calstar blanks

[bill19804]

does  anyone  know  whats  up  with  calstar?
ordered  3 blanks  in  december  from  distributor,  paid  for  them (700)
got  word  they would  be  made  late  feb, id see  them  mid march.
latest  check  is  calstar  dont  know  when  they  will  ship.  meanwhile  had  to  order  some  uc  blanks  just  to  keep  busy  and kill  boredom

sounds  like  a  failed  business  or  one  that  will  fail  soon.

any info  appreciated

thanks

[MarkT]

I've had a UC on order since January... I haven't been given a delivery date yet... good luck with that!

[ReelFishingProblems]

I ordered a Calstar blank Oct 20 and the date for it being made kept getting pushed back. The company I was buying through was excellent and kept trying to refund or sell me something else so I didn't have to wait or be more disappointed. Eventually calstar said they were not going to make the rod I ordered for a while and the company gave me a refund. I ended up using store credit for a bunch of rod components and cf stuff. The owner was great and worked with me to ensure I had everything I needed. But as far as the blank, it was a no go.

[Rocket Dog]

Supply chain issues for sure, but they got backlogged when the owner passed away (shop closed for a bit), then covid hit maybe less than a year after. They are releasing blanks, but to your point, it's going to take a while. Here in the LA area, most shops sell out in a matter of minutes when they do get a shipment. I'm talking about 5 to 12 blanks..... gone in midweek and shortly after the ship post a drop..... the world we live in for now.

[Swami805]

What calstars are you looking for?  I have a buddy who gets me blanks from the factory, might be worth a shot

[bill19804]

thanks  for  the  offer  but  i must  decline. im  dealing  with  probably  largest  distributor  of  blanks  in  east.  they  have  been  great  but if  blanks  are  not  made  they  cant  do  anything

picked  up  2  uc  7-6 vipers  as  substitute  and  building  first  one   now
did  some  testing  and  the  viper  is  a  bit  stronger  then  ones  fron  calstar.  i  can  live  with  that  since  these  are  strictly  for  swordfishing.  too  strong  for  our  small  yellowfin tuna  and  i  dont  fish  bluefins  at  all.

tight  lines  to  all

[Swami805]

Ok,UC makes some great blanks too, should work out fine.  If the need arises for calstar let me know and I'll send his contact info, he does UC blanks too

[Jeri]

I think the world over, blank/rod manufacture is very slow at the moment, with huge back orders going as far back as 12 months ago with some suppliers. Recently ordered some blanks for surf rods from the UK, from a usually highly efficient company. They have finally been shipped, with huge apologies for the delay, due to staff issues with Covid infections.

Now the delays are all down to international freight being slow, as what would normally take 5 days to get to Namibia from the UK, is expected to take 15 or more.

The world is very much on a go slow, and playing catch up, with challenging problems in the supply chains.