Daiwa Sensor Tele Sea Spin 9ft Combo

How well is it built?

The rod is telescopic, so the sections slide inside one another and the whole thing closes down to 75cm.

A protective cap fits over the closed rod to cover the tip sections and guides in transit, which is a small but useful touch, as the tip is the part most likely to get damaged in a suitcase or car boot.

The C3000B reel is a sensible size for a 9ft sea spinning rod, and it's matched to the rod in the box, so the balance should be about right without any guesswork. The spool holds 0.18mm X4 braid, which is a four-strand braid in a sensible diameter for sea lures.

To be fair, this is an entry-level combo, and a telescopic blank has more joints than a multi-piece rod. I'd rinse the rod and reel in fresh water after every sea session, as salt is hard on any budget kit, and a 7.5 is fair for a matched set at this level.

How well does it cast and feel?

So, what's it built to throw? The 30g to 50g rating suits sea lures such as metals, heavier spinners and weighted soft lures, which is pretty much what you'll use for mackerel and bass from a pier or rocky shore.

At 9ft, it has enough length to get a metal out a fair way, and braid helps distance too, as it's thinner for its strength than mono.

Braid has no stretch, so you should feel more of what the lure is doing and pick up takes more easily. As a general point, the extra joints in a telescopic blank mean the action won't be as smooth through the cast as a two-piece sea spinning rod.

For me, that's a fair trade for a rod that packs into a case, and with braid already on the reel, there's very little to set up before the first cast. A 7.5 is about right for casting and feel.

How does it perform when playing fish?

Once a fish is on, the 9ft length and 30g to 50g blank should give you enough backbone for mackerel, small pollack and school bass, which are the fish most holiday anglers meet on lures.

Because braid has no stretch, the rod has to do the cushioning, so I'd set the drag on the C3000B a little lighter than you might with mono.

It isn't built for big fish in heavy surf or for lifting fish up a high harbour wall, and the telescopic joints won't bend as evenly as a two-piece under heavy load.

Many sea anglers add a short mono or fluorocarbon leader to braid for abrasion resistance around rocks, and it's worth doing with this rod too, as a mono leader also adds a little stretch where the braid has none.

Overall, it'll handle the everyday fish you're likely to catch on a sea lure, and a 7.5 reflects that.

Is it good value for money?

Does the price add up? I think it does. You get a telescopic sea spinning rod, a matched C3000B reel, braid already loaded and a rod cap, all for one of the cheaper prices for a branded sea combo, so you don't need to buy anything except lures.

Next to the Angling Pursuits Travel Max, which is a rod only, the Sensor combo saves you buying and spooling a reel, and braid is the right line for sea lures.

If you want float fishing rather than lure fishing, the Daiwa Sensor Tele Float Combo is the sister set, with a lighter rod and mono on the reel.

Overall, I'd recommend this combo to holidaymakers, families and newcomers who want a ready-to-fish sea lure set for the shore or a pier, and to anyone who wants a compact sea outfit for trips away.