JUST PERFECT
It’s taken over a year to get our hands on the incredibly lightweight yet powerful Daiwa Air Surf. It was certainly worth the wait…
The verdict on Daiwa’s Air Surf.
From a personal point of view, there’s always something incredibly satisfying when handling a Daiwa shore rod. The look and feel, coupled with performance, always seems to tick every box, especially the supreme build quality. Recently, I was lucky enough to get my hands on the Daiwa Air Surf rod. It’s not a new rod – in fact, it’s been around for more than a year – but this was, for one reason or another, my first opportunity to take a closer look at it.
A two-piece blank with a total length of 13ft 6in when assembled, and rated to cast loads between 4-8oz, the first and most apparent thing I noticed was just how incredibly light it is. In contrast to the protective case it comes in, which isn’t so lightweight.
Other notable features are Japanese shrink wrap on the butt section, an adjustable screw-winch reel seat and Fuji ‘K’
guides. Also, the whole blank is extremely understated, while managing to maintain a super-classy appearance. It’s one of those rods that really does catch the eye without you realising it.
There are two other models available in the Air Surf stable – another two-piece at 14ft 2in, and a three-piece, fixed-spool version that is 15ft long.
STRANGE SENSATION
On the beach, I positioned my multiplier reel low on the butt and was slightly apprehensive. Would this rod handle a powerful pendulum swing? Was a rating of 4-8oz slightly optimistic? I was soon to find out.
I opted to go straight down the middle by attaching a 6oz lead weight and went immediately into a powerful pendulum cast.
The blank is super-quick, but at the same time it soaks up a huge amount of energy even quicker. The load is fully generated within the butt section before immediately transferring at lightning pace through the tip before the eventual launch.
It’s a strange sensation to feel such a lightweight blank absorbing so much energy – there was even plenty in reserve too!
After a few more casts and steadily getting the feel of the rod, I was able to dig much deeper and push it harder. Each time the rod bent beautifully into a perfect curve before straightening skywards at the hit. It’s an absolute delight to use.
In the tripod, the carbon hybrid tip offers a slight, sweet bend in a running tide, and don’t worry about bite detection, the hordes of whiting I beached confirmed it’s excellent.
It’s a perfect outfit for most shore marks, from clean to mixed, but I would rule out taking it to an extremely rough venue
I’m glad I got around to using the Daiwa Air Surf. It is definitely coming with me this winter in my search for a cod. ■