What a wonderful place this is, I check the postings at least once a day. I am truly a novice and have as of yet limited my self to making simple repairs ( replace guides, ferrules, cork, reel seats) to the old bamboo fly rods.

I do however wish to branch out. I am considering starting with some of the Merrick or CUI "setups" and have arranged with a local tackle shop to display some of my wares.

Have any of you worked with these products, what is the level of quality ??. I believe you get what you pay for and the CUI's seem very inexpensive.
Thank you in advance for any assistance.
John

CUI products I think are junk, but if your cliental wants cheap rods, then there you go.. I see a lot of rods sold at the Boat show but the people that I know that have bought them didnt last a year before they broke them.. As a rodbuilder I would recomend you to buy SCII ST.Croix if you want good cheap blanks that will last, or the Rainshadow blanks also.. At least there are warranties for these rods.. CUI reelseat are cheap plastic and when you take your rag dipped in denatured alchol to wipe off the glue, the reelseat streaks.. Thats my 2 cents

I agree , I bought several for my Charter boat and realised that they were not spined and the reel seat and handles were very cheap. I sent them back. Rainshadow makes a great inexspensive blank for what you want.

Gentleman,
Thanks for the input, once again it appears true that "you get what you pay for" I am thankful I could discover this here rather than begin building a reputation upon inferior components.
Thanks again
John

We have used CUI items for several years and find they are a value. Economical and the service is fast. From seats to guides and tops, everything is comparable to the other suppliers we've tried. Never had any trouble dealing with them on my orders. Too bad to see a few feel differently, bu they have been good to me.

Good luck

Greg

I have not used them, but would think that you also need to judge the value of the item by the price. I doubt the CUI parts are as good as say, Fuji, but then again they don't charge what Fuji charges.

I have tried most of the seats out there and these hold up well. They don't have the flashy Fuji name, but my guys can't tell a difference between the two. They work for me and the extra cash helps out.

Their reelseats are PLASTIC, how can you compare them FUJI?? Not even close to Fuji..Fuji reelseats are GRAPHITE.... Need I say more...