Kaden

apiazza · February 07, 2020, 03:57:30 PM

Lou, what are you planning on throwing with the 713?

Capt. BassinLou · February 07, 2020, 04:30:24 PM

Quote from: apiazza on February 07, 2020, 03:57:30 PM
Lou, what are you planning on throwing with the 713?

Light plastics. Ie.. flukes, centipedes, stick bait, trick worms, etc.

Dink Dawg · February 07, 2020, 10:49:24 PM

Well I was incredibly lucky. My rod tube arrived and one end was missing the cap. It was never installed and only had two pieces of shipping tape over the end. Fortunately the rods, 744C and 713C were otherwise very well packaged and suspended so they were undamaged. I've had many many deliveries from Dobyns Rods and this is a first. I'm sure it's an anomaly.

I am very curious to hear what others think before I post my thoughts and that's if anyone is even interested. I'll save other thoughts for Gary and his staff as that was the intent of this product release to begin with.

Princeton_Man · February 08, 2020, 05:10:21 AM

Quote from: Dink Dawg on February 07, 2020, 10:49:24 PM
Well I was incredibly lucky. My rod tube arrived and one end was missing the cap. It was never installed and only had two pieces of shipping tape over the end. Fortunately the rods, 744C and 713C were otherwise very well packaged and suspended so they were undamaged. I've had many many deliveries from Dobyns Rods and this is a first. I'm sure it's an anomaly.

I am very curious to hear what others think before I post my thoughts and that's if anyone is even interested. I'll save other thoughts for Gary and his staff as that was the intent of this product release to begin with.

My guess would be the stapler ran out of staples and it didn't get caught right away. With the extra care Dobyns uses to package the rods, using the string used as retention. The tips won't contact the top cap or come out and the butt of the rods will only come out an inch or two. In any event ,Gary will always make it right.

The Dobyns shipping team must have been workin' their arses off to get everyone's rods out the door with the customary speed.

Capt. BassinLou · February 08, 2020, 06:05:13 AM

Quote from: Dink Dawg on February 07, 2020, 10:49:24 PM
Well I was incredibly lucky. My rod tube arrived and one end was missing the cap. It was never installed and only had two pieces of shipping tape over the end. Fortunately the rods, 744C and 713C were otherwise very well packaged and suspended so they were undamaged. I've had many many deliveries from Dobyns Rods and this is a first. I'm sure it's an anomaly.

I am very curious to hear what others think before I post my thoughts and that's if anyone is even interested. I'll save other thoughts for Gary and his staff as that was the intent of this product release to begin with.

That's a rare anomaly. Fortunately the rods survived transport. As far as posting your thoughts, post them. This is the reason Gary only released 1200 of these rods. For the public and Pro-Staff to provide feedback. Go!!

Dink Dawg · February 08, 2020, 04:00:35 PM

Okay Lou.

Let me put my thoughts into context. Between the Dobyns models I currently own, have owned and have fished, it surpasses 36 plus models and four series so my comparisons are based on that experience.

Aesthetics:

The rods, out of the tube and at first glace are modern, up to date yet somewhat conservative. The color scheme, trim rings, primary graphics are ample enough. The red is kind of glowy. I'm okay with it and I think younger anglers will like it more than I do. Just my taste. I love the Xtasy's under stated look. There is no need to trim the guide wraps or the exposed split grip section. Simple is good. My taste. I love the metal trim ring between the cork and reels seat. Nice touch. Oh, the butt cap. This is far better than the composite cork butt cap.

Ergonomics:

I love full grip cork grips. However, the style, length and contour of the split grips on my rods mirror the Extreme series. Perfect. The grips are not short. They are a full 10 inches. The cork portion is a full inch longer than Savvys or Furys and give the visual impression the rear grip is shorter. The grips/handles were equal length to my Savvy models. Very comfortable.

Components:

Pretty good quality cork. I will seal them immediate after plastic wrap comes off. Solid reel seat and traditional lock nut. Just a note, I love the hooded lock nuts like the style used on my Extremes. Very classy looking and super comfortable when palming my reels. There is a noticeable gap between the cut out that exposes the blank and the blank itself. Was this the correct reel seat for this blank diameter? This gap was not present on my 713C, just the 744C.

