Preston Innovations Response Whip

How well is it built?

The Response is built from high performance Japanese carbon fibre, and the blank is super slim from end to end. A slim whip should cut through the wind more easily and feel lighter in the hand, which matters when you're holding it out for hours on a canal towpath.

It's kept light enough to hold for long periods, and the solid flick tip is there for quick strikes at small fish.

The finish is a smart grey blank with blue graphics, so there's nothing flashy about it, and the whole range is built for the hard work of silverfish fishing rather than for show.

Why 8.5 rather than 9.0, then? Next to the Drennan Acolyte Pro Tele Whip, with its high modulus carbon and spliced tip, it's a slightly simpler build on paper. For the money, though, I think it's very well made, and it should stand up to a lot of swinging and unhooking.

Performance & Handling

A solid flick tip is the key to fast whip fishing. It's fine and responsive, so it should hit quick bites from small roach and bleak, and it lets you swing them straight to hand without any elastic to slow things down.

The 3m length suits fishing close in on a canal, on the inside line or just off the towpath shelf, and it's just as handy short down the edge of a river for dace.

A slim, light blank should also feel quick and precise when you're striking at fast bites, and that's really what this whip is built around.

Is there a catch? Being a pure speed whip, it's aimed at small fish rather than bigger skimmers or chub, so you'll want a pole with elastic if bigger fish move in.

For building a weight of silverfish, though, the 8.5 feels fair, and it should keep up with the fastest bites on a canal.

Ease of Use

The super-slim design makes the Response easy to handle, and because it's light, you can hold it out for long spells without your arm tiring. That's a bigger deal than it sounds on a whip, as you're holding it for pretty much the whole session rather than resting it on a roller.

Setting up is simple too, because a flick tip whip needs no elastic, so it's just a case of attaching your rig and getting on with it. That suits juniors and newer anglers as well as experienced match anglers who want to start catching straight away.

To be fair, it's a plain package, and the Guru Aventus Zero 600 Tele Whip adds three push-in tips and depth markers on the butt.

Plain can be a good thing on a whip, though, and I think the 8.5 is about right for one that's easy to live with but fairly basic in what comes with it.

Is it good value for money?

It costs a touch more than the Guru Aventus Zero 600 Tele Whip and the Daiwa Connoisseur Pro Speed Whip, and a good deal less than the Drennan Acolyte Pro Tele Whip.

For a slim Japanese carbon whip made for serious silverfish fishing, that feels like a fair price to me, and it's well within reach of most club anglers.

The 4m and 5m versions are useful if you fish wider canals or want a bit more reach, so you can build up a set as you go. If money is tight, the Daiwa Ninja Tele Whip costs about half as much, although it's a more basic whip.

Overall, I'd recommend the Response Whip to canal anglers and to river anglers chasing big bags of dace, roach and bleak, from match anglers building weights to pleasure anglers who want a light, slim whip that stays comfortable through a long match or session.