This rod is well designed, the three sections fit snugly together and when assembled the rod is well balanced. Features I particularly liked were the metal rings protecting the female parts of the spigots. The real seat has titanium hoods which should prevent splitting - a problem I have encountered with other rods. The whippings are protected by shrink-wrap. The middle section is a bit stiffer than on other long rods which should allow you to fish rougher ground and as it is capable of casting 4 to 8 oz  it should handle rough conditions too. Possible points of conjecture are there is only one EVA hand grip which is located at the butt end, but this should not really pose a problem, just takes a bit of getting used to that's all. The guides are aluminium oxide lined and if the rod is bashed about they could chip or crack; nevertheless, look after it and it will give many years of service - a copolymer reel line combined with a taperd shockleader sails through the guides effortlessly.

Cating this rod was also effortless. With a clipped-down rig ,an overhead lob easily put the bait 80 yds, with an off-the-ground cast distances of 120 yds were readily achieved. However, a word of warning, do not try to use a full pendulum cast with this rod as it is not designed to be put under such an extreme load, it may damage the blank to the point of snapping. This rod also seems to be good value compared to other long rods on the market, shop around and you can obtain it for £99.99 including free delivery. I thoroughly recommend the Daiwa Longbeam to any sea-angler who cannot properly pendulum cast or those who have not yet tried using a long rod. I hadn't unitl I bought this one and after trying it out I will never go back to using a standard 12ft beachcaster.