IMAX BEACH RODS

[lumpy]

sorry for pesteing people bout new rods but any body fished with one of the IMAX rods. ure man off the telly henry gillby seems to tink their the dogs watsits. also got an old 7000 which wont reingage when the handle is turned like it should. the reel is me da's and about 30 years old so would like to keep it in working order.

[Steve]

Hi lumpy. As far as I am aware Henry Gilbey designed them (or at least put his name to them for advertising purposes), so it's no wonder he's raving about them. IMAX are marketed by Svendson Sports, which also markets Ron Thompson in Europe.

Don't know much else about the rods but they look fairly decent though.

[quarterflounder]

Ah! IMAX rods. I've got two. I got the 2 stroke 4 and the 6 stroke 7. Both are excellent rods for the job.

The 2/4 is light, fairly stiff yet sensitive and well capable of the job which is beachcasting on clean bottoms. I use a 14 or 16lb line and on the odd occasion of catching a fish it works a treat. Sensitive but powerful.

The 6/7 is a stick! Fairly punchy but built for hauling logs over mountains. I use 30lb line on this rod and I've pulled lumps of weed out of the sea you would not believe. Down side - I've had a small bass on there and not known about it.

Now I have a few issues with the rod marketeers.

When I got my 2/4 there was no bag, no literature on how to look after it etc. so eventually I tracked down Henry Gilbey who gave me some advice on how to look after it. My point to him was that if he is as involved with the product then he should know it inside out. Like if he had used one he would have taken it out of a bag. If he had taken it out of a bag (with imax 2/4 written on it) he would have told me. I would not put my name to something I knew nothing or little about. If you spend 260 euro on a rod you expect a bit of a manual, a warranty of some sort etc. Henry was a bit vague about the whole IMAX side of things which makes me think that he got a few bob for sticking his face on a card.

However I tracked down Svendsen Sport in Wales, spoke to them, they advised I should have had a nice velvety bag (which I now knew cos I bought a 6/7 from a different supplier and it had one) and they sent me one FOC :D

Rock on Svendsen Sports. :D :D

[x]

"You're all very hard on Mr. Gilbey! Krusty the Klown can get away with it (""I heartily endorse this e-vent or product!""), so why can't Henry? :lol:

Seriously, he probably gets loads of rods to test and/or endorse. I doubt he can remember the specifics of each. That's why I'd always try the manufacturers first - either for specs or if I wanted to leave feedback.

Saying Henry Gilbey is a bit vague on Imax rods is about the same as saying David Beckham is a bit vague on razors. But you wouldn't call him up when you ran out of blades, would you?"

[BigPhil]

nice response sandman, have to agree with you on those points.
if you have a problem with a product you are best to first go through the supplier(shop) and then if you have to, contact manufacturer. and as qflounder found out they will normally be as helpful as possible as they will be looking for your custom again in the future.

[quarterflounder]

Sorry I disagree.

Beckham is a footballer and his ability and knowledge does not qualify him to comment on or endorse shaving paraphenalia.

My IMAX when I bought it came with a small booklet that states "Henry Gilbey, international angler & TV presenter, gives you the low down on each of the Imax beachcaster rods:"

He then presents a viewpoint on all 4 rods in the range written from the perspective that he has used them extensively.

So he had 2 options in my view. 1, not to endorse or 2, to endorse. He chose the latter.

Now if I were putting my humble name to an item I would ensure that the item and/or associated literature would have markings indicating "Don't talk to Quarterflounder, talk to product maker"

There is no imax website.
There is nothing on the rod or booklet saying svendsen sports.

So when there is nobody to turn to to find out more information about your purchase then Henry has to answer as he has had the cash. He answered & resolved most of my issues.

Fundamentally though, Sandman, would you stick your name to a net that guarantees letting all small fish through without testing it? You would lose all credibility despite all the hard work you have done if it was later found that you endorsed it without testing it.

[x]

Well, we all have our opinions. I don't endorse rods, nets or political parties so I've little to worry about. One thing I wouldn't do either is fork out the bones of quarter of a grand for anything, then start asking questions about what should have come with it etc.

