e21 Classic Gold Carrot Stix Review

Jan 6th, 2009 by Crazy BASStard

e21 Carrot Stix.

The Boyd Duckett Classic Gold Carrot Stix by e21 (element 21), is... well... bright orange. To be honest it wasn't quite as orange as I expected when I pulled it out of the box, yet still fulfilled my orange needs (I am a big fan of orange). Upon unboxing this masterpeice of worksmanship, the first aspect that tickled my senses was the featherlight weight of this rod (weighing in at just over 3.2 oz!), I could swing this thing for hours on end with little to no fatigue.

This extreme lack of weight is due to the High Modulus Graphite and Nano Bio-Fiber blank, with which these rods are constructed. Yes, this is no joke, the Bio-Fiber refers to a nano fiber derived from actual carrots. The construction is rumored to be 70% Carrot Fiber. With the light weight of this rod, comes some serious sensitivity. From feeling out the bottom with a jig, to the ever so subtle vibration of your spinner bait, you... feel... everything. There is nothing like fishing a willow-blade spinner bait and feeling it vibrate as it cuts through the water, and then the vibration stops... yes... that is a bass. Minutes after I removed the rod from the packaging I threw on an old reel that I had on my 6'6" St. Croix Triump spinning outfit. It was unbearble. Holding the Triumph again, it must have been at least twice the weight of the new rod and two inches shorter, and when screwed the reel on it was quite an awkward feeling setup with the weight of the reel. That being said, if you are in the market for a reel for your Carrot Stix, be sure to get a reel that won't weight the rod down. I am planning on going with a magnesium reel to complete this flawless combination of destruction.

e21 designed this rod for professional angler, and 2007 Bassmaster Classic winner, Boyd Duckett. Duckett secured his victory in the superbowl of bass fishing weilding the Classic Gold Carrot Stix paired with a Rat-L trap, crankbait, and a Berkley Chigger Craw. I have recently seen Skeet Reese fishing with the Carrot Stix, and rumor has it that e21 is designing a set of rods for him, which we we can expect to hit the market in the coming year.

The e21 Carrot Stix boasts a foam-like textured grip and a shiny gold end plug. The texture of the grip feels nice in your hand and provides for a solid grasp. e21 opted to not use cork for the grip for the function of less weight, as well as boosted sensitivity, since cork handles have a dampening effect on a rod. Besides looking sleek and shiny, the golden end cap of the e21 Classic Gold Carrot stix unscrews revealing a weight chamber to adjust weight of the rod.

The LTX version of the Carrot Stix is the less expensive $150.00 brother of the Classic Gold, which sports a cork end cap in place of the gold one. The main visual differentiation between the LTX and the Classic Gold is in the quality of components. The Classic Gold is built with higher quality reel seats, guides, and includes the weight slot under the butt cap, etc. There is also a third rod in the family of Carrot Stix that I have listed below called the "21 Carrot Gold Carrot Stix," which boasts a golden paint job and a cork grip, read our e21 21 Carrot Gold Stix Review. This model will run you around $199.99 for the spinning version.

If we are talking about downfalls, the carrot stix holds but one. My second thought upon holding the carrot stix in my hand was "I am going to break this!" This was due to the eyes on the pole, which are very thin and delicate and look like they are going to eventually end up slammed in my car door. This is in no way a deal breaker in my opinion, but its something to consider if you are someone who prefers a simpler, rugged rod that can take a beating. But I assume that if you are up for dropping $150.00 - $250.00 on a fishing rod you are prepared to take extreme care not to damage it.

To give a final thought, this is the best quality rod I have had the pleasure to bass with. The main selling point for me is the sensitivity, which I promise will blow your mind, and improve your bass fishing game. Just make sure to pick up a super light weight reel or you may have some weight balance issues.

I have a full carrot stix video review on the way as well as more hands on pictures of the rod, showing everything that I wrote about, so check back it should be up by the end of the week.

Price	9	The e21 Boyd Duckett Classic Gold Carrot Stix will run you about $150.00 brand new. For the price you get a solidly constructed great looking rod that will certainly land you a healthy stringer before you're ready to hang it up.
Construction	9	The e21 Boyd Duckett Classic Gold Carrot Stix is a solidly constructed, powerful rod. The only downsides that I found to this is the fact that the paint job scratches very easily and the eyes will bend under slight pressure, you will need to be very careful with these rods if you want to keep them in good condition.
Performance	9	In the field the e21 Boyd Duckett Classic Gold Carrot Stix performed amazingly. The combination of the unparalleled sensitivity and exposed blank handle make for quite the lip ripping experience, especially when finesse fishing.
Design	10	Just look at the thing! A perfect 10 by my measure, of course there are some that would call the color a little "over the top" but it fits the overall design very well and is ideal when paired with a Daiwa Sol Baitcasting Reel.
Total	9.25	Overall an incredible rod, I would not think twice before adding another to my lineup!