I thought I would start a new thread for MY opinion of these rods, just so I don't clutter up the other thread.

I was only able to get my hands on a 6'6" and a 7'2" ( I believe ) 1-3 kg sticks.
To sum it up with few words " sensational rods " to be more specific.

The first look at the rods and you think yeah not a bad looking little rod
then you get to feel it in your hands and the heart starts to beat a little quicker,
you check out the finish and quality of equipement and get another surprise
for a VIVA product ( which I must confess I am not a great lover of ) the quality
surpasses their usual standard.
However the top guide on the 7' er was rough around the edges which could cause
problems if you got line wrap around the top eye, this is most unusual for a fuji
product and I put this down to a one off cause when I returned the rods I checked
out several of the other rods and they were all smooth, so just check that top eye
if you intend to purchase one of these rods.
Then came time to put a reel on them, once again super smooth reel seat which hugged the foot
of my Daiwa Capricorn 1500 like they belonged together.
I have 6lb fireline on the reel and under load at 1 kg the tip of the rod to about 1/3 of the way
down the rod was taking the majority of the load, at 3 kg the whole rod came into action and
you could feel the power transfer throughout the entire rod, right down to the reel seat.
This is what ( in my opinion ) a good rod should do, it felt like I could put much more
then the 3kg tention on the rod without a worry and I feel I could use this rod for much
heavier work then it is intended for, for instance I feel I could upsize the reel to as much as a 4000
and 12 lb line and I would feel confident in fishing up to around 35 metres of water for kilo + Snapper.
Casting small plugs with the 6' 6" rod was a sheer delight and I was side winding and arrow casting
with the same confidence as with my StCrox Bass rods.
One thing to watch out for is the eyes are small toward the tip of the rod and any leader over about 8lb
could have problems casting through the eyes, I use a special (Fly Tying knot ) which is not at all bulky
and I could feel the knott hitting the guides on casts, uni knots etc might catch the eyes.
In summing up, Would I buy one of these rods, sure would, IF I was in the market for another
lightweight rod and could afford the rather expensive price tag.
Don't get me wrong on the price the rod is worth the dollars, but for a VIVA or even a Browning they are
a bit more then expected for the name sake. I do believe Viva are starting to improve their
overall quality but don't think they should be pricing their gear to equal the top shelf guys just yet.
So if you guys are in the market for a top quality well built light spin rod and don't mind paying top dollar
for your toys then I would highly reccommend having a close look at one of these LOX rods.
I can't wait till I can get my paws on one of those 6-10 kilo rods.

Great post Frank...

I think I'm right in saying that the first range of viva gear were suited to a budget. Using blanks the equivalent of the people they want to compete against in a different market. Then adding quality running gear. The consumer is saving a lot of $$$ compared to the big (names) brands.

Toyota brought out the Lexus to compete in the next market. Lexus is massive now.
People in general follow brand names instead of looking at the substance of the product. It makes sense to change the name... It will bring a new audience to the cash register.

Your description of how the rod loads up Frank, is exactly how i felt when i had a play with one.

I'll be getting a couple soon...

Wait till ewe use wun on a fishy Frank that's when ewe'll really love them

just the way they feel in your hand the lightness, sensitivity & wot I think most important esp to the novice fisho they are a wee bit forgiving but still posses the lifting power to put hurt on the fish alot of rods dont do that.

Either soft/forgiving or stiff like a broom handle

The only fault I found with them like so many of the spin rods on the market today is the stupidly small 5 or so guides up near the tip but that's my taste & I know wot I want in a rod.

If ewe liked the 1 -3 kg stick ewe'll love the 3 - 6 kg & the 6 - 10 kg sticks I'm itching to give my 6 - 10 stick a workout on some fish's

A bit more of a rundon on these rods in the purchase price ewe also get a canvass covered hard bodied carry bag & if ever ewe break the rod the tip portion can be replace for a cost of $50.

