Batson Immortal/eternity Review/impressions 2024

sarcazmo reply :

I need to get a few things out of the way. I don’t keep measurements on every rod I build, I prefer plain rod builds, dont get crazy with wraps or winding checks. I mostly build for myself, some for clients, and friends and family. I’m an avid fisherman, I try to get out at least once a week. I don’t fish many tournaments but I like to have nice equipment.

I’ve been in the market for some new rods and I’ve been pretty intrigued by the new Rainshadow blanks; specifically the Immortal and Eternity2 series. I couldn’t find much information on them on the web, so I decided to bite the bullet and order a couple to try for myself.

Not knowing anything about these blanks, I decided to contact Batson. I knew I wanted one to be a finesse spinning rod for drop shotting and shaky head techniques. One blank that caught my eye was the Eternity2 610M/XF spinning rod. It was very refreshing to talk to a sales person at Batson that was very candid with me. He actually talked me out of that particular model. He told me that during testing they had a few breaks due to improper handling, (high sticking, trying to boat flip big fish) and let me know it was a very technique specific blank. He pointed me into the direction of the 610M in the Immortal series for the aforementioned techniques. We also talked a bit about the Eternity series of rods. I mentioned that I really enjoy bottom contact techniques, especially texas rigs and jigs and he recommended the ETEC72M.

To be honest, I wasn’t really familiar with Batson or any of their different brand of products. The sales person let me know they basically produce everything to put a rod together, blanks, guides, grips, etc. Honestly I appreciated the way he approached it, he wasn’t pushy, there was no hard sell, we were just having a conversation.

After this conversation I figured I would build these blanks using only components supplied from Batson.

I went online to a dealer of their products and went ahead and placed my order.

If you looked at the rods I regularly carry on my boat, you’ll notice that they are very plain. They are all either raw blanks or blank, basic wraps, etc. I was a bit worried about the finished look of these blanks. I have to say I was quite impressed when I received my blanks. The Immortal series is a very nice subdued titanium color, and the Eternity series is a very rich cobalt blue kind of similar to the color on some St. Croix rods. It really does look stellar in person. Both finishes were flawless and I couldn’t find any imperfections.

I’ve always been a fan of Fuji guides. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it right? I didn’t know what to expect from the Alps/Forecast guides. For the Immortal series I used their SS spinning guides. These guides are quite nice. The larger sizes are pre filed/ground and wrapped very easily and nicely. The smaller sizes only required a minimal amount of prep work to be ready to be mounted. For the Eternity series I decided to buy their titanium guides. Just like the SS guides, they were pretty much ready to go. I didn’t notice any machining burrs and the smaller guides only require a minimum amount of prep. They also look pretty awesome on the cobalt blue blank. I haven’t fished with them long enough to comment on durability, but my initial impressions are very favorable.

For the spinning rod I used an Alps graphite split reel seat with dual nuts. Adding that extra locking not is a very nice touch and one that I appreciated. They also allow you to choose the color of your locking nut if you so desire.

My casting rod I decided to go with their Alps MVT casting seat. They tout this as being made of Toray graphite and MVT stands for Micro Vibration Transmission.. Like the spinning seat, this comes with a locking nut that is really nice and you can pick the color as well. I really like this reel seat. This kind of reminds me a little of the 13 reel seat. I realize the 13 seat is polarizing, and people seem to love it or hate it, but this Alps seat fits my hand very well and rests in a nice position. Whether or not it enhances sensitivity or increases vibration remains to be seen, and I’ll be able to judge better with more time on the water.

The spinning rod received Alps/Forecast eva graips. The EVA seems to be of very high quality and was easy to use. No complaints there.

For the casting rod I decided to use the Tapered carbon fiber grips. I really like these grips. Not only are they aesthetically pleasing but I really like the taper. I find it to be quite comfortable. I was a bit worried it might get a little too slippery when wet, but there’s just enough texture to alleviate that concern.

My overall impression on the components I used is very positive, and I will be using them again on future builds.

A quick note regarding the RainShadow Immortal IMMS72ML. While mocking the rod up I taped the tip top on. Apparently I didn’t tape it that well, because it was rattling around on the end. Those rattles created vibrations that were transmitted down the length of the blank. I understand this was something making direct contact with the blank, but they strength of the vibrations being transmitted down the entire blank was quite impressive.

