Sometimes it really gets down to everything about the rod and the reel. As for comparison a good reel will enhance the feel of the rod as the same as the good rod will allow the reel to really perform.
Hands down Dave Genz had always offered some really niche rods from historical perspective. If anyone remembers that super short sight bite fishing rod or the Dave Genz Gold rods. The Clam Ice Team Carbon rods are really good valued rods but overlooked as since Clam doesn't really market forward them. They prefer to market something of the Scepter rods and others.
The normal St. Croix basic line ups are only average ice rods, but the one thing that makes them shine is the line guide choices and the position of those line guides. While the line guides may be larger than most ice rods, it reduces the pulsation effect when reeling in with a spinning reel. That's where St. Croix got their ML power just right and hasn't changed it forever except the price from less than $20 to about $50 in retail. But I have to admit that this years cosmetics change in their Mojo Ice rods are a sleek black and unpainted rods do look nice. The best thing that St. Croix has generally done is keeping rods with the same length but in different power setting. Keeps things very familiar.
Fenwick has also been a very good player in probably offering one of the best reel seated ice rods out there. Back when they introduced their Elite Tech in the brown blanks they were cats meow as they offered a readily made series that was spread out across the board for a majority of fish species. I would say that their medium and medium light powered rods were on mark. This year's revamped changes to the Elite Tech line up is the best I've seen by far. They essentially made two complete line up to their Elite Tech series one for the finesse and one for the power presentation. Reel seats for power presentation is right on mark.
13 Fishing has always been the most innovative company even from their initial value open water rods. I feel that 13 has the best finesse type of rods out there from even their valued Wicked ice rods series to their Widow Maker. One of the best innovation is their Evolved reel seats that are minimal and have been great. Their rods in terms of power and performance is all over the place. You can't expect ML power to measure in ML at times. That's just something one has to feel for each model.
Abu Garcia makes wonderful rods that get's overlooked. The line guides are a bit hefty but that's all about it. Okuma introduced a nice series of rods. They are like replicas of St. Croix's Mojo ice rods but with a slight improvement and slight variances in actual rod power. To get a softer rod flex in a M power Okuma may be more preferable over that of the very stiff M power in St. Croix. For all value purpose, Shakespeare has always hit the target. Nothing special but just value and performance. No one cries when they step on a Shakespeare ice rods and breaks it nor if it goes for a drink.
JM Meatstick rod changed the ice fishing scene although the original concept was from Thorne Bros. Yeah now lots of choice for the soft tip into a powered backbone. That's where the number 8 Snitch is such a good value rod. Well it's gone back to parent 13 Fishing. Still always gotta give honorable mention to the HT Ice blue noodles. Same to Beaver Dam glass noodle too.
High priced rods...well there were plenty of discussions into that in other threads. Everyone has their bias...for or against. Let the field test results speak for itself.
