Thinking of buying a set I know these rods have had good reviews but where do think they sit amongst other rods of similar price better value than ??

There's no better value rods on the market IMO. You're getting a hell of a lot of rod, for £150.

In reply to Post #2
Plus the excellent customer service

I found the 10fts great if a tad on the heavy side, comparable rods in the shop felt a bit nicer to me. The handle was also very short but they said the next batch would have longer handles, this was a couple of years ago.

I ended up buying some Free Spirits which were clearly a class above in fittings, finish and action... but also more expensive.

I did speak to them about customs on the CF-X blanks but the additional cost pushed it out of the reasonable range for the quality I thought the blanks offered.

I found the 12 and 13ft versions too heavy and thick blanks for me but the action was OK. Big difference between the action of the 12ft 3.25lb and 3.5lb version though!

I thought they seemed good value although I've never been too happy with my rods which have Sea Guides on them, they haven't caused any issues.

I've got 12ft 2.75 ones and really rate them , much nicer than the similar priced freespirit . If your able to go to the shop I'd suggest going in and having a chat to the guys , you'll get excellent advice .

Can't recommend the rods, and the Tacklebox service enough.

Had a set knocked up by John Hennessy, quality exceeded expectation

I have them for my 10ft setup in 3.25 and really impressed with them, nice playing action but enough backbone, good quality cork handles also, I'm thinking of getting some in 11ft

In reply to Post #5
I would love to go to shop but it's just to far the trouble is there are so many rods to choose from sounds like most people are very happy with these rods
But as smelly fisherman said there not up to the equivalent free spirit in quality of fittings ect

In reply to Post #8
They are not in same price bracket as freespirit but at least if any issues you will get exceptional customer service.You won't get that from Freespirit and if ordering online you could end up with a load of hassle when none of your rods match,Freespirit for a so called premium brand do not offer a very good customer service at all

In reply to Post #9
It's not down to them though is it, it's the retailer's responsibility to look after the customer. Having owned many free spirit rods I've only bought from the tackle box and Johnson Ross and always had great service .same with custom builds if you have an issue you wouldn't go to the blank manufacturer you would go back to the builder.

They are in the same price range of the Free Spirit CTX range .

In reply to Post #10
A retailer i know had a premium account with them and closed it and sent all the stock back.A rod tip exploded on a shop regular and Freespirit blamed the customer as it could not possibly be a manufacturing defect.That is down to the retailer to sort is it,I don't think so

In reply to Post #11
I would choose The Tacklebox rods everyday of the week

In reply to Post #11
Yes it was the Free Spirit Ctx and Cf-x full Cork in 10ft that I directly compared when I was there.

I did actually buy some Free Spirit 10ft s range which are a higher price bracket, instead of three Cf-x I just got a pair of the S range 10 footers. I don't really care for Free Spirit after owning some terrible original e classes with a very poor reel seat... The first pair I had to return because the butt rings were about 10 degrees out of alignment so I didnt buy these ones based on name or perceived quality, its just the action is sublime and bends right through in the 2.5 pound 10 foot S range.

The difference in weight between the 10ft Ctx and Cf-x was actually pointed out to me by the person serving me at the time, it was not a small difference either.

We went through about 8 or 9 different free spirit rods to find a pair that actually matched and didn't have any build issues, the handles and ringing patterns on FS rods are not very consistent depending on who builds them and which way the wind is blowing

I had driven half way round the m25 convinced I was just going to pick up the Cf-x but glad I went to have a look as they were certainly nice rods but just weren't right for me after all.

As said the customer service is up there with the best and surprisingly they wanted to help find the best to suit my needs rather than pushing their own brand.

In reply to Post #12
The customer bought from the retailer so the retailer is responsible to the customer and that is consumer law.the fact that you don't think so doesn't matter.

In reply to Post #15
The retailer rang Freespirit for the customer and they did not give a flying ****.Is the retailer supposed to give the customer a brand new rod and be out of pocket themselves.This is why the shop told Freespirit to shove their account and sent the rods back

In reply to Post #16
“Is the retailer supposed to give the customer a brand new rod and be out of pocket themselves”

Yes, that is consumer law.

In reply to Post #17
Freespirit still have to work with the retailer to sort it out

In reply to Post #18
That's between them, it has nothing to do with the customer who purchased the rod from the shop.

In reply to Post #19
I never said they did but Freespirit were not interested at all.Would you stock them if you owned a shop and that was their attitude

In reply to Post #20
It's not something I would factor into a buying decision at all as a consumer, because if a rod blows up then the issue is with the store.

