TENKARA CENTRE UK HAYASE ROD 

Like many european Tenkara enthusiasts I know Tenkara Centre UK through their website and their Youtube channel but I had never had the opportunity to try one of their rod yet. I have received this rod from Mike Roden in last May, fished a lot with it and it is now time to review this rod.

Let's start with the specifications.

Length: 12 ft
Closed Length: 22.5 in
Weight: 2.4 oz
Sections: 8
Action: 6:4
Handle: 9.75 in



The Hayase (which means "rapids" in Japanese) comes in an embroidered rod bad that closes with velcro and a carbon fibre tube closing with aluminium caps. The TCUK is printed on this tube, the rod's name being reduced to a sticker.
The least we can say is that for the people at TCUK aesthetic details are more than only details!

The rod has a mate black finish, a very good quality cork handle. Even though I do not consider the cork quality as essential I was not surprised to read a famous blogger considering this handle quality higher than his Winston Rod's one. I think the handle shape is one of  most important factor to have a comfortable rod to fish with and I can tell you that if the Hayase's handle has a pretty uncommon shape it reveals to be very comfortable!

The tip and handle plugs are classic. The tip plug is made of wood with rubber insert while the handle plug is knurled metal with drain hole of course but also a coin slot.

When I did receive the rod the first thing I did was disassembling it and I noticed that the deburring of the rubber insert in the handle plug was not properly executed and that was the reason why I found rubber particles in the cap thread.

I do not hold it against the TCUK team because this "defect" is very common on the market. This demonstrates that one must be careful with his rods to keep them in the best possible conditions to avoid stuck segments and breakage. 

With a name meaning "swift currents" I was excepting a crisp action rod like a Nissin Kawashi for example but the Hayase is a bit particular as the two top sections are very supple and the six other are pretty stiff. This makes the casting very easy and accurate and allows the use of very light tippets which is a good thing to obtain better kebari drifts.

To conclude I consider the Hayase as good rod, with flattering aesthetics and even if I have personal preferences for more minimalist appearance  this rod really answers to a need in the western Tenkara galaxy. 

If you are interested by this rod, visit Tenkara Centre UK.