Buddy,

I think you'd find that the rods pszy22 posted the link for are better than the rods on the All Fishing Buy site, and the prices are about the same. There are other brands available, but if you think the Tenkara USA rods are too expensive, and the All Fishing Buy rods still pricey, there's no point in even discussing them, as they are considerably more expensive than the Tenkara USA rods.

You've tried a panfish pole, pszy22 has tried at least one panfish pole, I've tried 7 panfish poles now. The All Fishing Buy 18' rods could be used for tenkara, but your panfish pole "could be used for tenkara" too. I know a guy who has one, and likes it, but he doesn't call the fishing he does with it tenkara, because it really isn't. I could tell you that not all panfish poles are the same, but I think I'll just say that none of them are what I would call acceptable substitutes for tenkara rods. I think you've come to the point where if you want the delicacy of a true tenkara rod you're going to have to "buy the good toilet paper."