Banana Rods Cross Collection

No longer just purveyors of beautiful long-chuck weapons, Banana Rods have embraced the beauty of the curve with these wraparound beauties. Still a powerful tool, the Cross range is all about “giving you maximum playing pleasure”, according to the saucy French rodsmiths.

The Big Questions

Bananas have always been bendy, right?
The ones chomped by sweaty tennis players mid-set, certainly, but Banana Rods are French master craftsmen who have been selling beautiful bespoke rods to Brits for a couple of years now. You’re most likely to associate their weight-saving reel seats and golf-club-inspired handles with chucking to the horizon, but these new rods prove there’s variety in this fruit bowl.

So it’s another range of short rods?
We might be in the grip of a downsizing revolution in carp fishing, but Banana Rods like to set trends rather than follow them, so these 10ft and 11ft models aren’t defined by their length. They’re easy to compress, offering even novice casters the chance to go long, and boast a “highly specialised action with low-down reserves and a magnificent fighting curve”. Yep, we read that in a seductive French accent, too!

I want cold, hard stats, not French flamboyance!
Banana say you can fling a 3.5oz lead 110yds with a Cross and that the blanks are made from a blend of five aerospace-grade carbons. Brilliantly, each model also comes with a Top Trumps-style guide to its properties. For instance, the 10ft 3lb version scores 100/100 for pleasure, 75/100 for power and 60/100 for distance. Imagine if all rods had these ranking points…

Anything else that sets them apart from the crowd?
Each rod is handbuilt in France to strict manufacturing protocols Banana say are unique in the world of fishing rods. The company’s website also has a very nifty rod-selector tool which chooses the perfect wand for you based on your fishing habits.
From £374.00

The Cross range:
10ft 3lb £374
10ft 3.5lb £382
11ft 3.25lb £416
11ft 3.5lb £424