Sonik SK4 Carp Rods

Recommend a friend

When Ray mentioned that he had a set of the Sonik SK4 rods winging their way to me to review, I had to look into them more as in all honesty I had heard of the company but not actually seen any of the products from them.

The rods that were sent to me were the 12’ 3.25lb test curve versions, which may sound on the heavy side, but I will elaborate further in this text. Also available in the range are a 2.75lb, 3lb and 3.5lb test curves. I am used to rods of this test curve due to preferring one set of rods to do 99% of my angling, and the rods in the 3.25lb test curve I have had in the past have cost me in the region of £200 each to get the tool that I was looking for. You are probably thinking;”what is so special about these rods then?” Well for a start, the SK4 rods cost HALF the price or less, of the other rods I own, but look and feel like a rod double the price the sell for! Built on slim high modulus carbon blanks, which have a matt finish through out the blank other than the 1k carbon weave that has been incorporated from the genuine Fuji DNPS reel seat down to the end of the butt section. This gives the rod additional stiffness in the lower half of the butt section allowing the rod to be compressed easily without the handle twisting or flexing too much, giving the control needed for putting PVA bags or big leads out at distance.

The genuine Fuji DNPS reel seat has been finished off with a soft touch layer, which in the sub-zero conditions that I tested the rods out in was a God send compared to other standard reel seats I have used in the past. Sonik have fitted the SK4 with a 20mm version of the reel seat so that it will house big pit reels from all manufacturers (something that is overlooked by a lot of rod manufacturers in the same price bracket. The reel seat is finished off with stunning looking gunsmoke machined stainless collars which truly do look the part. The handle is finished off with a slim Japanese shrink wrapped butt grip, which gives more than enough grip for the biggest of casts. At the very end of the butt, the rod has been fitted with a laser etched stainless cap with the Sonik brand name. A very nice touch.

Above the reel seat, a smooth strong carbon line clip is fitted that will hold thin braids secure as well as thicker monofilaments. This is an essential part of a modern day carp rod and is to the standard of the highest priced custom built rods. Further up the blank, detail has been made to the rings and ring spacing of the rod. A double leg 40mm butt guide has been fitted in the optimum position up the butt section to allow for free passage of line on the cast without the fear of “frap up’s” when using large spool reels. All the rings on the rod are of the SIC type and are robust yet lightweight, which helps keep the balance of the rod. Some of the non-Fuji SIC ring liners have a tendency of popping out of the frames, but I have put the rings on the SK4 through some tests and not found a single bit of movement in any of the rings on the 3 rods I was sent. The first ring on the tip section is also a double leg frame, but of 30mm diameter. The remaining 3 intermediate rings are of the single legged variety allowing the tip recovery time to be fast enough to propel a lead out over the 100m mark but still allow the blank to be soft enough under the tip not to pull small hooks out. Finally, a 12mm diameter tip ring is fitted that will easily allow shockleader knots to run freely on the cast, as well as allowing small pieces of weed that may stick to the line to be pulled through without clogging up easily – something that even more expensive rods do not have due to the manufacturers fitting 10mm diameter guides.

Casting performance of the SK4 is impressive for a blank of its design. The SK4 has not been developed as an out & out casting tool, and has a compound taper action – meaning that the blank bends almost fully throughout the blank rather than flattening out at the spigot or joint. The action of the rod would give me no problems in using size 12 hooks if required without worrying about hook pulls. With a 2.5oz lead (all that was needed on the session) and 0.40mm co-polymer (Kryston Snide 16lb) reel line, both myself and Ray were hitting 80m+ with simple over head thumps, and we were in no way at all compressing the blank properly (weight was too light to do so!). I would have no worries at all in loading the 3.25lb SK4 up with a 4oz lead and really laying into the cast! Did the SK4 impress me though? In all honesty, yes it did! Almost everything felt perfect to me, although the slim handle did take a little bit of getting used to, but that is always the case when changing from different handle styles. Would I change anything? Nothing really, although I must admit I do prefer a full Duplon or Japanese shrink tube handle, but that is purely personal preference at the end of the day and is not something that should make or break a purchase.

Another great point about the Sonik range of rods is that Sonik, provide what they call a “Rapidex” warranty system. A card is provided with each rod that needs to be filled in and returned to Sonik, and in return a fast track replacement section service is provided so that if you happen to break a rod, regardless of how it was broken, you simply return the section (cut into 4” pieces) to Sonik, with a cheque for £35 and they despatch a replacement section direct to your doorstep. Peace of mind is something that all anglers need when making an investment into new carbons, and you do get this with Sonik.

Now to the crunch. The cost. At time of writing, Sonik are selling the SK4 for £109.99 each rather than the SSP of £149.99, but if you purchase 3 rods at the same time, you only pay £299.98!

Another great peace of mind is that Sonik offer a 28 day money back guarantee on all new rods. So if you do buy a set and find that you do not like them, you simply send them back to Sonik and they will refund you the purchase price with no quibbles. Not many manufacturers offer that service!

Sorry Sonik, but I am keeping these rods!!!!

Recent review provided by www.ukmatchangler.com