I've been wanting to buy a Rainshadow SW1088 for a bit so I picked up a pre wrapped rod marked "1088 1-3 oz" from a somewhat local shop on Friday. I initially told the guy in the shop I was looking at the Rainshadow SW 1088, and we talked a lot about the SW vs SU, 1087, 1088, and even 1089 before I bought it. I thought I was getting an SW 1088, but I'm not so sure now. I'm not going to give the name of the shop because the shop seems to have a good reputation here and there may just have been some miscommunication. It's not M&D's because I would have gone there and had one custom wrapped in a heartbeat if Mike was building at the moment.

Rod measures out at 9' and the blank is matte blank. After looking at Batsons web site it looks like the Rainshadow blanks are 8'10" and transparent black, so I'm thinking what I have isn't the SW1088 I wanted and thought I was getting after talking about it. I'm thinking it may be a Pac Bay blank. Maybe it's close enough to the SW 1088 that I'm getting worked up about nothing...

Anyone know for sure that this isn't a RS blank? I'm going to call the shop in tomorrow morning as well.

If it's CMS it could be an old All Star 1087 as well. If it was an All Star 1088 or SU1088 they would probably label it 2-4 ounces.

-spence

Bottom line is I like it so far, and it's doing what I wanted it to.

It was CMS, and I just got off the phone with them and they said it is definitely a Rainshadow blank.

They can seem a little aloof when it comes to blank specifics...granted, so much is individual preference I can understand why they would be.

-spence

newer batson sw blanks are matte and 9', the older ones where 8'10"

Thanks for all the feedback everyone.

They can seem a little aloof when it comes to blank specifics...granted, so much is individual preference I can understand why they would be.

-spence
No, they were definitely willing to talk about the various blanks and answer my silly questions. I didn't feel like they were trying to be evasive or anything.

Wanted the SW1088 because it seems to be the favorite of a lot of guys here. I don't know that I've developed enough feeling yet to understand the subtleties between similarly rated rods, but I know that the 9 ft 2-6 oz rated Tica I've been using feels like too much rod for some of the smaller stuff I sometimes throw. This 1088 seems to fit the bill a lot better.

newer batson sw blanks are matte and 9', the older ones where 8'10"
OK, good to know. Their online catalog still lists them at 8'10". I'm just glad it fits inside my Civic with the back seat down :happy: , because the truck isn't going to see much action as a fishing vehicle this year.

No, they were definitely willing to talk about the various blanks and answer my silly questions. I didn't feel like they were trying to be evasive or anything.
Well, aloof doesn't have to mean evasive. Not a negative comment either, I think it's a top notch business...

-spence

I think it's a top notch business...

Agreed. I was very impressed with the shop (once I found it :spin: ) and the work on the rod seems to be top notch. That's why I didn't want to name names initially, because likely I was the one who was confused.

Blanks from Batson are either 8'10" or 9' they cut them with out asking the dealers for shipping reasons. They still wack us hundreds for shipping but if they can save them selves $30 they cut them.
I have them each way at the shop.

If it's CMS it could be an old All Star 1087 as well. If it was an All Star 1088 or SU1088 they would probably label it 2-4 ounces.

-spence

If it was an All Star you'd be ahead of the game ;)

CMS has great guys. They will help you all they can and sell so many rods that they couldn't be bothered trying to mislead someone , etc about a single rod. Mix ups can happen anywhere.
If you like the rod and the price was right , what does it matter if its an SU or an SW. You have it in your handfs and have fished with it. You now should know more about it than any catalog could tell you.

what does SU and SW stand for I just picked up the SU1088 at the RISAA.

what does SU and SW stand for I just picked up the SU1088 at the RISAA.

Two different rod series from Batson.

The SWs are more parabolic. They resemble the original Sabre IGSC blanks in their action and power. Probably not by accident ;)

The SU rods are a little stiffer and faster in the same blank numbers. They were originally designed to be as close as possible to the old All Star GSW blanks, and that definitely wasn't by accident, since a guy named Don Mook left All Star, and joined Batson, with the specs of the All Stars in his head.

Thanks Mike!