I've built several rods on the stowaway blanks.

I like them a lot. But I use higher quality guides than the rod manufacturers do. Never worn out a giude yet.

They cast well for me. I really like the 3 wt. for some of the small trout waters I fish. It does double duty in Arizona as my 'truck' rod, so it's caught it's share of bass, catfish, carp and bluegills too.

Buddy