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Travel Rod Test

Manufacturer: Greys
Model: Pilgrim
No of sections: 4
Length: 9'
Line weight: 6/7
Price: £169

Description

High gloss black blank with spigot ferrules. Black anodised aluminium reel seat with carbon fibre spacer. Stainless steel American snake rings. Reversed half wells handle. Supplied in cotton rod bag. No protective tube. Five year guarantee against material or manufacturing defects for the original owner. Rod assembly, care and maintenance information provided.

Testers' comments

Terry Lawton: This is a competent all-round rod with plenty of power. It is well built but nothing outstanding. It is a shame that it is not supplied in a protective tube. If Redington and Vision can market rods with tubes at similar (Vision) or even lower (Redington) prices, why can't Greys? Particularly as this is the only travel rod that Greys makes. The catalogue describes the rod as having a"progressive compound taper (that) combine(s) to produce a medium-fast action that adapts and responds to a wide range of casting styles." which, I think, proved to be true during the test. It has a different feel and action compared with the American rods and the Vision Extreme. I tried this rod with a 7 weight line as well as our standard test 6 weight and I felt that it loaded that little bit better with the heavier line.

Peter Sutton: This is a completely 'homegrown' rod made in Greys' own factory which is now part of the House of Hardy. The build quality and finish on this rod was top class; the only small criticism being a stripping ring which I felt was too small. Again the cork used to make the handle wasn't brilliant although it wasn't that bad. Interestingly most of the rods on test suffered with poor cork handles, perhaps there just isn't enough good cork available in the world for all the rods that are being built!

I am often wary when manufacturers quote two or more line ratings for one rod as I wonder if it means that they are not sure which line suits it best. It is a fact that any half decent, modern, carbon fibre rod will handle at least three and probably four different line weights. It is also a fact that matching the right rod with the right line and the right user can be critical, so ultimately each individual must match the rod with the line that suits them. The choice will not be the same for everyone. However starting with a rod with a single line rating is probably less confusing and at least you will be somewhere in the ball park if you follow the manufactures recommendation.

I tried this rod with the RIO Classic weight forward 6 line we had selected for all our tests and with a RIO Windcutter 7 weight line and it didn't feel quite right to me with either. Line speed was only moderate and so the ability of this rod to shoot line was somewhat curtailed. It also suffered from a bit of vibration in the tip which meant that loop control was not out of the top draw. The roll casts were quite adequate though.

Overall this rod was a bit of a disappointment to me. It lacked that 'crispness' that I like so much in the best modern rods and whilst it performed adequately it didn't really excel at anything.

Summary

While it did not excel, this rod was an adequate performer. Well built at a fair price. Marking 7/10

The rods

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