I have a 9, 9.6, 2 - 10's and an 11 foot spinning surf rod in this model. I have upgraded them from the Tsunami Airwaves in the same lengths. The backbone on the Avids are so much better this enabling me to throw bigger baits at greater distances. I have really enjoyed this added distance and ease of casting. It has opened up my options in terms of targeting larger fish. The sensitivity, quality and finish on the rods are great. I certainly would recommend these rods to any surf fisherman.

Bought the VSS70MF 3years ago. Needed a cheaper 7’ lighter action rod for schoolie bass and blues. I picked it up and it felt like the perfect for the application. 2 full seasons on it, 120-140 outings per year and it’s become my favorite rod. The fun of landing blues and bass from schoolie size up to even a few 40lb on this light rod is without equal. It never leaves my truck other than from Dec-Feb in the off season. It’s earned that level of my confidence many times over to become my go-to. I give it a thumbs up and strong recommend to prospective buyers!

I recently bought my first Avid surf rod, with it being the 8' 1 piece. With the spring striper run about a month away, I decided to take it to a local shoreline park to test its casting power and get a feeling of it. I rigged it up with a Shimano Ultegra 3000 FC with 15 pound Berkley X9. To my surprise, it wasn't casting 1-2.5 ounce lures out like I was expecting and felt too stiff while working floating topwaters. I compared it to my 8' 2 piece Tsunami Trophy II and didn't notice much of a difference in casting distance. Even though the Avid was lighter, the Trophy II has more flexibility for multiple lures and I was able to get a better feeling of the rod while casting. The lesser expensive Triumph series I find to be more valuable than the Avid.

I’ve got the 9’6 and the 11’ avid surf spinning rods... they are both great..quality is good and they cast like a dream..the 11 footer is paired with a penn 7500lc spin fisher and the 9’6” is pared with a penn slammer 6500...Fishing the surf on the North Carolina coast..able to put the bait way out!!

(9'6" rod) Been fishing from the surf for about 5 years now. I fish in MA, from the Parker River Refuge, the Cape Cod Canal, all over the outer Cape, South Coast and all around Martha's Vineyard. At first with a penn slammer 3 5500 I though the set up was a bit heavy compared to my 9 foot carbon okuma blank but my goodness. Fished it a bunch when I got it but put to the test casting a 3oz ranger and similar weighted tins off Wasque Point on MV. I probably threw that lure for 5 hours full power everytime to hit blues jumping FAR of the beach. When you lay into the rod it responds and casts a mile. Even with all that strength in the blank, you feel every hit and its just a pleasure to fish with. Excellent topwater control as well. I have been very impressed. Handle and wrap are great, heard that was an umgrade from the previous model. This rod length works from the canal, landed two upper slot sized stripers last night, rod had no issues with the bigger fish.