Fox Rage Warrior Shad & Spin Rod 20-60g 210cm 2-Piece

How well is it built?

I'll be straight about the build, because 7.0 means a basic budget rod. The Warrior Shad & Spin is an entry-level lure rod with a light, slim build, a split handle, a grey reel seat and red and black graphics on the butt section.

It's tidy enough, and the rod bag is handy for keeping it safe in the car between trips.

What it can't match is the materials and components of dearer rods, such as the Fox Rage Terminator X, which costs several times as much and gets IM9 40-ton carbon and Fuji Alconite guides.

Even the Savage Gear Revenge SG2 Medium Game, which costs only a bit more, has a 24+30T carbon blank and SeaGuide guides with SiN rings.

So, that's the honest reason for the score, as it's a sensibly made rod that should cope with regular canal and river fishing, but it isn't one to admire. For an entry-level rod at this price, I think 7.0 is fair.

How well does it cast and feel?

How should it cast? At 210cm, it's a compact rod, and that suits canals and smaller rivers where trees, bushes and narrow towpaths leave little room for a long overhead swing.

The 20-60g rating is the figure that matters, and it's a stepped-up rating for a 7ft rod, so it's built to throw bigger shads, spoons and other metal lures rather than small spinners.

Lures around the 20g mark should still load the blank enough to cast cleanly, but it isn't a rod for light perch fishing with small jig heads.

Bumping a big shad along the bottom of a canal for zander is pretty much what it's made for, and a short, powerful rod makes it easy to keep the tip low and the lure under control.

It loses a little on feel, because a budget rod built for heavy lures is unlikely to have the crisp feedback of a dearer blank, so delicate zander bites will be harder to read. For its intended job, though, I think 7.5 is about right.

How does it perform when playing fish?

With a 60g top rating, there's plenty of power in reserve for a big zander or a double-figure pike. The short length helps too, as it lets you put side strain on a fish and steer it away from moored boats, reed beds and other snags on a narrow canal.

Use a wire trace whenever pike could be about, because zander and pike often share the same water and a pike can bite through braid or fluorocarbon in a second. With a big shad on the end, a pike is always a likely taker, so I'd never fish this rod without one.

To be fair, a rod built for heavy lures is less forgiving than a softer one when a fish thrashes under the tip, so a properly set drag matters. That's what keeps it at 7.5, but for bullying big predators out of tight spots, I think it's well up to the job.

Is it good value for money?

Where the Warrior really scores is price. It costs a little less than the Wychwood Agitator LR-S and a fair bit less than the Savage Gear Revenge SG2 Medium Game, which tops out at 35g and isn't built for big shads in the same way.

For me, the 30-60g Agitator is the rival to weigh it against, and it has the longer spec sheet with its SiC guides and no-flash carbon blank. The Warrior's case is simplicity, with a bag thrown in and a Warrior reel styled to go with it.

If you also want to fish small lures for perch, a lighter rod such as the Shimano FX XT 2.10m 7-21g costs less still.

Overall, I'd recommend the Warrior Shad & Spin 20-60g to newer lure anglers, and to canal and river regulars on a tight budget, who want a cheap, powerful rod for heavy lures and big predators.