Like everyone has said before if you want a quality rod for a decent price building your own is a great way to go. I build my own because I can get exactlly what I want on them and not have to pay an arm and a leg. another Great site is RodBuilding.org Great info on techs and lots of links to supplies and more info. Have to warn you though it can be addicting, you get such great prices you end up with a lot of new rods Right now the best blanks for a real good price are Rainshadow's in my opinion. I used to only use Loomis but hard to beat the Rainshadow price. Good luck