# Mud Hole and North Fork blanks.



## pg542 (Oct 9, 2006)

The MHole e-newsletter says the new N.Fork (G Loomis) blanks are available now. At least some of the IM (intermediate modulus) blanks are and priced accordingly. Sheeeez! These are intermediate! When their high end blanks hit the market, A person just might have to take out a bankloan for a rod blank. Somebody will just have to tell me how superior these blanks are, because I'll never open my wallet to find out.:biggrin:


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## tmstamps (Jan 8, 2009)

pg542 said:


> The MHole e-newsletter says the new N.Fork (G Loomis) blanks are available now. At least some of the IM (intermediate modulus) blanks are and priced accordingly. Sheeeez! These are intermediate! When their high end blanks hit the market, A person just might have to take out a bankloan for a rod blank. Somebody will just have to tell me how superior these blanks are, because I'll never open my wallet to find out.:biggrin:


I'll second that comment!!


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## wading_fool (May 3, 2005)

yea I looked at those as well, guess the name didn't loose any of its bank value.......


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## fishin styx (Jun 30, 2009)

Where are the 7'+ models? They (NFC) are only offering a handful of the blanks most people are asking for.


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## CoastalBent (Aug 3, 2006)

fishin styx said:


> Where are the 7'+ models? They (NFC) are only offering a handful of the blanks most people are asking for.


It looks like Mudhole is only offering a handful of their 6'6" IM models for now. They do have a full offering of 7'+ rods, but you might have to wait a little to get them. I have full price lists for everything they offer, and can get them on order for you (and maybe save you some shipping costs). PM me for the price list....


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## YakMan (Dec 2, 2005)

Still sticking with Bass rods and the price is crazy.IM compared to what? Same reason I didnt buy the other Loomis blanks,just cant afford too.


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## fishin styx (Jun 30, 2009)

CoastalBent said:


> It looks like Mudhole is only offering a handful of their 6'6" IM models for now. They do have a full offering of 7'+ rods, but you might have to wait a little to get them. I have full price lists for everything they offer, and can get them on order for you (and maybe save you some shipping costs). PM me for the price list....


Thanks for the offer but I have no desire to those blanks. There are too many other manufacturers with blanks that exceed my experience with NFC or Loomis for that matter.


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## RJH (Dec 24, 2008)

What has been your experience with North Fork blanks? They only just started shipping this past week. I do not think anyone has any experience with North Fork blanks.....yet.

As far as the Loomis experience, Gary Loomis had not been actively working at G. Loomis since the mid 1990s. Those were much different times and ways of doing business than how Shimano ran these the past fifteen years.

North Fork is not building rod blanks for everybody. They chose a certain performance and price point and there will be more than enough rod builders that buy and use their product that it will not make any difference to them if many others do not. Personally I am glad to see a company that is not trying to be all things to all people. Any body can go to China and buy rod blanks to bring back here and resell. North Fork chose a niche market, is building their blanks here in America and I expect to see them do very well.


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## pg542 (Oct 9, 2006)

Pardon me...Do you have any Grey Poupon..........


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## fishin styx (Jun 30, 2009)

Alrighty then.I'm just telling what was told to me by a very reputable dealer. If Gary wants to price himself outside of the reach of the majority of fisherman that's his business. I've held one & was far from impressed.


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## Goags (May 28, 2004)

I've seen the prices, but haven't handled any blanks. While they're pricey, as a builder, I know some folks will want them(if just for the name) and they'll be marked up accordingly. The prices I saw were pretty comparable to Loomis IMX and GLX blank prices. I'm not planning on a personal rod at this point.
Jerry


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## E. Harry (May 8, 2008)

It seems to me that it is a pretty small piece of the market that will pay $159 to $212 dollars for a blank made of intermediate modulus graphite when other manufacturers are selling equivalent blanks for 20% to 25% of that.


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## mlv (Oct 12, 2007)

*I'll just stick to my favorites...St.Croix's...Lamiglas...BenchMarks' and Rainshadows !!...*





*ML..:texasflag:texasflag*


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## Mg50 (Feb 9, 2009)

Like many have said before an IM around the $200.00 mark is appealing to a niche market for sure. The guy that got me started in rod building will not build anything but the old Loomis IM6 blanks. Im sure he would look at the NF's. But when compared to others in that range I see a lot of blanks that look like that would outperform the NF on paper Lighter, higher modules, and smaller dia. Just my thoughts.


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## North Fork (Oct 13, 2009)

I looked for a policy on how manufacturers may post and didn't see one. So, I apologize if I break a rule here.

We recognize that a North Fork blank isn't for everyone. It's an American made blank by the guy that brought graphite to fishing. We'd love for you to try a NFC blank. But if having an American-made top-of-the-line product is not in the cards, there are a number of importers out there bringing in decent blanks at a cheaper price point. There is just no way that we can even try and compete at that lower price point and be here long enough to give the custom rod maker a great blank. 

The MSRPs are within plus or minus 10 percent of the nearest comparable G.Loomis blank. The IM is comparable to the IMX, and the HM is comparable to the GLX of old (before G.Loomis quit using the PCS and went back to glass scrim).

Thanks for the opportunity to post here. Please let me know if my content is inappropriate and I will amend as required.

Jon Bial, gm
North Fork Composites LLC
360.225.221


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## E. Harry (May 8, 2008)

Is Loomis using glass scrim in both the IMX and GLX blanks/rods?


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## fishin styx (Jun 30, 2009)

Jon, 
Just for the sake of discussion, how extensive were this blanks tested in a salt water enviroment? Were they made available to distributors for their own testing and evaluation or just put out to market?


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## Robertrinaustin (Oct 11, 2009)

E. Harry said:


> Is Loomis using glass scrim in both the IMX and GLX blanks/rods?


They've both been glass for a while. I think they changed back in 02, but I don't remember for sure. Maybe someone with more inside knowledge can give a specific date. Needless to say, Loomis didn't make a public announcement about the change.

While the blanks are expensive and I'll only build a few, they have their place. I still have guys that insist on Loomis blanks and now I have an option with the new NFC blanks, an option better than the original.

Now if we can get NFC to produce a blank similar to the BCR893 Senko rod. I could sell 20 of those in a week.


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## fishin styx (Jun 30, 2009)

Has anyone heard about Gary's "approved builders" registery?


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## deke (Oct 5, 2004)

Loomis IMX line is great, super sensitive, light and durable.


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## fishin styx (Jun 30, 2009)

deke said:


> Loomis IMX line is great, super sensitive, light and durable.


If you liked those, you might want to check out the MHX line of blanks from Mudhole.


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