Megabass Evoluzion C40 F4.5-610ti Elseil Casting Rod Product Review

Enthusiast Review

Megabass's Wibbly Wobbly, Timey Whimey, Bassy Wassy, Sonic Fishing Stick (continued)

Sensitivity: The reason manufacturers seek to infuse titanium into their graphite blanks is to enhance sensitivity. In the past, Megabass executed this infusion process in several different ways, vertical fibers running the length of blank (Fti), a DNA wrap of titanium around the blank (Dti) and more (Gti, RSDti). There is no real explanation of the current infusion process nor are there any visual clues as to the presence of these fibers on the exterior of the blank other than a stick that announces "C40 Hybrid Titanium".

The inside surface seems more flat too rather than rounded.

Similar to Evoluzion rods we've fished in the past, while the rods have good sensitivity, there is no discernible difference - at least to my hands - of unusually enhanced feel due to the presence of metal fibers in the blank. It's certainly a nice thought, but I remain a skeptic of the real world benefit this technology provides.

Like the original we reviewed back in 2006, the new Eseil Evoluzion makes a wonderful spinnerbait stick.

Power: Looking at the F4.5-610ti's RoD Deflection chart below, we can see visual evidence as to how this stick is now a true medium heavy powered rod as it aligns almost perfectly with our baseline MBR843C GLX. This stick's taper is more moderate than that of the MBR843, but the overall power curve is definitely more powerful than the previous generation F4 powered Elseil.

Fig 1 : The chart above illustrates the deflection characteristics of our Megabass F4.5-610ti Elseil Evoluzion C40 against or Search for One baseline sticks.

Unfortunately, out on the water, I was unable to hook into anything to really put this rod's power curve to the test, but sometimes that's how it goes when trying to evaluate tackle. We did get into some good smallmouth bass action on Lake Berryessa, but no fish of significant size.

Performance Ratings for Megabass F4.5-610ti Elseil Evoluzion C40
Pitch (1-5)	Cast (1-5)	Sensitivity (1-5)	Hook Set (1-5)	Control (1-5)	Total	Possible	Rating (= Tot/Pos * 10)
4	5	4	4	5	22	25	8.8

One of the few standard features on this stick is a painted Fuji ECS reel seat.

Features: Evaluated against our standard matrix of features, the Elseil Evoluzion C40 does just ok. It scores well for grip material, guides, and reel seat, but there is no hook keeper on this rod, and the supplied rod sleeve is good for long term storage of the rod, but a bit bulky for use in your rod locker when you have a stack of other rods in there as well.

Grips are made of EVA, but look at how Megabass caps the grip...

The big deal with this stick, other than the mysterious titanium fiber and high grade graphite infused blank, is of course the use of the brand new Fuji Torzite guides marketed as an even harder, more durable, and lighter overall solution than their coveted titanium framed SiCs. Looking at the guides, you can see the inserts themselves are more thin which in and of itself probably counts for a lot of the weight savings on the guideset because there's less material.

Features Ratings for Megabass F4.5-610ti Elseil Evoluzion C40
Grip (1-5)	Guides (1-5)	Reel Seat (1-5)	Hook Keeper (1-5)	Rod Sleeve (1-5)	Total	Possible	Rating (= Tot/Pos * 10)
4	5	4	1	3	17	25	6.8

They're not using just a plain ole winding check, they're using a decorative, machined part to provide a detail more than half who pick up this rod will likely miss.

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