Both rods also passed my ‘floor test.’ I tie on a round head jig and slowly drag it across the tile floor and close my eyes. You could easily tell the transition from tile floor to grout line with both blanks.

A quick note about these rod builds. While on the phone with the sales staff they mentioned the fact they publish blue prints for all of their rod blanks. Normally I wouldn’t put much faith into blueprints published by a manufacturer, but the sales person assured me they put a lot of work into these blue prints and assured me they weren’t just a generic setup. Both of these rods were built according to the blue prints published by batson.

The blueprints were pretty spot on, I may have moved a guide or two ever so slightly, but I was more than satisfied with the initial guide placement. The picture was taken with a Quantum Smoke 2500 series spinning reel and shows where the balance point on this particular rod ended up.

My first day on the water with these two rods was tough. The fish are chasing shad and can be graphed pretty much anywhere on the lake. It was a slow day, and I only ended up catching three fish, all on the RainShadow Immortal IMMS72ML using a drop shot. (wish I didn’t leave my spoons at home!) I really think this series is going to be special. The rod is SENSITIVE. You can easily tell what the bottom composition is, every rock, pebble, grasss etc. Bites were very easy to detect, even those subtle ‘mush’ bites. There’s enough tip on this rod to make nice casts, and it loads up solidly into the back bone for setting the hook and fighting the fish. I cast weights ranging from 1/8oz-5/16. It handled them with ease. I didn’t hook into any giants, big fish was probably ~3.5lbs, but I had no problem directing them and turning them. Keep in mind though this isn’t a heavy rod, and you won’t be boat bouncing any 8lbers with it. You still need to properly set your drag because you won’t be ‘muscling’ fish. I like this rod so much that I ordered the Eternity2 version! It will be interesting doing a head to head comparison. I also plan on using this for shaky heads if the situation calls for it, and have no doubts it will be more than capable for this task as well. One thing to note about this blank is that IMO it fishes more like a medium than a medium light.

There’s not much to say about the Eternity2 other than the fact that it did everything the Immortal did but better. This blank is sensitive, crisp, and seems to be very well made. The first fish I caught on this rod was pretty cool. I was throwing a 1/4oz texas rig. I felt it come through the grass and could tell it was at the grass line. I felt a quick tap, which I initially thought was possibly a very small panfish. I then felt a subtle pulling, set the hook, and landed this beauty. This rod is now my preferred texas rig and lighter jig rod. In fact, I liked it so much I ordered their MH version to throw heavier jigs with.

Both the rods are fast action with nice tips. Casting on both rods is a breeze and they both load up nicely into a really strong backbone.

I’ve built on and fished with a lot of different rods. GLX, NRX, St Croix, MHX Hi Mod, Lamiglas Infinity, X-Entity, Phenix K2 etc. These rods are the real deal. I didn’t feel like I was sacrificing anything by using these blanks. They offer tremendous performance at an incredible price point. The value these rods bring is amazing, and I think Batson/Rainshadow really did a fantastic job with these. I know everyone has certain brand loyalties, and thats a good thing. So is competition. I really think everyone should try these blanks.

I'll try to get some more pics of the Immortal, I told my buddy I'd let him use it in a tournament and he hasn't given it back yet... [-X

Also, I know this isn't the most thorough or comprehensive review, so if you have any questions I'll try and answer them.

Delaware Valley Tackle reply :

Batson makes nice components. I like the Titanium finish and actually have a build underway. I still find myself going to the MHX blanks though. The fact that the price is right is icing on the cake.

sarcazmo reply :

On 12/5/2014 at 3:54 AM, Delaware Valley Tackle said:
Batson makes nice components. I like the Titanium finish and actually have a build underway. I still find myself going to the MHX blanks though. The fact that the price is right is icing on the cake.

Are you building on an Immortal or Eternity2? I actually just built a MHX Hi Mod DS822 (I think thats the model number, not sure) with a bunch of leftover components I had laying around. It's a nice rod, but so far for around $100 I think I'll stick with the Immortal series. My ML immortal does seem a bit more powerful than the DS822, so I'm not sure its fair to directly compare them.

