For those of you reading this post anticipating a “Tom Davis” style rod review, my apologies in advance. At the very bottom of this post, you will find a list of some brief specs and measurables of the rod I’ll be reviewing, such as CCS & RFI, but that’s about as close as we’ll get in written form today.
Instead, I put together a video that discusses budget tenkara rods, such as the “no-name” or “off-brand” rods you’ll often find on websites such as Amazon or Alibaba. Brands such as Aventik, Maxcatch, Seaquest, or just inexpensive, unbranded fixed-line rods that feature Chinese or Japanese characters on them. I’m sure you know those yellow rods I’m talking about…
As a test case, I recently took a $52 pack-sized tenkara rod, the SeaQuest Etova 330, out on a Great Smoky Mountains stream for the day, and gave my candid feedback on it. I cover the value you’ll get for around $50, the rod’s fishability, and what you might (or might not) experience or consider when purchasing a this, or a similar “no-name” tenkara rod.
I hope you enjoy the video, and I’d certainly love it if you’d consider sharing your thoughts on and experiences with “no-name” rods in the comments below.
Rod Specs & Measurables
I did promise some specs and measurables in this post, so here they are. Unlike some other inexpensive fixed-line rods you might find on Amazon with a “tenkara” keyword shoved into their product titles for search engine purposes, the SeaQuest Etova is an actual tenkara rod. Cork handle, proper flex, all that good stuff. That said, while it has a pretty, sparkly purple paint job, everything else is fairly basic.
- Average (at best) quality cork grip
- No extra length of lillian included with the rod cap
- A flat, and not ergonomically rounded end (butt) cap
- An unknotted lillian and swivel tip, but the swivel prevents the tip section from being removed for cleaning
- $52 includes a hard tube, two spare tip sections, a furled line & leader, line keeper, and vial of assorted flies – but no rod sock
As a pack rod, the SeaQuest Etova collapses short, down to about 15 inches, making it shorter than the DRAGONtail Kaida (17.8 inches) or Tenkara USA Yama (16 inches). However, fully extended, it’s a true 330cm, or 11 foot tenkara rod. The Etova also has a very forgiving 6:4 flex profile, something I personally enjoy in an rod of that length. Here’s a table of the measurements, including a photo of the flex profile.
| Characteristic | Measurement |
|---|---|
| Sections | 11 |
| Fully Extended Length | 341 cm / 11.2 feet |
| Nested Length (with cap) | 38.1 cm / 15 inches |
| Swell Grip Length (Approximate) | 17.8 cm / 7 inches |
| Swell Grip Circumference | 8.3 cm / 3.25 inches |
| Weight (without cap) | 66 g / 2.4 ounces |
| CCS | 20 pennies |
| RFI | 5.9 / 6:4 Moderate, Mid Flex |
Conclusion
Scrolling all the way to the bottom of the post looking for my final thoughts on the SeaQuest Etova tenkara rod? You’re going to need to watch the full video to find that out!
I hope you enjoyed the video, and I’d certainly love it if you’d consider sharing your thoughts on and experiences with “no-name” rods in the comments below.
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I appreciate your video Michael. I think that this rod and others like it can be an affordable stepping stone for tenkara curious anglers. I know that in my early days, just finding a tenkara rod was a challenge. Now we have a few great companies to turn to. I think that these rods do have a place. Maybe we want to get our kid interested in tenkara but dont want to invest in a fully covered commercial rod. A cheap rod is a great way to introduce a friend to tenkara without worry they will beat up or damage a more valuable rod. I have given away many of my earlier rods to people to get them started. This seems like a good enough stepping stone rod that they can get a taste for tenkara. No doubt they will want to upgrade to a name brand later.
Thanks Dennis. That was the point I was hoping to convey. We cover a lot of the latest & greatest from our wonderful brand and community partners, but sometimes dropping $150 or more on an additional rod you may only use a few times can be difficult. I hope this little “review” gives folks some assurance on what they’ll receive if they decide to go with some of the less expensive options.