Impressions and how the Conquest was born: For a lot of anglers it is the G.Loomis brand that they turned to for their first premium rod, and many can recount the stories of when they stepped up to that IMX or GLX rod, and what a difference maker those sticks were in terms of refinement and sensitivity. Just like GLX the introduction of NRX was a game changer for the brand, and took things to a whole new level with use of the latest graphite and resins to improve sensitivity.

The Shimano/G.Loomis Conquest is the first rod series that can be considered a joint collaboration between the Japan and US Shimano and G.Loomis teams

Even though there is a lot more competition in the premium rod segment then when G.Loomis was originally founded the team has continued to stay very true to what made them so popular as an American rod design and manufacturer. That brand identity is so strong that even today there are still many anglers that have no idea that G.Loomis is part of the Shimano family, which is surprising considering that G.Loomis was acquired by Shimano all the way back in 1995. Over the last 23 years Shimano has infused additional resources into the G.Loomis brand and team, enabling the company to continually refine their existing products as well as develop new lines which leverage the latest materials and rod building technologies.

The first reel we mounted on the new rod? The Conquest of course

The introduction of the Conquest Series marks the latest evolution of how the combined Shimano and G.Loomis R&D teams on the opposite side of the ocean worked together to introduce a new flagship series. The Conquest rods are really the first line that can really be described as a joint collaboration between the G.Loomis and Shimano product development teams, bringing together G. Loomis design expertise and proven rod actions with Shimano’s advanced blank technology.

The Conquest spinning rod makes use of a proprietary Shimano CI4 reel seat

G.Loomis explained to us that the rod design process was an extensive one, with teams traveling back and forth, and some of the G.Loomis rod engineers including Dave Brinkerhoff being deployed in Asia for extended periods. After the design was complete it was then decided that the manufacturing of these rods would also be an international endeavor to ensure that they would leverage the best of what each team and manufacturing site had to offer.

Today each Conquest rod starts as a blank which is rolled to exact G. Loomis specifications by Shimano in Asia incorporating its proprietary Spiral X and Hi-Power X processes. Following this initial step the blanks are then sent to the G. Loomis facility in Woodland Washington for finishing.

Here G.Loomis custom skeleton reel seats and full cork handles are installed on the casting rods, while the split grip spinning rods are outfitted with Shimano’s proprietary CI4 reel seats.

This is the first G.Loomis rod to make use of Shimano Core Blank Technologies

The guides that the team selected for the Conquest consist of Fuji Torzite except for the tip guide where a SIC Titanium guide completes the set. In total the Conquest series is comprised of eight casting rods with G. Loomis’ original ‘Mag Bass’ fast action tapers, and four ‘Spin/Jig’ fast action spinning rods.

The guides consist of Fuji Torzite and SIC Titanium on the tip top