I had a brief argument on the phone with a store about returning some Harrison rods that had build issues on arrival and was told that the shop 'would need to speak to Harrison about a warranty repair' and he got quite upset when I kicked off at him sprouting misinformation, since my contract was with the store and not Harrison. Luckily, they had another branch so I just took them there for a full refund instead of the exchange I was going to ask for.

So yeah whilst unfortunate, the store takes the hit and then exercises their rights with the supplier directly after the consumer has been refunded or made right... If that supplier relationship is poor like your example then it depends how much money the store is making on sales of that brand and if they can consider losing that income - or if the supplier has crossed the line of acceptability so far that money doesn't come into consideration.

In reply to Post #21
has anyone else got any opinions on this thread about cfx rods ?? That's what i am really interested in as it's turned into free spirits customer service lol

In reply to Post #22
Yes....a straight answer for you mate.

I bought three 12ft 3 1/4 tc rods ,second hand on here . I bought them for my son.he uses those cfx over his aramalites as much as he can ,they cast well,play fish with a nice action ....if ever I was looking at a set of those rods I'd not be unhappy ..

In reply to Post #22
I've got a set of 10ft 3lb CFX rods and haven't used my 12ft rods since I got them. I had them custom built mine because I wasn't a fan of the short handle but I think someone has said they are a bit longer now. I didn't find them heavy and was surprised how light they felt when I unpacked them, not really fussed that much with weight anyway, it's not like you're stood there holding them all day. I think you'll struggle to find better rods for the money.

In reply to Post #13
I always thought the tackle box cfx rods were free spirit blanks no?. Obvs had it wrong.

In reply to Post #25
They very well could be,if you buy The Tacklebox rods you are getting one of the best customer services going.Im sure the rods are part of the SAH offer too so have an extended warranty(I think)

In reply to Post #26
I could be completely wrong mate. Just looked so similar to the ctx freespirit do.

In reply to Post #27
When I spoke to them about them I was led to believe they are more along with the old e class rods, my mate has a set of them and they are very impressive I very nearly ordered a set tbh

In reply to Post #27
Thanks for feedback so far
if there compared to the fs ctx rod then sounds like the cfx is a bit of an entry level rod I think I would rather pay a bit more and get a rod with higher spec as someone said didn't like sea guides fittings

def not fs had carp tamers reel seat span on blank not glued e class reel seat wouldn't tighten was told to use shrink tube on reel e class gold butt ring out of line with seat gave up with them

In reply to Post #29
I've had CFX rods in various test curves for different venues I've fished, and still have the 12' 3 1/4's as my main rods today. I'd say they are almost as good as my old FreeSpirit XS's which they replaced. I'd certainly say the CFX are better than the CTX and the E Class, probably sitting somewhere between E Class and the XS's.
Build quality of the CFX is great and I've never had any problems with loose reel seats that the early E-class were famous for before they changed the reel seats for the ‘Gold' upgrade.

In reply to Post #30
Really that's interesting you would put them close to the xs which I know is a good rod I will have another look the main thing that's put me off is being compared with the ctx as I've never liked the look of they look a budget rod to me and also the sea guides seat and rings not being any good

In reply to Post #30
Do you have the spod rod?

In reply to Post #32
Yes, I've just got the 10ft spod/marker rod.

In reply to Post #32
No, I've had a set of the 12' 2 3/4's, a set of 12' Continentals and a set of 12' 3 1/4's which I still own.
FYI, I've never liked the look of the blank on the CTX's either. The CFX blanks are much nicer, more of a “perdurable” finish, like the Free Spirit ‘S' range etc.

In reply to Post #33
Was looking at the 12ft in comparison to the Fox Spomb or another Torrix, it gets some good write ups.

In reply to Post #31
I've most likely missed this somewhere on the thread already but you could always ask them to customise them for you bud? That's exactly what my friend did and his look stunning I just admit

In reply to Post #36
Someone said it was a lot of difference in price custom build

In reply to Post #37
Depends on the changes you want really, when I asked about a spod rod with 40mm ringing the difference was negligible, the lead time was off putting at the time tho

In reply to Post #36
My custom build's didn't work out that much more expensive.

I paid a touch over 700 for my customs.

3 x 12 ft 3.25lb - changed everything on them
And a CFX landing net customised to match.

Great service, whole experience was top draw