G.Loomis Conquest 842C MBR MBR842C Product Review

Rod Review

Feed Your Enthusiast Soul : Conquest 842C MBR

Date:	5/26/19
Tackle Type:	Rod
Manufacturer:	G.Loomis
Reviewer:	Cal

Total Score: 8.20 - ULTIMATE ENTHUSIAST AWARD

Introduction: Saving money and being practical with your tackle buying decisions is the responsible thing to do. Afterall, you really can catch the same fish with a $99 fishing rod as you can with an $800 one, right? Then why waste your hard earned cash on an overpriced piece of graphite? If you consider such a purchase a waste, well, then there really is no need to spend that extra coin. However, for those of us who need a little more intrigue and performance, sometimes, nothing feeds your soul as well as that enthusiast piece of tackle.

Shimano brings their Spiral-X blank technology to the table for G.Loomis's Conquest rods

It seemed like just a couple of months ago that G.Loomis invited us out for an introduction to their brand new joint venture with Shimano - the Conquest line of premium rods. Believe it or not, that was back in 2017. Admittedly, it's taken me a while, but I finally pulled the trigger on a Conquest stick curious to know how it lines up with one of my favorite sticks from that G.Loomis, the MBR842C GLX. Time to find out how the Conquest 842C MBR stacks up.

G.Loomis Conquest 842C MBR Specifications
Material	Shimano - G.Loomis Spiral-X/Hi-Power blanks
Length	7'-0"
Line Wt.	8-14lb
Lure Wt.	1/4-5/8oz
Pieces	One
Guides	11+tip (Fuji Ti/Torzite)
Rear Handle Length	10.25
Power Rating	Medium
Taper	Fast
Rod Weight	3.6oz
Origin	Made in Japan and USA
MSRP	$649.99

JDM blank technology meets USDM conservative styling

Impressions: If you haven't already read it, you should check out Zander's take on his Conquest, the 843C MBR. But where the 3-power Loomis has always been his go-to in a casting stick, for me, the magic has usually been with G.Loomis's 2-power casting rods.

What's important here is the cleanliness of the build

By comparison, the Conquest 842C MBR looks and feels a lot like the MBR842C GLX. Of course, the Conquest has that Spiral-X pattern on the first part of the blank but side by side, the Conquest 842C is actually lighter than its GLX counterpart by almost a full half ounce. It doesn't hurt that the Conquest comes with a complete suite of Fuji titanium framed Torzite guides and I like the old school, full rear grip of premium cork.

Not to mention high end components

Real World Tests: Barely able to contain my enthusiasm, I fished my Conquest 842C MBR with one of two reels - either my Abu Garcia Revo4 IKE or my Daiwa Steez A TW with a retrofit SLP Works purple spool. I fished both 12lb Seaguar Tatsu Fluorocarbon (Revo4 IKE) and Finatic's 6-Strand Pro Series Braid in 30lb (Steez) on this rod.

I wasted little time getting this combo out on the water

Casting: Early tests with this rod were conducted while fishing Megabass of America's new OneTen +2. That Abu Revo4 IKE spooled with 12lb Tatsu on the Conquest 842C MBR might just be the perfect rip bait combo. It casts the OneTen +2 as if they were all made for each other.

The Conquest 842C MBR is very crisp during the cast with very little reverberation. It's like buying a sports car with finely tuned suspension - the rod just doesn't bounce very much and handles casts around those corners with zero lean or slop.

The Conquest 842C MBR is a casting machine

Overhead casts with snap, roll casts, lobs, pitching, the Conquest 842C MBR handles these presentations all very impressively. The rod's stated lure rating is pretty accurate too. I would hesitate to throw anything much more than 5/8 oz with it regularly.

The split reel seat is by Fuji

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