However, I'm curious to see how they fare against the next gen version of the MHX hi mod blanks.

Delaware Valley Tackle reply :

I got one of the prior Gen RX7 Titanium blanks. It's hard to compare sometimes. Like you said it's often not apples to apples. Each manufacturer has gems and dogs in their line. It's hard to experiment with every one. MHX makes a Mag Med Light that I haven't found anything else quite like. I've built a few and they are sweet.

Mike2841 reply :

Great rods and nice write up

Batson reply :

Just found this.. Great write up!! I hope people can have a better understanding about our products now!

Thank you so much!

ksboy reply :

Very comprehensive review, I thought. I'm considering my first rod build this winter and where to start something new is always perplexing.

Thanks

weedsnager1 reply :

Where are the guide spacing charts for the eternity and immortal?

Delaware Valley Tackle reply :

I've used some of their recipes primarily for Centre Pin rods and they are pretty good. As build more though, you'll see that there is some slight variation among blanks of the same model so I always static test for final running guide placement.

Batson reply :

On 1/8/2015 at 10:32 PM, ksboy said:

Very comprehensive review, I thought. I'm considering my first rod build this winter and where to start something new is always perplexing.

Thanks

ksboy, Thank you for your consideration. And welcome to rod building!! Your opening a wonderful can of worms on both price, atheistic, and performance! Now you can have your rod built the way you like it!! Here is some tutorials from our CEO and master rod builder: https://www.youtube.com/user/BatsonEnterprises

This being said.. We recommend to build a few easier and smaller builds, not on expensive stuff first. You may get others telling you from other companies it should be ok etc.. We have a few RX6 kits that you can do to be successful! Then you can tackle more complicated and more expensive builds

If you need any help, don't hesitate to ask anyone here or contact us.

On 1/8/2015 at 11:01 PM, weedsnager1 said:

A quick note about these rod builds. While on the phone with the sales staff they mentioned the fact they publish blue prints for all of their rod blanks. Normally I wouldn’t put much faith into blueprints published by a manufacturer, but the sales person assured me they put a lot of work into these blue prints and assured me they weren’t just a generic setup. Both of these rods were built according to the blue prints published by batson.

Where are the guide spacing charts for the eternity and immortal?

Weedsnager1, we like to update our website with every model at once. We have tested the most common builds, but still in the testing phase of the lighter models. If you need a specific build for any model, we have no problem sharing this with you. Please just contact us and we can send you our "BluePrint"

On 1/8/2015 at 11:10 PM, Delaware Valley Tackle said:
I've used some of their recipes primarily for Centre Pin rods and they are pretty good. As build more though, you'll see that there is some slight variation among blanks of the same model so I always static test for final running guide placement.

Delaware, thank you so much. We try to keep it as fresh as possible always. Of course these are just guidelines, always measure twice and cut once!! Thank you for your support!

Choporoz reply :

I don't build rods and probably won't. However, I'm always very impressed by well-thought out and well-written reviews, as well as shared words about vendors that are doing things right.

Sarcazmo, thank you very much for taking the time to post.

Batson reply :

On 1/9/2015 at 1:28 AM, Choporoz said:

I don't build rods and probably won't. However, I'm always very impressed by well-thought out and well-written reviews, as well as shared words about vendors that are doing things right.

Sarcazmo, thank you very much for taking the time to post.

Choporoz, You are actually a customer we are wanting to have. We understand that most people want to have a custom rod, but don't want to spend the time to build one. All of our lives are busy, but going custom is the best route. Why?? Its because you get to have the perfect rod! Most people that we have talked to have stated, "I like my rod, but... " now you can have everything! We would implore you to go the custom route and talk to any of our custom rod builders or even ones here on this forum to get you into a custom rod. You will find that with a custom rod, you get more bang for the buck as well as fully customized colors, jewelry, spec, etc.. You get the picture!

Thank you for taking time out to respond! We appreciate it.

Choporoz reply :

Interesting. I will. I looked at your site and totally missed that you do custom builds. Not suggesting that there's anything wrong with your website; it is pretty slick....I just missed it.... It appeared to me that you just sold components.

