tell that they were off to begin with as they are very strong for a Medium Power rated rod, but when I weighted them they indeed weighed only 54grams or roughly 1.9 ounces. I would say the 7'3" Medium is far stronger than most over medium rod and you could consider it as more of a medium+ to a light-medium-heavy blank. As far as the PB731HXF goes, it is extremely powerful, and I only use mine for 1/2oz baits and up, as anything under that it simply just is too much rod for. If anyone has any questions about most of the 7'3" and under, I have most of them built.
The Point Blank Rods I have made are:
6'6" Light
6'6" Med-Light
6'6" Medium
6'9" Med-Light
6'9" Medium
6'9" Med-Hvy
7' Light
7' Med-Heavy
7'3" Medium
7'3" Med-Hvy
7'3" Heavy
That PB731MHXF is a great blank too, getting diameter measurements on Cal’s rod would help prove our theory.

Since you’ve built both, which blank would you say is better for vision 110 and similar jerkbaits…the PB691MXF or the PB691MLXF?
twburgner wrote:
Wed Jun 15, 2022 10:36 am
Now, as for the K2 Phenix rods, I only have 3 custom K2 rods. One of the rods broke on it's first outing (The 715) a couple months ago and am in the process of getting it rebuilt. It had a defective blank and popped on the first hookset using 14 sunline shooter. So, I can't comment on the 715 other than that it was amazing for the first hour I was fishing it. Amazing in both the weight and balance of the rod, as well as the sensitivity! I would also like to brag on Phenix Rods! Their customer service was amazing and had a brand new blank to my doorstep within 3 days of them receiving the defective blank from me. Just be sure to keep track of your receipts! The 736 is one amazing beast of a rod! It is both sensitive and powerful. For it's power, I would rate it as the most sensitive heavy powered rod that I own!!! It is unbelievable for large jigs, big worms, and carolina rigs. The 736 is a very, very stiff rod, so if you don't like a stiff rod, this is not for you. The 715 was basically a slightly less powerful version of the 736, being equally sensitive and stiff. The only other K2 I have built is the 684, and it is rated as a MH powered rod, which I would say is way of the baseline for MH powered rods. The 684 is way less powerful than the 715, and I would rate it as a Medium to Medium+ power rod at best, and the action is more on the slower side of fast or even mod-fast in action, which was surprising to me considering the stiffness and how fast both the 715 and 736 were.
Would you say that the 715 and 736 have a pretty similar tip, with the 736 just transitioning to a more powerful midsection? Or would you say that the 715 has a lighter tip than the 736?
I would actually say I like the 6'9" MLXF better than the 6'9" MXF for jerkbaits. The 6'9 MLXF has a slightly lighter tip and balances slightly better overall too. It also has a slightly more crisp action than the Medium. The 6'9" MXF is not quite as strong as the 6'9" MH both they are both extremely close, but strangely enough has just a hair larger tip diameter than the 6'9" MH. I was able to use a 4.5 tip on both the 6'9" ML and MH(just barely), but had to use a size 5 tip on the 6'9 M.

The tips on both the 715 and the 736 took the identical tube size for the tip. They both weighted within a gram of their stated weight from phenix as well, with the 715 being exactly 49grams as printed on the blank, which I thought was quite impressive. The factory butt diameters are a bit off however. In the butt section. I had originally purchased a few matagi ecs painted reels seats to use for those 2 builds with a 13mm ID. The ecs seat fit almost perfectly where I like to grip a rod of that length for the 736 at approximately 11 inches from the bottom of the butt to the bottom of the reel seat. It barely had to be reamed out at all I believe to around 13.1 or 13.2mm if I remember correctly. Much to my surprise, the 13mm id ecs reel seat slipped right over the entire blank of the 715. I ordered a 12.5mm id ecs grip from fuji and it was so close to perfect I don't even believe I reamed it out at all as it was within about a half inch of where I wanted it anyway. Overall, I would say the 736 is a lot stronger in the mid section and has a decent amount more power in the butt compared to the 715 too.

