Maver Elite Carp Series 1 14.5m
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On special offer at £799.99 (13m) and £899.99 (14.5m)
The current crop of Maver poles that includes the top-end Signature, Elite Carp, Enigma, Armageddon SX and Retribution SX models can lay claim to being the best this company has ever released.
In terms of specification, price and kit packages, Maver has got it covered. But if we are talking ‘the best of the best’ for net-busting commercial work the Elite Carp Series (four new poles priced from £800 up to a wallet-wincing two-and-a-half grand) are the ones to go for.
The original Maver Elite Carp pole caused a stir on the match scene as it combined all the power needed to tame big fish with the feel, balance, stiffness and handling qualities of an all-rounder. Maver was at pains to point out the cutting edge carbon technology that went into this pole, and its top-notch build credentials.
The latest Elite Carp Series pole is a worthy successor, using the latest high-tensile carbon cloths in conjunction with new resin formulations and finishes.
The Elite Carp Series 1 selected for Live Test duty is built around a nine-piece mandrel. The 450 grade high tensile carbon cloth is reinforced with super vibration-damping Epoxy and 4Mat resins which, for the entry-level model, is quite something. In pratical terms this makes for a very rigid, strong pole that is not overly heavy and is easy to handle.
It weighs in at just 725g at 11.5m, and a mere 1000g at 13m. Other technical attributes include a classy grey Sun Core finish, which stops the sections becoming too hot to handle in bright weather and improves its shipping qualities.
The pole comes with the latest Maver Powerlite top kits, rated for use with up to size 20 elastics and complete with side puller slots and factory-fitted PTFE bushes.
With all the technicalities out of the way, it was time to find out how this pole – in 13m or 14.5m options – shaped up when faced with hard-fighting commercial fish. Well, hand on heart, it would be easy to confuse its performance with that of the top-of-the-range Elite Carp 4 pole. Only when a niggling side wind got up and buffeted the pole around a bit did it become apparent that this was the much cheaper entry level model.
It maybe a little bouncy at its full 14.5m length, but what is loses in linear stiffness it makes up for in power and strength. At 13m you wouldn’t even notice that it moves around a bit in the wind.
As for shipping in and out, it’s as slippery as a soapy eel. The joints are all sound and look unlikely to come apart when you least need them to. Reassuringly strong section walls make it ideal for both margin and short line paste tactics, that by their very nature will show up any deficiencies in the pole. This one passed the test with flying colours.