Tronix pro Xenon travel rod: Gear review

Tronix pro Xenon travel rod:

So first off I will admit I have never been a fan of travel rods in beach caster format and the only “decent” one in my opinion that I had seen and tried was a Shimano Beastmaster beach caster but at £240 was a bit much for just travelling now and then, so whilst looking around I came across the Tronixpro Xenon travel rod for around the £139.99 mark and decided why not. With the rod all ordered and purchased I awaited it and when it turned up it was straight out to the man cave to have a look at this rod properly. So it’s a 12ft 6 inch beach caster, casting 3-6oz leads, It has 6 sections and comes in a nice black embroidered padded case that rolls up with a total length of just shy of 70cm so easily put into a case or a longer backpack. Taking it out of the case my first impression was wow! It’s sleek and looks good but as well all know looks are not everything but anyway all the whippings are in black and purple and are done well, the high build is all neat along with the graphics on it with the rod finished in a lovely gloss look. Ok so far so good! I was now wondering what I would get for only £139.00 in the department of actually fishing. Putting the rod together it was smooth and seamless and when fully constructed there is no wobble or give in any of the spigots which is nice as that has been quite a fault on other brands travel rods i have seen and tried and was something I was worried about as I couldn’t find any reviews on this rod. Looking at the rod you have a 24T light weight carbon blank with 9 genuine Fuji guides which are not too small even the smallest tip eye you could easily pass a Gemini link clip through it. There is a nice adjustable reel seat and a coaster to secure it in place and the rod is suitable for both fixed spool and multiplier use. Clamping the reel seat down with the coaster... It’s snug and secure with no give slide or wobble. There is a rubber butt cap at the bottom and nice Japanese shrink wrap on the bottom sections of the rod which gives plenty of room for putting the position of your reel and handling as well when the reel is in place whether casting or bringing fish in. Looking up the rod it’s a high gloss finish and looks worth more than what you have paid for sure, there is a white tip section for bite registration and low light. So far from just holding and putting together etc I’m actually very impressed and nothing has been spared by Tronixpro all in all great start First I attached my Penn battle 2 reel and a 5 oz lead on a pulley rig with a simulated bait and headed out over the fields nearby loaded with 20lb Asso HT and a 70lb shock leader I got into position and gave it a bit of oomph but not too much just a simple cast that went 80 yards no problem feeling everything during the cast its very forgiving and had a good stiff lower part of the rod with a softer whippy tip that recovers well. Feeling more confident just after one cast I decided it was make or break literally so with an off the ground cast set up I gave it some welly and gave it a lot of power and pulling my left hand in hard and watching it fly out it hit the 140 yard mark on the field with no problems at all it could clearly take a lot with no problems what so ever so with that switching my lead out for a 6oz and checking all the joints all was still in place and solid I gave it some welly again from off the ground and it flew again this time 135 yards after quite a few casts I was really starting to like it and the rod filled me with confidence in its ability I’m far from being a great caster but it was taking all I was throwing at it, I switched back to 5oz and continued casting achieving my best distance of 152 yards so it appeared that the rod is best suited to 5oz plus bait but has no issues with more. I had a 7oz dca with me so figured... I’d do it! It handled the 7’s no issue at all with an over the head thump but as its not rated for these I would obviously advise against it I’ve now used the Xenon travel rod a few times on the Bristol channel and it has performed well on clean through to mixed to light heavy grounds. It sits in the tide very well and the tip is sensitive enough pick up smaller bites and it won rip your rig out in stronger seas. Hooking into fish the tip goes over well even on a dogfish which worried me until I hooked into a 12lb conger later that night and it was being adamant it didn’t want to come in, the tip may be soft but mid section has power along with the butt section and bullied the conger onto the stones no issues at all. A week later it landed a double figure ray over sand. Whilst out with the rod I have noticed that it is tip end heavy but we have to remember this is a travel rod and not a match rod it’s only because of all the extra spigots that are obviously adding the weight to it, but it’s not uncomfortable at all in fact it doesn’t actually bother me but we’re saying it as it is with these reviews so definitely worth a mention. The second time I was using a Penn Fathom II 15 SD multiplier down low and it balanced the rod out quite well and performed exactly like its meant too so is happy with either fixed or multi use. Whilst out recently on Bossington beach hounding I used it again as I wanted to travel light but again it performed really well I hooked into some decent hounds that day giving it a good test and I was using whiplash braid with a mono shock and it was just as well suited as it was with mono line and the fact Bossington can be light heavy grounds it didn’t cause an issue at all. Overall this rod is a lot of bang for your buck it looks good it is aesthetically pleasing and performs well on the beach it is happy either pulling in small whiting or larger species going into double figures, I’ve even used as an uptider by removing the bottom section! I have since found out that a friend also bought one and took it to Africa and was pulling in small sharks with it! All in all this is a great option for a travel beach casting rod! Tronixpro really have done a great job with it and changed my mind on travel rods I will be buying a second one to match up for when travelling. GOOD POINTS: -At 70 cm in its case you can easily transport the rod. -Has full Fuji K guides. -Very forgiving on casting for all abilities. -Can easily put a bait 100+ yards. - Looks great. -Dependable rod which can handle most grounds. - Sensitive tip and sits in the tide well. -Cheap at £139.00 I would expect to pay a lot more Bad point: -It is a bit tip end heavy.