Now, the first 715(the one I gave you specs for) I owned was defective and broke on my first trip on a hookset with 14lb sunline shooter. Phenix was great and immediately sent me a new blank. I had sent them the defective blank cut into pieces with the break marked with tape and they got it back to me all in under a week. So, I will say their customer support was very impressive. It was a pain removing all of the guides, but it is what it is, I just had to replace the butt, rear grip, and real seat... no big deal. Much to my surprise, when I get the new "715" blank in, my 12.5mm id fuji ecs real seat I ordered to rebuild the new blank was too big??? I actually had to go down all the way to a 11.5mm id to make it work with the new one they sent me. In addition to this, the tip was also just slightly smaller too which was strange. I called their customer support about this and apparently they told me it was an updated blank version of the 715?! I still haven't built out the new blank they sent me, but it is the next on my list, so I will let you all know how it goes. Interestingly enough, the blank they sent me has a weight of 45 grams(1.7oz) which is 4 grams lighter than the first one I had, has a tip very close to a 5 where the original took a 5.5, and a butt diameter that is off by nearly 1mm. So, there is obviously some variance there. HAHA!
Thanks for that info, I’ll consider it when I get around to deciding/ordering a blank for a jerkbait rod build.

Interesting that they have changed the 715 blank, I think that decides it for me too. I haven’t seen many size 5 tipped blanks that people seem to consider good for 1/2oz jigs, so I’ve been using 5.5 tip as spec I’ve been looking for. So I think I’ll get the 736. That will give me the PB731HXF, the k2 736 and an NFC sj765 x-ray(ordered, waiting to receive it)…to build all in the same way and put them against each other to see which is the best jig blank.

How would you compare the power and tip of the PB731HXF to the k2 736? Besides the PB731HXF having a faster action…
Well, the 715 they sent me could just be off spec or it could be a brand new version? Your guess is as good as mine! HAHA

I would say that the k2 736 is more powerful, stiffer, and actually faster than the PB731HXF. I would not rate the PB731HXF as an "XF" by any stretch. I am honestly perplexed by how Point Blank decides and arrives at their actions on their blanks. The k2 736 is also more sensitive, which is saying a lot because the PB731HXF is very sensitive! The k2 is the most impressive large jig/texasrig/carolina rig rod I own. I have all my custom rods set up with ECS reel seats and either Fuji Titanium SIC or Torzite guide trains. Both rods use the identical guide trains except for the bottom stripper. On the 736 I run a set of Fuji T2 Black Titanium SIC 6RV-5.5KW-(3)5KB-(5)5KT-with 5 KG tip and the only difference in the Point blank is it has a T2 10KW in place of the first stripper. So with same reel seat and guides the k2 736 is the more sensitive.

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Re: Phenix K2 715 vs 736

Post by Bfweld » Sat Jun 18, 2022 5:57 pm

Interesting that they have changed the 715 blank, I think that decides it for me too. I haven’t seen many size 5 tipped blanks that people seem to consider good for 1/2oz jigs, so I’ve been using 5.5 tip as spec I’ve been looking for. So I think I’ll get the 736. That will give me the PB731HXF, the k2 736 and an NFC sj765 x-ray(ordered, waiting to receive it)…to build all in the same way and put them against each other to see which is the best jig blank.

How would you compare the power and tip of the PB731HXF to the k2 736? Besides the PB731HXF having a faster action…
[/quote]

Well, the 715 they sent me could just be off spec or it could be a brand new version? Your guess is as good as mine! HAHA

I would say that the k2 736 is more powerful, stiffer, and actually faster than the PB731HXF. I would not rate the PB731HXF as an "XF" by any stretch. I am honestly perplexed by how Point Blank decides and arrives at their actions on their blanks. The k2 736 is also more sensitive, which is saying a lot because the PB731HXF is very sensitive! The k2 is the most impressive large jig/texasrig/carolina rig rod I own. I have all my custom rods set up with ECS reel seats and either Fuji Titanium SIC or Torzite guide trains. Both rods use the identical guide trains except for the bottom stripper. On the 736 I run a set of Fuji T2 Black Titanium SIC 6RV-5.5KW-(3)5KB-(5)5KT-with 5 KG tip and the only difference in the Point blank is it has a T2 10KW in place of the first stripper. So with same reel seat and guides the k2 736 is the more sensitive.
[/quote][/quote]

It’s not too big of a surprise that the k2 736 is more sensitive, stiffer blanks technically are going to be more sensitive unless they weight too much more than the blank they are being compared to. K2’s are one of the most efficient blanks I’ve seen numbers on, weight to power efficiency that is. Only blanks that compare are OG glx blanks and the nrx blanks…that I’ve seen numbers for at least.

All of the rods will be built with the same split grip setup (not officially decided but likely to be a Winn grip below reel seat and then either carbon fiber or Eva butt grip, no foregrip), all with Fuji sk split reel seat and Fuji titanium torzite guides. RV6 followed by KB6 or 5.5, 1 or 2 KB 5’s then KT5 runners and titanium torzite arrowana 5 tip.

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