Author Topic: G. Loomis IMX-PRO Ice Rods  (Read 8207 times)

Offline bwjay

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G. Loomis IMX-PRO Ice Rods
« on: Nov 06, 2020, 10:10 AM »
Despite the insane price for an ice rod, I had a small discount at ALF and decided to get the 331XF. I wanted to see if there was anything to differentiate these rods from other premium ice rods. I sure hope so because at $200, they should have mindblowing cork, guides, and actions, with no aesthetic defects in any unit shipped to a customer.

I am sorry to report that the 331XF I received today has something like excess epoxy stuck to the blank near the IMX-PRO logo. I thought it looked like sticker residue (no sticker there though) and I tried to rub it off with my thumb, which didn't work. I also can't scratch it off with my fingernail, and I won't be using anything harder to try scratching it off. The blank should not have any junk left on it and this just screams laziness to me. I wouldn't be surprised to see this on a $50 rod, but $200? Unacceptable.

The cork is alright. It's pretty uniform and smooth, but has some dark splotches and whatnot (look like water stains) that I've seen in my $100 open water rods. Again, for a $200 ice rod, I feel like it should be amazing.

I will be contacting ALF to return this rod because I cannot be satisfied at this price point. Realistically I knew it's not made of magic and there's only so much you can do to make a rod worth this price tag, but Loomis has failed to do so. My TUCR rods (custom and off the shelf) are higher quality than this, and cost a little more than half the price.

Anyone else get one of these new rods yet? Would like to hear your thoughts.






Offline hnd

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Re: G. Loomis IMX-PRO Ice Rods
« Reply #1 on: Nov 06, 2020, 10:25 AM »
yeah i held one at dicks and giggled.   There is no way in hell people are going to pay $200 for that. 

Offline Rebelss

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Re: G. Loomis IMX-PRO Ice Rods
« Reply #2 on: Nov 06, 2020, 10:33 AM »
yeah i held one at dicks and giggled.   There is no way in hell people are going to pay $200 for that.

Sure as heck not me. My older $60 St Croix's are my spendiest and work just fine for me.  But it's whatever works for ya. :)
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Offline TickleStick

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Re: G. Loomis IMX-PRO Ice Rods
« Reply #3 on: Nov 06, 2020, 11:24 AM »
I got two of them and they are perfect, my IMX rods are built as good as TUCR and that's a good thing.

I would send it back for a exchange or a refund if you don't like the rod.



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Online eiderz

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Re: G. Loomis IMX-PRO Ice Rods
« Reply #4 on: Nov 06, 2020, 12:02 PM »
Sorry to hear the rod quality wasn't there bwjay. Hope you can get a refund/exchange. The positive part for me is that now I'm not tempted to buy one. I average one wrecked rod every couple weekends, so a $200 ice rod would likely have a broken tip in one trip. Yeah, I'm rough on rods but that would really bum me.

Offline Sylvanboat

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Re: G. Loomis IMX-PRO Ice Rods
« Reply #5 on: Nov 06, 2020, 12:50 PM »
 I own my own firm. Nobody calls to tell me we do a great job but they are always quick to complain. See how they respond.  Sh_t happens. Give them a chance to make things right.

Offline bwjay

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Re: G. Loomis IMX-PRO Ice Rods
« Reply #6 on: Nov 06, 2020, 12:59 PM »
I own my own firm. Nobody calls to tell me we do a great job but they are always quick to complain. See how they respond.  Sh_t happens. Give them a chance to make things right.

ALF was quick to respond and very understanding and helpful. They agreed it looked like a defect and were willing to swap it out without question. The problem is Loomis. I've heard about quality issues on all of their rods and ESPECIALLY with their NRX. I was hoping I wouldn't have to deal with that on an ice rod, like maybe it would be a different shop that makes them.

After seeing the rod and its action in person, I'm just not interested anymore at this price point, even if the construction was flawless. It is a nice rod for sure but not nice enough to compete with other offerings that cost half as much (or a bit more).

Offline TickleStick

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Re: G. Loomis IMX-PRO Ice Rods
« Reply #7 on: Nov 06, 2020, 02:01 PM »
ALF was quick to respond and very understanding and helpful. They agreed it looked like a defect and were willing to swap it out without question. The problem is Loomis. I've heard about quality issues on all of their rods and ESPECIALLY with their NRX. I was hoping I wouldn't have to deal with that on an ice rod, like maybe it would be a different shop that makes them.

After seeing the rod and its action in person, I'm just not interested anymore at this price point, even if the construction was flawless. It is a nice rod for sure but not nice enough to compete with other offerings that cost half as much (or a bit more).

