Raven IM8 review

[emirribolov]

You won't go wrong with it. This is my third season with mine, I only really use it now for salmon. It's a powerful stick, I doubt I'd ever sell it.

Thanks CJR going out today to get it. So excited Waiting for store to open

 

[fishermandan420]

Mine blew up first fish. Gunna cost me a bill for replacement. Not happy!

 

[emirribolov]

Mine blew up first fish. Gunna cost me a bill for replacement. Not happy!

You should 1 year warranty + extended lifetime warranty. Was that used or new rod?

 

[emirribolov]

Just brought baby home all set up for tomorrows first time cast IM8
Had RV9 in my hand did not fit right. I know you guys going to say it is better rod but f... it it is not my first or last.

 

[Klik]

trust me, i am the im8 poster boy, i know you made a right choice. but soon i am going to buy an rv9 and a lighter streamside of little tribes.

 

[emirribolov]

trust me, i am the im8 poster boy, i know you made a right choice. but soon i am going to buy an rv9 and a lighter streamside of little tribes.

I have Streamside Steelhead Special Edition for winter and smaller rivers this one is for Niagara and etc.

 

[Klik]

on second thought i am going to just use my shimano stimula from year 2000 lol and still buy rv9.

 

[fishing89]

My IM8 is incredible! landed tons of giant chinooks this season on it. best rod used to date

 

[fishing89]

could be lighter though...but then again, its a 14' haha

 

[Klik]

could be lighter though...but then again, its a 14' haha

you want something a lot lighter and more powerful, check out the raven rpx. i was going to buy it till i received an email from raven rep that informed me the rpx was stiffer than im8 and that pretty much ended my rpx excitement, because i wanted a new steelhead rod that was lighter than my im8 with the same backbone and taper. people keep telling me to get imx and rain shadow, guess what? there is no warranty for any of those and next step is cts which minimum will cost 800 bucks the lowest end as in lower guides and seat will be 600, 200 for labour alone lol. so now i am on the rv9 train.

or http://www.northforkcomposites.com/product/float-1363-3-hm

 

[fishermandan420]

You should 1 year warranty + extended lifetime warranty. Was that used or new rod?

ya well guess what… you dont. It was brand new

 

[Klik]

again though i think depends on how it broke, there is certain weak points and there is certain abused points. but again it is weird, i never heard anything bad about raven warranty.



also how did you break it? hero hook set with 20lb braid? cause i just flick and my steelhead hookup is 90%+

 

[emirribolov]

I just took my IM8 to river yesterday and no fish was hooked but man i love how it cast and it is not to heavy to me at all i just love it.
Only thing left is to see how it handles the fish. So far 5 out of 5 stars.

 

[Klik]

Wait till you have a 15lb fish in fast water and learn the meaning of love, I really don't want to sell my baby, but custom rods are expensive. My rod pays for the labour :sad:

 

[miles]

I have heard it said that if a rod doesn't blow up on the first fish then its the anglers fault if it breaks.

My 15' IM9 gets heavy after a full day

 

[Klik]

got another email with the ultimate backbone rod from raven, it is not that light, 8 something ounces. like 35 grams lighter than im8, hard to drop 600 dollars on it.

 

[emirribolov]

got another email with the ultimate backbone rod from raven, it is not that light, 8 something ounces. like 35 grams lighter than im8, hard to drop 600 dollars on it.

You know what gets me when IM8 came out it was the best rod ever then RV9 then.... it is like iPhone First reason i got IM8 is when i held it it was love at first sight.
I just had to go with my gut and that is it. Like i told you went back to store and tried RV9 it was not the same for me as IM8. After yesterdays outing i really have no complaints or would i change anything about it.

 

[Klik]

i agree with you when it comes to holding it, im8 wins, but when it comes to setting hook and fighting fish rv9 is better. i love my im8 just a bit heavy and i think i need to go a bit softer on the rod tip, i am not the most patient fish fighter, because i want to be fair to other people around me, so i try to land them more quick and hook popping is common.

also to your comment about im8 then rv9 and then rpx, well of course, new technology usually gives more superior items.not exactly like iphone which is mainly marketing ploy. but last time raven had a new rod was 2011, i would say 2 years of time allowed them to come up with something better. as of now, depending on a price, my first choice is NFC 1302 lM, RPX, Rv9, and lastly CTS for a new rod. we will see how that works out depending on the price. reason rv9 is third, is just a minor upgrade. other 3 are major upgrades.

 

[mileper]

Why don't you buy RAVEN RV 9 13.6 ,it's maybe 40 or 50$ more but that rod is almost like glx ...

 

[Klik]

me? if so i am buying rv9. i cant justify buying a rod that comes to 800 dollars for a 250 dollar blank. also rv9 is 150 dollars more than ring im8 13'. not 50.