Guides are okay. I know Gary has tested this brand of guide and has confidence in them. I would love to see Fuji Fazelite No Tangle guides and would easily pay any additional costs they would generate. The guides seemed a tad over-sized but I understand so many anglers fish braid to leader with knots, this may be a plus for them.

The rods are light, balanced and thank goodness Gary put nine guides on the 713 and 744. Most companies scrimp and only put eight. There is NO line to blank contact, even at full flex and rolling the blank. That's a big deal. Action and power are very consistent with the Furys I own. The Fury Sierra 733 and 734 actions are very similar to the 713 and 744 respectively. I kind of expected the actions to be faster than they are. I also like a bit faster actions so that may be just personal taste again.

Note: After more use and comparison both actions actually appear slightly faster than my first impression. The 744C is actually pretty sweet after casting and working heavier baits.

Great power to tip ratio. Balance is awesome with Tatula 100 models. They are so neutral in the hand. Love it. The fit and finish on both is top tier. Now for my critical side. I would prefer the blank to be partially sanded and or fully smooth. Running your hand against the pressure wrap edges felt sharp. The width of the pressure wrap enhanced this sensation. I know the absence of sanding or smoothing the blank will provide a stronger blank over all. That's a good thing but I have not broken a Dobyns rod in eight plus years. Both rods cast their weight ranges very well. My sensitivity test placed them at or above the the Sierra series. Need to fish them a bunch for a better evaluation for sensitivity.

Summary:

I'm tickled Gary honored Kaden with a rod series. So make the 7-4 models full cork. Smooth the blanks. Change the guides to No Tangle Fazelites and I would be comfortable fishing this series, top to bottom as my full arsenal. My rods came with price tags of 169.99 and 179.99 respectively. Adjust the MSRP accordingly to accommodate upgrades and the Kadens will be better than awesome.

That's it.

Doug

Smallie_Stalker · February 08, 2020, 04:34:58 PM

Wow, thanks for the detailed info Doug. 👍

Capt. BassinLou · February 08, 2020, 07:57:23 PM

Broke in the Kaden today. Couldn't coax bigger bass to bite any of my offerings but I did manage a few of these little guys.

SteveTX · February 08, 2020, 08:52:34 PM

Quote from: Dink Dawg on February 08, 2020, 04:00:35 PM
make the 7-4 models full cork. Smooth the blanks. change the guides to Fazelites and I would be comfortable fishing this series, top to bottom. MY rods came with price tags of 169.99 and 179.99 respectively. Adjust the MSRP accordingly and the Kadens will be better than awesome.

That's it.

Doug

Maybe offer the 7'4" in both full handle or split. (I want a full handle as well) and some Fuji guides. (I would take FazLite Inserts

) These changes would make a rod I would be a lot more interested in buying at the 169.99 and 179.99 price point.

I know its Saturday but does anyone have a current list of available rods left?

Dink Dawg · February 08, 2020, 11:32:33 PM

Thanks Smallie. Way to many typos though.

SteveTX · February 09, 2020, 08:49:25 AM

Quote from: Dink Dawg on February 08, 2020, 11:32:33 PM
Thanks Smallie. Way to many typos though.

You can always go back and clean up a good read by clicking on the

. Hell 1/2 my posts probably show I edited them, the other 1/2 are still screwed up.

Almost always for a spelling or grammar error.

Lipripper · February 09, 2020, 08:56:39 AM

Quote from: SteveTX on February 09, 2020, 08:49:25 AM
You can always go back and clean up a good read by clicking on the . Hell 1/2 my posts probably show I edited them, the other 1/2 are still screwed up. Almost always for a spelling or grammar error.

I always have to fix most of mine too. I usually preview mine before posting. Heck I even do a Goggle search on words to make sure I spell them right.

Tip if you edit them before someone post after you it don't show that you fixed them up.

Dink Dawg · February 09, 2020, 12:18:58 PM

Thank you fellas. The wife was pressing me to go shopping and I posted the rough draft and came back later as you suggested. Like Gary said in the news letter, this is a process he's never done before. It is for us as Dobyns customers too. My 713c's serial number was 713-00099. That's cutting it close if sold in order.