I heard of the NRX problems a bit when they first came out, I have 5 NRX rods and they are all good, maybe I'm just lucky :)
I'm also the opposite, I love the action of the 331XF, its tubular carbon IMX so I would think it will be a very sensitive rod, I like the IMX ice rods a lot more
then the St Croix CCI line of rods.

But I do understand.
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Offline defish

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Re: G. Loomis IMX-PRO Ice Rods
« Reply #8 on: Nov 06, 2020, 05:02 PM »
I agree that $200 is a lot of money for an ice rod, but it's an ice rod, not a sculpture.  I would overlook minor cosmetic flaws that have nothing to do with performance or reliability.....  My priority would be how the rod performs to justify this price.  If you feel that strongly about aesthetics these "flaws" will always bother you, so yes, send the rod back.

Offline bwjay

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Re: G. Loomis IMX-PRO Ice Rods
« Reply #9 on: Nov 06, 2020, 05:24 PM »
I agree that $200 is a lot of money for an ice rod, but it's an ice rod, not a sculpture.  I would overlook minor cosmetic flaws that have nothing to do with performance or reliability.....  My priority would be how the rod performs to justify this price.  If you feel that strongly about aesthetics these "flaws" will always bother you, so yes, send the rod back.

When competitors are offering rods that likely perform the same, for 50-65% of the price, that extra money is for premium polish. It essentially is priced like a work of art, for what it is.

Offline jwetovick

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Re: G. Loomis IMX-PRO Ice Rods
« Reply #10 on: Nov 06, 2020, 09:18 PM »
200 for an ice rod is insane for something that is not custom built with your choice of colors, blank, handle, etc' etc. no thanks

Offline TickleStick

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Re: G. Loomis IMX-PRO Ice Rods
« Reply #11 on: Nov 06, 2020, 10:49 PM »
200 for an ice rod is insane for something that is not custom built with your choice of colors, blank, handle, etc' etc. no thanks

It is a bit expensive, but so is boots, shelters, bibs and lets not forget panoptix...
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Offline slipperybob

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Re: G. Loomis IMX-PRO Ice Rods
« Reply #12 on: Nov 07, 2020, 02:57 AM »
What I really want to see is how the rod will feel and perform with a full reel seat on.
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Offline veedo

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Re: G. Loomis IMX-PRO Ice Rods
« Reply #13 on: Nov 07, 2020, 06:21 AM »
Yup, got the same rod with the same glue stick to the blank.  I thought the same damn thing, not happening on a $200 rod.  I emailed loomis two days ago with no response.  I'll see what they say.  It sure is a nice rod though.

Offline missoulafish

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Re: G. Loomis IMX-PRO Ice Rods
« Reply #14 on: Nov 07, 2020, 08:23 AM »
Agree, for 200 bones that rod should be pristine.

Offline Ramp 23

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Re: G. Loomis IMX-PRO Ice Rods
« Reply #15 on: Nov 07, 2020, 11:06 AM »
$200 for an ice rod - lol that’s funny

Offline mushroom_capd_1

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Re: G. Loomis IMX-PRO Ice Rods
« Reply #16 on: Nov 07, 2020, 11:37 AM »
200 for an ice rod is insane for something that is not custom built with your choice of colors, blank, handle, etc' etc. no thanks
And I barely coughed up enough for a custom,! But if there is a market for a high priced production ice rod, they will be produced and people will buy it just to say they have the best that is made.

Offline skifisher

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Re: G. Loomis IMX-PRO Ice Rods
« Reply #17 on: Nov 07, 2020, 01:58 PM »
And I barely coughed up enough for a custom,! But if there is a market for a high priced production ice rod, they will be produced and people will buy it just to say they have the best that is made.

Seems to be a bit of that going on this year. I’m more impressed by guys catching fish on cheaper rigs! 😜
"Ice fishing...ah, the anticipation! 🎣”

Offline Krazykaiser

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Re: G. Loomis IMX-PRO Ice Rods
« Reply #18 on: Nov 07, 2020, 02:15 PM »
I own several custom rods in the 100 buck range from Tucr , Dh and Jt . What makes this one @200 bucks feature wise? I’m not poo pooing the rod , I’m just curious of the advantages of a GL rod at a 200 bucks price point .

