St. Croix Rods Bass X BassX BXC71MHF Casting Rod Product Review

Rod Review

St. Croix Delivers Value in our Search for One with the BXC71MHF

Date:	11/15/17
Tackle Type:	Rod
Manufacturer:	St. Croix
Reviewer:	Cal

Total Score: 8.00 - BEST VALUE AWARD

Introduction: There is no more reputable a rod manufacturer than St. Croix Rods out of Park Falls, Wisconsin. The fact that the company rolls their own blanks and builds the majority of their own rods at their headquarters in Park Falls makes them all the more special. But manufacturing rods entirely within the States generally translates to higher costs for consumers so in order to offer more competitively priced rods, St. Croix opened their own factory in Mexico. This is where their Mojo rods are built and just recently, the company introduced another set of rods priced even more competitively than Mojo. Today, we take a closer look at one of these rods. Introducing St. Croix Rods's Bass X BXC71MHF.

St. Croix BassX BXC71MHF Specifications
Material	SCII Graphite
Length	7'-1"
Line Wt.	12-20lb
Lure Wt.	3/8-1oz
Pieces	One
Guides	7+tip (black frames w/ aluminum oxide inserts)
Rear Handle Length	10.25
Power Rating	Medium Heavy
Taper	Fast
Rod Weight	4.9oz
Origin	Made in Mexico
MSRP	$100

Introducing St. Croix's BXC71MHF.

Impressions: St Croix's Bass X BXC71MHF is a seven foot, one inch stick made from the company's SCII graphite. It features a split rear grip made of cork and a very minimal foregrip made of EVA foam. In fact, it's so minimal, this foregrip can be considered simply a decorative way to cap off the reel seat.

The BXC71MHF features a split rear grip made of cork.

The rod's guides are made with aluminum-oxide inserts and stainless steel frames and the reel seat is Fuji's ECS seat. The blank is sanded and unfinished except for the lower third where the blank is covered in a gloss coat to protect the blank.

The rod's blank is sanded, and unfinished.

Real World Tests: I matched the BXC71MHF with a brand new, Quantum Smoke S3 casting reel spooled with ten pound, Sunline Super Natural nylon monofilament. The PT Tour S3 is newly re-imaged from Quantum and I was excited to get it out on the water matched with this stick.

A small, EVA foam trip piece caps off the handle assembly.

Casting: St. Croix's power ratings are typically a bit more stout than similarly rated sticks from other brands hence the 3/8oz to 1oz lure rating for a "medium heavy" powered stick in the BXC71MHF. Matched with the Quantum Smoke S3, this stick handled baits within that range quite easily both casting and pitching. In fact, the BXC71MHF is capable of handling baits above its rated range quite well too.

Not much detailing at the ends of the cork grip pieces, but we also didn't expect any at this price point.

On one trip, I needed a stick to test Megabass of America's new Vatalion L.O.U.S., and the BXC71MHF just happened to be available. I was a bit concerned only having 10lb test line spooled onto the PT Tour S3, but I picked up the combo anyway, tied the bait on, tossed it out and was quite pleased at how well the combo handled that bait. In fact, the rod and reel were so capable, the only thing that really concerned me was the fact I only had 10lb test line spooled onto the reel. But frequent checks to my line and knot, followed by frequent reties kind of alleviated those concerns.

The rod's butt end is capped off with a bit of EVA foam as well.

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