Favorite products are also known as fairly innovative products with the White Bird Fishing Rod no stranger to this philosophy, sporting an advanced design that goes well beyond its eye-catching, white profile.
With an impressive Multi Layer Structure slim light-weight design and high-quality lightweight components, this is an especially sleek spinning rod.
It also certainly doesn’t hurt that these
Favorite product lines come in at a more than reasonable price, but not every part of this spinning pole meets the same high standard.
As such, this review breaks down the White Bird to figure out if it’s a great value you should have as part of your fishing pole quiver or just more style over substance.
Contents
Pros
- Extreme casting potential
- Multi Layer Structure
- Reasonable price range
Cons
- Not the most sensitive
- Not the most accurate
- Not the best reel seat
Review
Construction (craftsmanship, make quality)
One of the first things to note about the White Bird Fishing Rod’s construction is its use of MLS – Multi-Layer Structure – in which the technology layers carbon with varied fiber directions to significantly increase the blank’s torsional load resistance.
Aside from the fact that this design makes for an extremely durable product, it also provides the rod blanks some extra sensitivity.
This is because Favorite’s Multi-Layer Structure technology allows for the inclusion of different carbon fiber tonnages.
So, not only do the different fibers increase strength, but they also allow Favorite to incorporate stiffer fibers that better transfer vibration– something that is otherwise needed for the pole in general.
Beyond the blank design, the Favorite White Bird also comes with split grip handles that allow for a couple of different benefits– though there are some potential issues as well.
For starters, only the mid grip uses cork, but both the foregrip and the butt use EVA foam.
However, this affords you plenty of surface area with the blank to further increase sensitivity.
The guides are also somewhat uncommon– especially on a rod in this class– in that they use the unexpected SiC material as well as a micro guide design.
The latter of those two is particularly important when it comes to casting accuracy, which is definitely something this rod needed to consider when you account for its taper.
It’s worth noting that only one of the rods in this lineup comes in multiple pieces which can make transporting some of the longer models a bit tricky depending on your vehicle.
Material
The Favorite White Bird carbon blanks are made, primarily, of lightweight and durable 24-ton carbon fiber which imparts plenty of flexibility to prevent snapping.
However, this material is not really known for exceptional sensitivity. Thankfully, Favorite’s Multi-Layer Structure technology comes in, allowing heavier fibers to provide a bit more feel to the rod.
This approach also gives the White Bird a rugged design that is comparable to a carbon composite blank in terms of raw durability.
But, since the blank includes only different tonnages of carbon graphite fibers, it also allows for an incredibly lightweight design.
This way, you don’t have to worry about fatigue on your fishing trip.
Moving from the blank to the excellent Fuji guide system, the use of SiC rings is definitely a bit unexpected, again even more so when you consider the price.
Beyond what this material affords in terms of fishing techniques, it also does a great job of dissipating heat on the line, preventing breaks when fighting larger fish.
The handle follows in the Favorite’s unexpected approach with a multi-material design that even includes aluminium handle parts– though they are not the primary material.
Instead, the combination of cork and EVA foam makes for a comfortable grip, though it would’ve been nice to see the handle with cork knobs instead.
Action
The White Bird Fishing Rod takes a completely different approach to its rod action than pretty much all of its competition on the market by taking things a bit slower.
Whereas most fishing rods opt for a faster action to increase casting accuracy and sensitivity, these Favorite product lines offer actions of both moderate and slow, as well as the more common fast action.
This choice allows the fishing pole to cast much farther than pretty much any other rod in the same class and with the aid of SiC guides, you get even more distance.
Of course, the Fuji micro guide system combined with the fast tip helps give you back some control and accuracy lost from the slower actions.
Because of these slower actions, most fishermen end up using passive lures which make this a great rod for perch fishing and other fish with similar feeding habits.
These actions also allow you to load up your cast significantly more than a quicker action would which allows it to work pretty well for shore fishing.
Power
This isn’t exactly White Bird’s strong point, though it’s not a significant weakness and should better be understood as a bit more specific than some other budget options.
While the options of medium-light, medium, and medium-heavy may not be terribly broad, their actions make them more suitable for different species.
This is definitely not the rod you’re looking for if you plan on doing some power fishing as the power ratings always sit a bit on the low end of the spectrum.
While it’s worth noting that the power ratings more often than not hover in the medium range, none of the ratings go to the extremes for either light or heavy power.
This means that the favorite fishing pole can’t handle fighting fish that are made for fighting and prevents it from being a general inshore fishing pole.
That said, even the medium-heavy model has more than enough backbone to handle numerous species of coastal fish, and the incredibly long casting distance allows you to target the most skittish of them.
Rod Guides
The Favorite fishing rod demonstrates its commitment to premium products once again with the use of Fuji SiC guides.
This material is by far one of the best you can use for a rod’s guide system as it is 12 times stronger than stainless steel but extremely smooth.
This means you don’t have to worry about your line tangling as much while also gaining both casting distance and casting accuracy.
That said, the Fuji guide system further reinforces some of these benefits through the use of micro guides which help keep the line straight throughout the cast.
Unfortunately, this design also makes casting a braided line trickier, especially when trying to cast a braid to leader knot. In this instance, you might actually see more tangles than you otherwise would.
Handle (material, shape, etc)
Given the unusual approach, it’s understandable if you approach this pole’s split grip handles and aluminium handle parts with a bit of skepticism.
For one, the fact that this Favorite pole eschews a handle with cork knobs in favor of an Eva-grip split handle is a bit suspect. However, when you consider the holistic design, it makes perfect sense.
Full cork handles might be nice, but they aren’t necessarily the best– especially for the parts that see the most pressure.
Having aluminum to strategically reinforce the strength without adding much weight is just a net win.
When you consider that the EVA foam sits where your hand and body feel the most pressure, the comfort added should be more than enough to make up for any loss.
Uses (Who is this good for)
Because of its price, the most obvious situation you’d expect to recommend the White Bird for is beginner fishing.
However, this rod can find more than enough use in professional fishing competitions when you consider how the different specification configurations align with particular fishing styles and techniques.
For starters, the relatively slower actions combined with the blank’s fast tip allow you to use numerous lure actions that might otherwise be off-limits with a stiffer pole.
The ability to employ such a wide range of different lure actions opens up even more freshwater fishing techniques that can aid prolific smallmouth anglers and normal anglers alike.
The long casting distance also makes this a great rod for boat fishing.
Reel and Real Seat Compatibility
There’s not much to say about this pole’s ergonomic, low-profile reel seat in that it doesn’t use any special material nor does it come with a unique design that adds to the pole’s functionality.
That said, the reel seat does afford a solid fit, though some fishermen are less than thrilled about the reel seat’s exposed threads.
Conclusion (Wrap Up)
Favorite’s innovative products really come to a head with the White Bird Fishing Rod which uses an advanced design combined with solid components to provide an extremely competitive option that makes a great fishing gear investment.
That said, this rod series is not ideal for all fishing situations, especially when fighting larger fish.
However, the uncommon spec configurations open up a broad range of different lure actions that facilitate a wide array of freshwater fishing situations.
When you also consider that this lineup comes in at a much more affordable price than most, it seems that anyone with a little experience would do well to have one or two of these models in their bag.
