Rods

Tackle tart, me? Well, maybe just a little bit and, as such, I liked these wands straight out of the bag.

Cork handles, especially proper ones like this, and the neat carbon-wrap finish make the Horizons look the business.
It then took me a while before I had the chance to actually go out and test them, but having now used them on half a dozen occasions I have to say that they are mightily impressive. I’d go as far as to say that they’re the best rods that Fox has produced for a very long time.
There are two versions available in the cork-handled build, namely the 2.75lb and the 3lb, each of which are 12ft. I have been testing the 3lb versions and they’ve performed admirably. I do not fish too many big waters at the moment, so rarely need to cast much more than 100 yards or so. The 3lb has coped with such range easily so far.
When playing fish (yes, I’ve been getting lucky again) the tip seems to absorb most of the lunges and plenty of reserve power is evident in the rest of the blank.
I’ve used hook links down to 8lb in normal conditions and when zigging, and I wouldn’t want to go any lower, but if you’re regularly fishing lighter lines you’d drop down to the 2.75lb anyway.
In all, these have so far proved impressive. I find myself using an increasing amount of Fox gear and I am happy to trial these for a little longer!

RRP: £199.99
Website: www.foxint.com
Test period: Three months

Marc Coulson's verdict
performance ★★★★★★★★★★
value ★★★★★★★★★★

Fox' best rods for a very long time