Rigged & Ready Smuggler™ Travel Fishing Rod & Reel Combo, Compact Rods+Case

This is really great rod. I brought it with me to Hawaii and was easily able to store the tube inside my carry-on luggage (Ebags TLS Mother Lode). It is a moderate/medium action rod with medium power. I was able to really bomb 3/8oz sinkers as well as casting bubbles whipping for Papio (trevally) and other fish. The rod is a bit forward-heavy so adding counterweights might not be a bad idea. I paired it with a Daiwa Fuego LT 3000 and it cast like a dream - I could get super far casts on it and the split grip makes it easy to grab for extra leverage. I found that I had to hold the rod higher up (above the grip) at times since I would get fatigued after a while with it being so forward-heavy. I figure that's a trade-off with multi-section rods though. One minor issue/concern with the QC - the first rod I received had a guide tip where some of the metal was bent out of shape, and a few of the guides were bent out as well. I immediately packed it up and sent it back for an exchange. The replacement rod was much better but I noticed the guides weren't 100% centered. More attention/detail could be put into the guide wrapping job on these. It also would be nice if there were a hook-keeper. The ferrules and joints of some of the section would come loose and twist around after prolonged periods casting. Several times the tip flew off but fortunately I never lost it. I wasn't sure what to expect with this rod but it's a really nice pack rod for travel and packs down more compact than any other rod I've seen. I do wish they had one in the same length (or even longer) that was slightly lighter maybe like an ML. This is a great all-around rod though. EDIT: I just realized this rod actually measures right around 8'6 - so it's actually longer than advertised lol. EDIT #2 (11/4/2020): Since writing/updating this review, I noticed that there were additional pieces/tips added to this rod so out of curiosity on how I could purchase the additional tips I emailed the company and got in touch with the owner, Andy. Andy was kind enough to send a couple tips out to me on his own dime! I just got them today and am excited to give them a shot (I fish the surf in SoCal primarily). With the heavier/shorter tip I plan to bait and wait with 2-4oz pyramid sinkers and hi-lo rig for the rockier areas/beaches. The lighter tip I'm curious to try c-rigging with grubs/Gulp Camo Sandworms but also fishing jerkbaits and dropshotting even. I am compelled to upgrade this review to 5 stars due to the outstanding customer service. And I'm already planning on buying the X5 Max sometime in the near future. Thanks Andy!

Honestly, was shocked at the quality vs. price on this unit. It’s the strongest and most sturdy take down rod I have ever seen. The reel is excellent as well and it comes with an extra spool. I took it to Bass Pro to get it spooled and the old guy helping me, literally took down the name and info. and said it was much better than anything they sold in that category, and could not believe the price. Just got to Greece with it, and it traveled beautifully in my small backpack. I plan on using it today, and it will be perfect for the semi-light in-shore fishing I plan to do. I liked it so much I bought my son in law one who will be meeting us soon. Thanks Rigged and Ready, and Amazon for having it.

Good for travel.

