I recently picked up two of them and they are awesome. I really liked the older ones but had a hard time with the split grip because I still like to cast with both hands. I never thought he could come up with a better rod than the first series but he hit a homerun with the X 17's. The added grip and the new reel seats are nice. These rods have tons of backbone and are super light and I have fished with them for 8 to 10 hours at a time with no aches or pains at all. They are super sensitive too especially with florocarbon line, you can feel the slightest little tick when a fish bites. If your in the market for a rod you really should try these out, I doubt you'll be disappointed.
