Barry Kustin 'The Ultimate' 7 ft 2 pc/2tips
Barry Kustin 'The Ultimate' 7 ft 2 pc/2tips nodeless. This rod is marked as "#1 of 10" on the rod shaft above the grip, apparently a special run by this maker who I knew from shows in the 1980's. In conversations with Mr. Kustin at the Suffern Show he told me that he actually preferred his rods that were all hollow-built bamboo, as compared to the bamboo / graphite composite rods he was perhaps best known for. This rod feels to me like it is a hollow bamboo without the graphite laminate and it is also of nodeless construction. I believe Kustin only put out one informational flyer / catalog and it mentions "Comp I and Comp II, the 20/20 Superlight, the Argo, and the Double Built" but no mention of this special model he dubbed 'The Ultimate.' At the time I met Kustin in the 1980's I was on the cusp of my own research into how to improve bamboo rods to match the challenge from graphite and high grade fiberglass rods, so I was intrigued by his rods as I was by the work of Michael Montagne. I don't know how long Kustin continued in rod building, but I am thinking not very long as we seldom see his rods come up for sale. Actual weight is 3 oz and my deflection board puts this as wanting a #5 line, while the feel of it tells me an aggressive caster may prefer a #4 line. I would describe the action as fast. Rod remains essentially mint and in its original bag with the brass caps on the tube showing some oxidation from long storage. From the wide ranging collection of Thomas H. Clark.