Batson reply :

Hi Choporoz,

If you look at the top of all our websites, you can navigate to everything brand that we have. You just need to think like a rod builder First you start off with the RainShadow Blanks then move onto the ALPS/ForeCast website to pick out your components. Don't worry about sizing etc.. We have built this for you to put together all the items you like into a "wish list" then send this to any of our dealers or even a rod builder. They will find out exactly what your wanting to order and make sure your building it correctly to spec. From then you can pay any of the rod builders to build it for you. Its as simple as that

MickD reply :

I just built an Eternity 2 4 piece 9 wt fly rod, and I am impressed. Lighter than the RX8 8 wt in spite of using the Alps alum reel seat. The Alps titainium two foot guides are very well finished, look great, match the reel seat well. CCS data shows it's a little faster than the RX8 (70 vs 67 AA). Both are on the high side of their wt class for power.

Dark blue thread without CP looks great, same color "tone" but darker than the blank. Pearl metallic trim.

Batson reply :

On 3/8/2015 at 7:32 AM, MickD said:

I just built an Eternity 2 4 piece 9 wt fly rod, and I am impressed. Lighter than the RX8 8 wt in spite of using the Alps alum reel seat. The Alps titainium two foot guides are very well finished, look great, match the reel seat well. CCS data shows it's a little faster than the RX8 (70 vs 67 AA). Both are on the high side of their wt class for power.

Dark blue thread without CP looks great, same color "tone" but darker than the blank. Pearl metallic trim.

Great to hear you’re impressed with the rod, love to hear more when you get to fishing it.

Would love to see some pictures when you get a chance - always like seeing different custom builds.

Glenn reply :

That sounds awesome! Please post pics!

Jeff H reply :

I'm wanting to see comments on the Revelation blanks. I am thinking my next custom will be a Revelation 68MXF. If I can find out these are somewhat comparable to St. Croix SC II blanks then it's a done deal.

Hogsticker reply :

TT did a write up on a Revelation build.

Jeff H reply :

Thanks Hogsticker.

MickD reply :

trying to send photos, missed last try.

MickD reply :

I certainly don't have the size thing down yet. Any tips?

sarcazmo reply :

Nice thread work!

Batson reply :

On 3/14/2015 at 7:01 AM, Jeff H said:
I'm wanting to see comments on the Revelation blanks. I am thinking my next custom will be a Revelation 68MXF. If I can find out these are somewhat comparable to St. Croix SC II blanks then it's a done deal.

There are a ton of comments all over on the Revelation blanks. They are the best overall round blank for the tournament fisherman! Btw, if you like St. Croix, their former head designer is our head designer!!

On 3/15/2015 at 1:46 AM, MickD said:
TotalRodResize.jpgI certainly don't have the size thing down yet. Any tips?

Size thing down? What tips do you need?

Glenn reply :

That's an awesome looking rod you got there!

Here's information regarding posting pictures on the site: http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/143924-how-to-post-a-picture-pics/

MickD reply :

When I first posted the pics I couldn't get them to size up to the point that they offered a good view. No problem today, so I need no tips.

thanks for the coment on thread work. The pearl metallic lost a little gleam with the "no CP" treatment. It might look better with silver metallic, but maybe not. Next time I'll test both.

Ozark_Basser reply :

On 3/17/2015 at 5:03 AM, MickD said:

When I first posted the pics I couldn't get them to size up to the point that they offered a good view. No problem today, so I need no tips.

thanks for the coment on thread work. The pearl metallic lost a little gleam with the "no CP" treatment. It might look better with silver metallic, but maybe not. Next time I'll test both.

If you upload your photos to photo bucket then copy and paste the image URL to your post, it will make the image much larger and easier to see.

Jeff H reply :

On 3/17/2015 at 2:57 AM, Batson said:

There are a ton of comments all over on the Revelation blanks. They are the best overall round blank for the tournament fisherman! Btw, if you like St. Croix, their former head designer is our head designer!!

Well, I talked with them today when I picked up my latest St Croix finesse custom and he's going to build me a complete Batson custom next.

Batson reply :

On 3/17/2015 at 6:34 AM, Jeff H said:
Well, I talked with them today when I picked up my latest St Croix finesse custom and he's going to build me a complete Batson custom next.

Nice! Remember our blanks are RainShadows!

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