xzoga PE10 gets a workout inTownsville. Fri 16th Oct

[Andrew Colefax]

no worries...hopefully i'll nail my first GT this summer, have gear just need a bigger boat to get out there on a regular basis

[Peter Agapiou]

this what happens when the boy take piss out of you when you trying to hold the fish for a picture,hey grubby

[Tom Grubb]

I think the GT has a better smile :-)

[Scott Williams]

Great fish mate, well done. Some good photos there too.

Scott.

[Kasey Leong]

I couldnt have been happier with the xzoga rod on its first trip, light weight, easy to cast and loads up great. Value for money i say coming in just over $600.

Hi,
I don't mean to take anything away from a good report, but this is one of the few times I have heard someone describe an Xzoga as a light-weight rod and furthermore, value for money (at $600). Of course, the comparison with Carpenter made me go wow too!   

[Chuen Fan]

Hey Tom, interested in having a look at one of these rods(I thought that they only made jigging sticks), can you give me a model number?? I can't seem to find anything on the xzoga website apart from pe5/6 popping rods. Also, I can't seem to find anything Japanese about the rods apart from the components, all the field testers photos on the site are all Rompin sailfish skippers 

Kasey, I agree with you, from all the Xzoga's I've handled, theres no comparison with a Carpenter!! Although with a high Aussie $$ makes buying from Malaysia very cheap! Hope the monsoon goes away early in Feb, and we can finally go for a fish together! 

[Tom Grubb]

we have been testing the proto-type since dec last year. The xzoga PE10 has only been in country 2 weeks, may not be anything on their web site yet. The code is Pi7710. Tackle world stores should have them in stock soon, or are able to get them.

I myself have used carpenters and other rods, everyone is open to their own comment about products but until they use them it cant be an accurate opinion. Try the new xzoga PE10 if you get a chance. I myself rate it highly.

The xzoga PE10 weighs 440g, the PE8 carpenter (Super popping 79M) weights 410g, of course your heavier rated rod should weigh more. just weighed both on electronic scales. 3x20cent weight difference :-)

the weight difference in the rods is all in the top half(both pieces were weighed on both rods), the xzoga has a thicker rod blank but xzoga pride their rods on their tips, the tip action on the PE10 is softer than the carpenter, i find this easier when working poppers/stickbaits for myself. Yet this rod still loads up very well and works well in your favour when pulling in fish.

For myself i cant justify spending nearly double the money when something like the xzoga is on the market. Just my opinion.

Attached is afew photos of the rod, qaulity of photos is poor, sorry.

[Kasey Leong]

Of course, and everyone definately is entitled to their own opinion.

There was nothing to agree or disagree with Sunny, I was merely stating that I had not heard such positive feedback before.

[Tom Grubb]

I myself hadnt heard a great deal of info about these rods eather,it was 50/50 with positive and negative feedback.  It was great to get a proto-type and test it out and be apart of the design of this rod, we actually cut some off the tip to make it stiffer as the tip was too soft to start with, the finished product came with a good tip :-).

[jarrodday]

Hey Tom, I just Got those Xzoga's in stock, the PE 10 and 8 models, pretty neat sticks. I was greatly impressed when I used, Robs and Danny's so they no have a perminent seat on my poping wall in the shop.

[Brandon Khoo]

Nice fish, Tom and good to see Xzoga finally getting their GT offering onto the market.

With regard to the debate that is brewing, everyone is of course entitled to their opinion and are welcome (within reason) to express their opinion on the forum. We are, however, sensitive to posts which can be construed to be critical of equipment particularly in the cases of equipment failure where we have no context to the reason for the failure. We are also sensitive to posts whereby there may be a commercial interest in the product where an opinion is being expressed. In such a case, I think it would be appropriate to advise of the interest in the product.

As to the claim that Xzoga are now producing superior products to Carpenter, this is not the first post I have noticed in the recent past where a rod from another manufacturer is being claimed to be comparatively superior to a Carpenter. It is up to individual members as to whether they believe such claims are overly extravagant.

[Tom Grubb]

Jarrod, they shouldnt even have time to collect dust :-)

Brandon, The claim about xzoga being on par with carpenter is a report based on people who have used this product that i know, and of course in the end the individual is the one who decides if the claim is overly extravagant or not. But until the product is used by this person a accurate claim can not be made from what they hear or read.

I wasnt having a go at anyone with my posts i was simply stating that everyone who 'hears' or 'reads' about a product wont have a correct opinion till they try it. I am only posting some facts/info and feedback on a product to help out others, seeing as there isnt much info on the market about these PE10 rods as they have only just been released.

[Kasey Leong]

Hi Tom,

I hope you don't mind if I seeked a bit of clarification:

Brandon, The claim about xzoga being on par with carpenter is a report based on people who have used this product that i know, and of course in the end the individual is the one who decides if the claim is overly extravagant or not.

There seems to be some form of contradiction here.

It was also previously mentioned that this 'mid-large sized GT', was by your accounts, your first. It is then hardly fair to compare an Xzoga to a Carpenter - because, and surely you would agree, one really needs to fight a similar sized fish on both rods to compare them evenly (although I think to fully test out the maximum potential of the rod, you'd need to hook a fish that would give PE10 a real run for its money).

[Andy Rowe]

Hi Tom,

How if Xzoga send me a demo rod to Jakarta, we can test it out in a couple of weeks time against the SP78H and SP78EXH on some (hopefully) solid Indo GT's.

We'll have some experienced GT anglers on board and we can do a fair comparison over 6 days of fishing !!!

How does that sound??

Cheers
Andy

[Tom Grubb]

There seems to be some 'quotes' being posted here which i have never said, brandon-i have never stated that xzoga are producing 'superior' products to carpenter and kasey-i never said anything about this being my 'first', only my PB :-)

i do agree that to accuratly compare two rods LOADED you need to use both on similar size fish, my report also covers casting and working lures with the rods. The reason we use PE10 is because we are chasing that one that will give it a run for its money :-) Like i have said before and will time and time again my info/facts/report what ever you call it is based on info that i have gathered from my own experiences. I am yet to go on an overseas charter trip chasing large GT's(bring on the big ones i say, would love to get a chance at it), i go out when ever the weather lets me casting hundreds and hundreds of times, producing plenty of fish between 6-25kg mainly. i have had to work hard to find my PB fish, would love to go somewhere easier to catch my next PB. i am not one of these 'keyboard casters'. I enjoy my fishing and like sharing things on this forum to hopefully help out others. I havnt bagged out any other brands only said the xzoga is on par with a carpenter based on my experiences. Dont get me wrong the history and development in the carpenters is great-i love fishing with the rods as well.

Andy- i myself would love to hand you a demo rod to test out. You would have to contact xzoga for that one. I am just your everyday fisherman who got a chance to lend a hand in the development of this rod and then purchased one.