Japanese manufacturer river peak recently announced that they will be releasing a new version of their popular Kiwami tenkara rod. The new river peak Kiwami 45 Honryu tenkara rod will be 4.5 meters fully extended, and is designed for honryu (mainstream) tenkara fishing.
Referring to the new rod, river peak says:
“In the 4.5m (main stream) test, the durability of the rod was confirmed through repeated tests against 60cm-class rainbow trout. In terms of casting, we inherited the tone, suppleness, and lack of shake of the Kiwami tenkara and made it one of the lightest rods in Japan. The ultra-light weight and slender body minimize air resistance, allowing anglers to enjoy stress-free tenkara fishing with nimble rod work.”
(DeepL translation)
Scheduled to be released February 23rd 2023, the river peak Kiwami 45 Honryu is advertised to have the following specs:
| Sections: | 9 |
| Extended: | 4.5 m (14′ 9″) |
| Nested: | 65 cm (25.6″) |
| Weight: | 105 g (3.7 oz.) |
| Flex Action: | 6:4 |
| Carbon Content: | 99% |
| Price: | ¥ 34, 100 |
The Kiwami 3.3 and 3.8 meter tenkara rods have been well received (as have the Tenkara Rod Co. Kita 330 and 380, which are rebranded river peak Kiwami rods). It is assumed that the new Kiwami 4.5 Honryu will also be a fantastic rod. Rest assured that Tenkara Angler will bring you a “real world” review when we are able to get our hands on the new rod!
Editor’s Note: Tom Bayly of Tenkara Adventure Outfitters (the U.S. distributor of river peak rods), told Tenkara Angler he has added the river peak Kiwami 45 Honryu to his offerings with a retail of $249.99 USD.
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Darn Tom, I don’t need to see this kind of porn. Now Kris Franqui is going to be after me to buy it.
Do it.
Et tu Brute?
Oh my goodness…3.7 ounces at a 450 length?! Could the Oni Honryu finally have a contender?! I’m actually excited about this one.
I know, right? Here’s a few rods of similar length (~450cm), at 105g it’s not the lightest, but defintitely in with some good company.
Shimano Honryu NP 44 – 84g
Gamakatsu MultiFlex Suimu 4.5 EX – 95g
Oni Honryu 450 – 98g
Tenkara USA Ito – 116g
I like the 3.8m , which is lightweight on paper but swings fairly heavy for its weight. I´m really interested in the new rod and hope that they really look at the swing weight carefully. Price wise it´s okay, I can get an Oni Honryu delivered from Amazon.co.jp for about the same.