Kyle spoke it.

Not trying to sway your 1161 purchase in the least Thrasher, hell I'm planning on fishing one of the new 1165's in the near future but... Regarding RS (or any other reputable manufacturer for that matter) being inferior to Loomis... "Dream happening". Without a doubt Gary Loomis' works in his early "pioneering" years were way ahead of their time. However in more recent times, or the Shimano era, "Fear No Fish" workmanship and materials leave much to be desired. (At least where 300 plus dollars are involved.)
I have personally built 100's and purchased probably close to 100 factory built rods over the years and to this day the only rods which I have broken on repeat occasion, legitimately fighting fish not operator error, were factory assembled Loomis models.

A great warranty is only such to an angler that has plenty of back-up rods to get them by while their IMX is back in Woodland being "evaluated"...

In concluding this board member inspired mini-flame, I say buy the new Steelhead Series model and give us the facts on it's performance.