I also got some other goodies to try out including this sensational Jig/popping rod but I wont get into it till after I've used it I honestly fell in love with it & sum may recall a few months back I said no more rod building for me not with gear like this coming out of the factory.




OK let me clear up a few things about Viva products & this is fact not bullashitter passed on as 2nd/3rd hand info

Viva Aust got off to a bad start when they 1st opened for buisness here in Aust, owners aren't fishermen but after a few trips out with myself & others they're quite passionate about the sport now & can finally understand wot I was trying to tell them back when I 1st met them.

Back then 70% of their gear was utter rubbish not the case these days esp with Stores like Complete Angler,Tackle World ect etc etc putting in their 2 bobs worth into the products they want to sell in their stores.

Untill about 5 months ago all the Viva Factory built was reels now they're also building rods in house & to start off the rod building side of things Viva poached 300 rod builders from Shimano that's a true fact by the way not wun of my jokes.

State of the art factory only finished last year on 100,000 sq meters whole caboodle swimming pools, tennis courts etc etc the comlex even has apartments for guests sum ting like 5,000 employees Viva is the Biggest Manufacturer of Rods & Reels Worldwide.

Was supposed to have gone over last year but I wasn't well so opted out will be going this year in Feb, could've gone on the 7th Jan but my passport has expired so I have to renew it

As far as the Viva reels go ?? again ewe have to know which models to pick if ewe want the good wuns cause alot a utter rubbish combo type reels no different to any of the other brands.

I know of 3 peeps from this site who picked up bargain CD model & I mean Bargain they are a supurb reel but the stores wont buy them simply because the Viva sticker is on them same would've hapenned with the LOX rods.

Change the name & sales are booming same will happen to the new range of Viva reels they'll have a new name.

Now that my Goat Building days are over it'll be back to fushing once again & as new products arrive I'll start doing reviews on them next review will be in a few days after I go squiding new range of jigs have come in & these jigs are quality looking 4ward to using them not to mention a GooDarus feed of wittle Squidies

great report frank ! i might get one of the 1-3kg sticks and match it up to a little shimano 1000 slade with 6lb mono

getting a 4000D shimano baitrunner with 15lb braid so might put it on one of them LOX 6-10kg rods when they come out next year

I dont care if my "VIVA" CD has it written on it or not... Just feel it in your hand and you know... Slightly heavier than what im used to, as its my first metal body reel, but smooth as and it looks like its got the guts to hold up...

Will tell ya more bout it in a few years...

As for the rods, Ive got a collection of the RAP style rods from last year, and even though they aint the new Lox rods they are still an absolute delight to use compared to the silstars and ugly stiks i was using,, There really is no comparability!!

I did get to load up one of these new lux rods myself and they too look awesome! Viva have definatly done a good job on the new gear...

Jump's, if you can let us know what gear is viva's and what its been sold as when it comes out?

These are spin rods Danial Sun, Butts prob a wee bit short for them to sit comfortably in rod holders.

That's sum ting I've been argueing about for a ewe luv me long time & it gets back to wot Spud posted



Blanks themselves are very good all my bait rods are RAP blanks which I built up, but the factory rods ???

Well a bit to be desired [not made by Viva] every wun was labelled Spin Rod which I thought quite stupid when ewe consider only a very small % of anglers actually lure cast.

Not wun rod could be used as a bait rod cause they all had wittle 6" butts, also I dont like those cheap Chi Nee guides @ all



Yeah I'll be seeing alot more of the boys now that the goats are finished & I'm fushing again, seems every time I go to see them there's more new toys to play around with.

ps] not that it's needed but I re-made the drag on a couple of my CD's the 7500 & wun of the 3000's they want to send my 7500 back to china to dupicate the drag system but like I told them tis not comercially viable as I pull drag apart 2 - 3 times grease each time to bed the washers in but if done properly there's not much better it even rivals the drag on my 20000 stella