BRILLIANCE ON A BUDGET
14.5M DAIWA MATCHMAN POWER POLE RRP: £750 (SRP: £625)
Tony Grigorjevs runs the rule over a brand-new product that promises to provide extraordinary value for money for commercial fishery fans
New Gear Revealed, On The Bank Tests & Expert Advice
IT’S FAIR to say that competition among the biggest manufacturers in angling is pretty robust.
They’re all constantly on the look-out for ways to gain an edge over their closest rivals, and that’s something that we as anglers should be rubbing our hands about, as it has multiple benefits.
Firstly, the quality of tackle is constantly improving, with the technology used to create rods, poles, reels and just about every other essential item that you can think of being enhanced year-on-year.
Incredibly though, as those improvements filter through, prices are remaining reasonably stable. Look back a decade ago and a rod costing £30-£40 would hardly have set the world alight. But nowadays, all the big manufacturers still produce rods in that price bracket, or very close to it, and they’re often so good that even some of the companies’ own sponsored anglers are choosing to use them when taking part in big-money match finals.
The same can be said of poles. Something costing £400 back along would have included the basics of two or three top kits, along with the pole itself. As soon as one manufacturer sets the tone, the rest are often forced to follow in the same direction, or risk losing loyal customers. That can only be good news for anglers, providing us all with a lot more value for our hard-earned money.
Daiwa are one of the highly innovative brands that have helped set this trend, with their Matchman range being the perfect example of kit that does a sterling job without breaking the bank.
I’ve been fortunate enough to sample a couple of the rods from the range over the last couple of years and I couldn’t have been more impressed.
But enough about those, because the Matchman range just got even bigger with the launch of several new poles under the same banner.
Once again, the focus is on keeping prices low while providing something with more than a smidgen of wow factor.
The range comprises 7m and 9m margin poles, as well as 13m and 14.5m power poles, and it was the latter that I decided to have a dabble with. So, the holdall was quickly packed into the car before I headed off to a local commercial to put it through its paces.
Impressive package
As I briefly touched on ear
