PENN Battalion II 9’ Surf Spinning Rod; 1-Piece Fishing Rod, 12-20lb Line Rating, Medium Rod Power, Moderate Fast Action, 3/4-3 oz. Lure Rating, Black/Gold

Why it's worth it

A nine-foot medium-power rod on Penn's SLC2 carbon blank, with Fuji Alconite guides, a Fuji graphite reel seat and a cork-and-shrink-tube grip. It's rated for 12- to 20-pound line and a three-quarter- to three-ounce lure, and it weighs almost nothing in your hands.

Nine feet is short for a surf rod, and that's the point. If you fish a steep beach, a jetty, an inlet or a pier, you don't always need the second bar — you need to place a bait where you want it and then work it. This rod casts comfortably inside the breakers, and it's far easier to control when you're picking your way across wet rocks.

The guides are the upgrade you can feel. Fuji Alconite rings sit in the frames, and Fuji's own friction data puts them roughly 30% slicker than standard stainless. Less friction means less heat on braid and a few more yards per cast. The Fuji graphite reel seat keeps weight down too, and graphite doesn't pit in salt the way cheap alloy hardware does.

From our review of 6 surf fishing rods, by Genevieve Dubois, Home & Living Expert

What we like

• +Nine feet is short for a surf rod, and that's the point
• +The guides are the upgrade you can feel
• +Medium power with a moderate-fast action is the most useful all-around surf setup you can own
• +Penn's ubiquity on the beach isn't an accident

What to know

• –Nine feet costs you distance
• –The three-ounce ceiling is real
• –One oddity worth checking before you order: the listing calls it a one-piece rod in the title and a two-piece in the size field