Setting a new standard
You probably won’t have heard of these rods before, but the chances are you’ll be wanting to own a set very soon…
The chances are, you’re yet to hear about Banana Rods. But you will. Because simply put, their rods are mind-blowingly awesome. They’re based in France, turning out some of the most high-end rods on planet earth from their own bespoke factory in Orleans. They only use the finest components, for example they only work with Fuji SIC K Series guides. They manufacture everything in-house, in France, to maintain the highest level of quality control. Where other brands can churn out a rod in 3hrs, it takes Banana Rods 8hrs. Where other brands offer a 2- to 5-year warranty, Banana offer ten. They also offer better after sales, including a pick-up service from your door, where a UPS officer will pick up your rod to let Banana repair it.
The rods themselves fall into four ranges. The flagship is the all-new T-48, a rod which has been made to fish everywhere, and is the perfect all-rounder. The tech of this rod is designed to reduce torque, which in turn increases accuracy, and this is achieved by using a specific A-grade carbon fibre.
The Vectrum range consists of ultra long-range casting rods, yet they remain very light and easy to play fish on. The Cross range is a collection of shorter rods, measure 10 and 11ft, and finally there the SpodMarker which has a tweaked tip section to increase the feedback transmitted to the angler.
Banana Rods also offer a ‘Made-To-Measure’ service – a custom build if you will. You can choose from a huge range of bespoke reel seats, coloured whippings, handle grips – they’ll even add any wording, such as names etc. onto the rods.
The finish, the components, the feel and play of these rods is painfully good and we’ll be reporting back in a few month’s time with a mid-term review.
“GIMME”: From £329; bananarods.co.uk