Offline tswoboda

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Re: G. Loomis IMX-PRO Ice Rods
« Reply #19 on: Nov 08, 2020, 08:36 PM »
I own several custom rods in the 100 buck range from Tucr , Dh and Jt . What makes this one @200 bucks feature wise? I’m not poo pooing the rod , I’m just curious of the advantages of a GL rod at a 200 bucks price point .
For the 7 fast action models, the blank is tubular and that is a big upgrade over the others mentioned. For the 5 extra fast there's no real difference than the others that I'm aware of.

Offline slipperybob

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Re: G. Loomis IMX-PRO Ice Rods
« Reply #20 on: Nov 08, 2020, 09:37 PM »
This tread just went to the sentiment of waiting for ice.  ;D

Someone will use a nickel cost hook and the next guy will use the $4 cost hook and both will still hook a fish...but we all know there's a performance merit that differentiates between the two.
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Offline matzilla

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Re: G. Loomis IMX-PRO Ice Rods
« Reply #21 on: Nov 09, 2020, 08:22 AM »
For the 7 fast action models, the blank is tubular and that is a big upgrade over the others mentioned. For the 5 extra fast there's no real difference than the others that I'm aware of.

tubular blanks are not an upgrade...

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Offline jwetovick

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Re: G. Loomis IMX-PRO Ice Rods
« Reply #22 on: Nov 09, 2020, 09:04 AM »
Curious why they put like a 9in handle on $200 rod? Guess they want to be different. Fair enough. Just don't see that very often and maybe I'm missing the advantage of that?

Offline slipperybob

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Re: G. Loomis IMX-PRO Ice Rods
« Reply #23 on: Nov 09, 2020, 12:13 PM »
Curious why they put like a 9in handle on $200 rod? Guess they want to be different. Fair enough. Just don't see that very often and maybe I'm missing the advantage of that?

The way I see it is that a 9 inch handle fulfills the traditional full handle length.
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Offline tswoboda

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Re: G. Loomis IMX-PRO Ice Rods
« Reply #24 on: Nov 09, 2020, 03:57 PM »
tubular blanks are not an upgrade...
The open water rod market - where fishing companies actually manufacture blanks - sure seems to disagree with that sentiment.

And now we have three of the best blank manufacturers (Croix, Loomis, and NFC) FINALLY offering tubular ice rod blanks.

Offline TickleStick

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Re: G. Loomis IMX-PRO Ice Rods
« Reply #25 on: Nov 09, 2020, 04:54 PM »
The other differences is the blank, IMX is a higher end graphite then most use.

The handle length on my 331xf is 7 inches.
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Offline defish

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Re: G. Loomis IMX-PRO Ice Rods
« Reply #26 on: Nov 09, 2020, 06:28 PM »
The open water rod market - where fishing companies actually manufacture blanks - sure seems to disagree with that sentiment.

And now we have three of the best blank manufacturers (Croix, Loomis, and NFC) FINALLY offering tubular ice rod blanks.

When solid glass and carbon blanks became available for ice rod builders, they didn't just move toward solid blanks they RAN!!!!!!  The reason being that solid blanks offer comparable or better performance, and are FAR more durable than tubular blanks for ice fishing.

Offline DrummerManDrew

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Re: G. Loomis IMX-PRO Ice Rods
« Reply #27 on: Nov 09, 2020, 07:48 PM »
I agree with Defish. I run a variety of rods from Croix to Abu. I haven’t really been interested in G Loomis for ice stuff as they are predominately a fly guys builder. Again with Defish said, tubular blank for ice fishing just don’t  pan out. 13 fishing came out with That pickle rod with the ghost inline. I looked at this in the store the other day and noticed the rods themselves are round at the base and taper to a flat blank on the end. I played with it for a moment and seems interesting. I would probably be more interested in throwing cash this direction than a Loomis rod currently


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Offline WalleyeWyatt

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Re: G. Loomis IMX-PRO Ice Rods
« Reply #28 on: Nov 09, 2020, 11:05 PM »
Felt a 351F at the Eden Prairie Scheels today and I was extremely unimpressed. Loved the blank, but aside from it the epoxy work was sloppy, thread tag ends were cut poorly and guide wraps had thread gaps galore. Looked more like a $50 rod to me. Light, but thats to be expected from a brittle tubular blank. I think it's a better idea to invest in local rod builders. Much more craftsmanship and attention to detail will be seen!

Offline TickleStick

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Re: G. Loomis IMX-PRO Ice Rods
« Reply #29 on: Nov 09, 2020, 11:51 PM »
Man, you guys are rough LOL.

I went over mine with a magnifying glass and my wraps are perfect, no spaces, no thread tag ends, excellent epoxy and perfectly lined guides.

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