Any tackle dealer - online or otherwise - that gave you a rod minus even something as simple as the rod bag that should have been with it, wouldn't be someone I'd deal with again, if it was me.

You'll find the Imax section of the web at http://www.svendsen-sports.com/ - click on the Imax logo

I'm sure they'll have any further info you need and would probably appreciate any feedback you care to send them, even on Mr Gilbey's willingness to do unpaid product support for them!

[BigPhil]

the man may have endorsed the product by saying that they are good rods etc etc which i am sure they are (ive seen em but aint used em), but im sure the amount of rods that he has had through his hands he cant remember them all, never mind the bags they came or did not come in.
i know both him and shambrook used to use conoflex mainly for their fishing in general and im sure they would probably still use these hand built ones before mass produced ones, that may be why he cant remember much about it.
but at least you know that a good, seasoned all round angler has seen and used the rods and has said they are good.....at least that says a lot for the tackle which you have bought. a lot of other products do not come with reassurance like that.
it wouldnt be a surprise for a rod not to come in a bag, to the best of my knowledge even zziplex dont supply a rod bag - at least they didnt with my 3500 a few years back.

[Donagh]

The rods were reviewed in sea angler by the designer Henry Gilbey. If the rods weren't any good then he's putting his neck on the line. People are buying the rod because his name is on it and he gets money is back pocket for that. Saying that I've yet to see a rod yet with an instruction book and the bags that come with rods are by and large crap. Most sea anglers but a rod hold all that will carry two rods a brolley and a rod rest. If the rods are rubbish I'm sure that Henry wouldn't be to happy but its not really his fault you didn't get a rod bag. In fairness he is very good at responding to any quieries anglers do have.

Donagh

[Rockhopper]

I dont have a lot of time for Gilbey as an angler, his show is not to bad, the fact that he earns his living one way or another from angling makes some people jealous and call him bad names. You must expect that if your starting out like he is and coming up against seasoned anglers who have forgot what he still has to learn. But to complain to him about a missing rod bag has got to be a laugh.

oh! and the instructions....like what ?....do not swallow :lol:

Only girls would use a rod bag anyways 8) I can see some of the replies I'm going to get for that remark :oops: :oops: :oops:

Tom.

[quarterflounder]

My issue never was with Henry about the bag. I bought a rod which, after selecting it in the shop did not come with a bag. As I was "born again" to fishing I wanted to find out more about the product I had just bought - how to get the best from it, how to look after it properly etc. Henry gave me that info cos at the time I had no idea who svendsen sport were or that imax was their brand. I, at the time considered imax to be a manufacturer like shimano or penn. Regarding the instructions I was concerned about what to clean the rod with (perhaps wd40 may have a reaction with the paint - I don't know), perhaps leaving it out in the freezing garage is not clever, perhaps leaving it in sunlight through the summer is bad for it - I don't know. When you buy anything these days there are normally a set of how to look after or maintain your purchase instructions. All that comes with the imax is a marketing book written by Henry. No http://www.imax.co.uk, no svendsen info.

The point was that I had to work hard to find out about my rod. I chose it cos I'd seen a review in SA about them, I'd seen Henry on the telly and thought that that is a good enough place to start. Unfortunately, between buying the rod and reading about them I lost the magazine and ads were not running every month.

The bag thing is a side issue but I'm a believer in getting what you pay for and at that sort of cash, I perhaps expected my new rod to come with a bag, which indeed it did but I was not supplied with. Bear in mind my 40 euro rod, reel, line, two floats and three hook set came with an effin bag :D

As for having a parasol, a brace of rods and a tripod - when I amass that kind of kit I too may purchase a container similar to yours.

So to conclude I would like to point out, I am happy with HG's answers bar him not knowing too much about the kit, I've got a bag from Svendsen (when my dealer should have given it to me) and I aspire to being a tackle tart needing a mule train to get all my kit to the beach. For now I just want to fish :D

[Rockhopper]

Phewwwwwwwww! That's me effin told :wink:

Good on you quarterflounder 8)

Happy Fishing my friend :wink:

Tom.

[Guest]

When you are down Wexford way perhaps we can admire each others bags :D

[quarterflounder]

that was me