United Composites Challenger Xtreme Rail Rods

Guide Color Change

For the guys looking to get a United Composite rail rod, there’s a bit of a change in guide color that they’ve been forced to make. All of the new Vipers and Centaurs will come with new gunmetal gray guides from Fuji since they have made the decision to discontinue all black guides the rest of the models for the short term will still come with the black guides until UC runs out. Here’s what the new color will look like.

No one knows more about building rail rods than Randy Penny, he’s the guy behind the 2×4’s and other rods which revolutionized the SoCal’s long range sportfishing scene.  Peter Williams and his son originally made the designs for the UC rail rods in 2012. Randy added a couple new wrinkles to the patterns once he arrived on scene. These are composite designs incorporating a lot of material given their intended application. Dual Helix carbon fiber build, longitudinally oriented Fiberglass, heavy Fuji triple footed guides, 3M rail pad over the grip (protection plus non-slip feature), triple wrapped, etc. All come with gimbals and cap.

The Rail Rods are based upon the CP designs. These beefy sticks make use of 7 to 9 patterns in their build – like the CP’s they make use of three types of carbon fiber as well as  longitudinally oriented fiberglass.

7 and 7 1/2 foot length, it wasn’t long ago that we considered anything longer than 6 feet impractical for cow fishing. But times have changed and rod designs have progressed.  The length is related to the manner of fishing, use of the rail as a fulcrum.  In general, while a longer rod usually has better casting properties for distance, that’s not the rational for these rods. They are made to fish the rail, especially as you get into the vertical game on a big fish.  The longer rods are more suited to the bigger boats, boats with wider rails like the Excel, RP and Rooster. The shorter 7 footers will load up better on the smaller boats, like the American Angler.  Having said that, there’s another distinction between the two lengths, the longer rods have more material in ’em, the butts are larger diameter which requires more material in their build.  The 7 1/2 footers can fish the heavier recommended lines, while the 7 footers will load up better at the lighter drag settings. For example a Raptor at 7 feet does best at 60# and 20-22 lbs of drag while the 7 1/2 footer will fish 80# with say 24-25 lbs drag. You have a bit more leverage in a standoff at distance with the shorter rod, and more lift at vertical on a bigger boat with the longer rod.

The new UC Rail Rods are quite frankly the best in the business, made by the guy that came up with the original concept while working for another USA rod making firm. The guides are Fuji’s strongest, made as a rail rod should be, with some protection on the foregrip – in this case 3M’s product which is darn expensive and effective (far better than XWrap or a slippery plastic material). Reel seat is from ALPS with dual lockdown for added security. The best blank, excellent execution on the build – custom quality in that regard and they are value priced since the factory wants to get these out on the water.