This is the second travel pole I've ever bought and I like it. My Kingswell telescopic pole (which I loved) snapped a few weeks ago so I checked out a bunch of videos and read a ton of reviews and settled on the Smuggler 7. I have never heard of this company but it sounded interesting and I need a travel pole so I bought it. I am mainly using it for whipping. Casting amd retrieving plastic grubs and small plugs. I live in Hawaii and only fish saltwater. I travel to Japan yearly and this pole will be coming with me. I also go on inter island trips in Hawaii so it's prefect for that. Main target fish = omilu (blue fin trevally) This is my honest review: Quality - not bad but not superb. It's a travel pole and probably shouldn't be your go to everyday pole but it seems built pretty well at first glance. Size- it breaks down very small for the size of the pole. It's breaks down smaller than my Kingswell and can fit in a normal backpack. This is a plus for sure. Strength - it claims medium and that's accurate. It comes with two tips. I actually prefer the shorter tip for what I use the pole for so far. Of you're gonna use lead, feels like 1.5 oz. would be about right. I use a bubble floater that fills with water to add weight when whipping. It's whippy yet feels like it has enough backbone to handle around a 5 pound omilu. They rip hard and are fighters. Balance - for whipping, the reel seat is close to the butt end which feels short, making it a little harder to jig while retrieving. This is probably because if it was longer, it would affect the breakdown size so it's give and take. Case - solid protective travel case with slots for each individual piece. Problem: my bottom guide section of the pole came with the guide bent upwards past a 45 degree angle when I first received it. I bent it back with my hand and it was fine. This created a bigger problem though. Now that section doesn't fit into it's section of the carrying case. Seems like the manufacturer bent it just for that exact reason. There is no way to fit it without bending it back and forth everytime you use the pole which doesn't make sense. The only way to fix the problem would be to cut the material in the case so that that pole section will fit. I guess I'll have to do that if their customer service can't fix the problem. Warranty/Customer Service - they seem to have a lot of pride in their customer service. I emailed Rigged and Ready about the case problem along with a picture to explain. They returned my email within hours which was extremely impressive. They are sending me a new bottom guide section piece and hopefully this one fits into the case properly. Still, I'm not sure how it will since the section of the case is still the same size. I can update more when it arrives. Fishing - so I tried it twice already and luckily hooked up to a nice sized omilu on the second time out. I was extremely impressed on how the smuggler 7 handled the fight. There were no problems and it was totally solid. Landed my first fish on it that was about 2 lbs. Made some great sashimi for my family! The upload function wasn't working so I'll try to attach a pic of the omilu later. My verdict so far is that the Smuggler 7 is definitely worth the money as a solid travel pole. So far, the company seems legit with their no questions asked warranty and their customer service has been more than you'd expect from a fishing company. The only problem is the case right now. A travel pole should fit into it's case without customers having to modify the case from the manufacturer to make it fit. I'll cut it if I have to but I don't want to. Like the Kingswell rod review, I will add updates. That pole lasted 4 years before it snapped on the cast. I hoped the Rigged and Ready does better than that. So far I really like the feel of the Smuggler 7.

The rod looked good at first. But my line kept on breaking. I couldn’t figure out why until I inspected all the eyes. Got to find out that the top eye on one of the tips was jagged and had sharp edges. I had to discard over 100 meters of my braided line because it completely ruined the integrity of it. - Update, after hooking my first fish with this rod, it broke! This is not quality what so ever.

This is a better product than I anticipated! The rod is well made, quality materials and feels great. The reel is smooth and fast. It assembles like a dream and is as sturdy as a one-piece rod! And when broken down fits into my carry-on backpack! Highly recommended!

Just ok, and for travel only. All around feel, this set should be $40-50 price range.

This is a unique little travel spinning rod/reel combo from a British company. I just returned from a trip to Costa Rica and used it to fish from the beach. It performed superbly! A delight to handle, nimble and responsive yet powerful and I caught enough fish over 4 days to feed the family amply, including a 5lb snapper and a 6lb Jack. I spent a long time researching travel spinning rods and tried out a couple of the telescopic ones from other companies which felt a little cheap. This rod from Rigged and Ready is really well made and sturdy, and the owner of the company is very responsive to questions. A pleasure to deal with. In fact, I'm going to get the heavy weight rod too when it becomes available in the US. So, if you are looking for a travel rod, or just one to have handy in the car, I highly recommend this one.

peche brochet et aussi truite

Très bien

prisvärt

Super canne bonne qualité beau design et surtout super pratique, bonne sensibilité et sensation ( pour l’instant j’ai pris du bar et de la vieille et poisson de très bonnes tailles ) Bien la rincer après avoir pêcher en mer car les anneaux ont tendance à rouiller sinon j’en suis très content 👍

Klasse Funktionalität - gerne mal wieder