My only two experiences with Kistler were a rod purchased at a Skeeter tournament. Both rods broke while fighting a fish, one during the same tournament in which it was purchased, (replaced by Kistler at the tournament) then the replacement rod broke within a year. Threw rod in the trash, not worth the cost or hassle to send it back for replacement.
Have not bought one since.

All my Kistlers with micros have Fuji.

I bought a kistler frog n slop special about 4 years ago. Dont get me wrong its a heavy rod but i fish horny toads and ribbits and have swung 5 lbers and bigger in the boat and never had any problem with the blank but it was made in the usa. i have had to get a couple of the guides replaced, but thats a cheap price to pay for all the memories that rod has given me.

Even with my pics, I would still give Kistler another shot. The place I bought it from told me to ship it back to them and they would send me a new one. I'm kind of glad that I'm getting another of the same rod because that Broomstick loved some giant swim baits and 1oz tungsten flippin' weights.

I broke my Kistler Skeeter rod this weekend casting a rat-l-trap. Before that, I had caught 2-3 fish total. I've got zero confidence in the Skeeter rod from the reports and if there's a chance they will not warranty the rod or give me another Skeeter rod I'm better off saving my gas money to drive up there. They are about 60 miles away from me.

Kind of frustrating. I will stick with Falcon Lowriders from Academy.

I picked up my first Kistler rod at the Skeeter tournament, and have been replacing my falcons ever since. The sensitivity and actions are great. Some people have a bad experience and I think they had some bad issues in the past. If you haven't tried their Helium micro series your short changing yourself!

I've been using Kistler LTA & LTX rods since 2009 and think they're great. No problems. This year I bought a Z-Bone and it is pricey but it is the best rod I've ever used.

A big +1 0n the Z-Bones I have 5 of them and think they are second to none. Check their website they have an awsome deal on a few now.

For a rod that is worth the money buy Power Tackle Rods.

won angler of the year in the south div bass champs with zbones.

I've had dozens of these rods from the low end to the high end. I love the Helium LTA's the best. I've only broken one magnesium in 4yrs of fishing them. Rods are all in personal preference but I recently carried a retired fireman fishing and he has nerve damage in his hands. He commented several times on how sensitive these rods were and how much he could feel with the Helium LTA's. I'm sold on them..I will mention that I also use a couple of Dobyns rods as well and their 705CB rod is hard to beat as well.

Z-Bones like Billy for me, I Fish Falcon, Choke, and Amistad almost exclusively and have never had any problems with Kistler rods. I have some Helium LTAs love them to, now they make them in micro guides just like my Z-Bones!

They have a very good reason for not selling to tackle shops. I have never had an issue with warrenty in fact the one I broke was a freebee and they replaced it right away. The Z-Bones are made here and they are working on makind them all here the overseas part should not be a problem to you as you use imported reels.

I've had the new z-bone for a year. It's the most sensitive rod I've ever owned. Slammed it in the tailgate of my truck and broke it in half this summer. Called their CS dept, told them what happened. They built me a new one for half price plus shipping. Had it in a week and was back fishing. I've got 1 helium and 2 mags that are great also. I can't say anything negative about their product or customer service.