I bought this for a trip to the Outer Banks, but to be honest I've been nervous because of all the reviews about the rod snapping. I used it for surf casting nearly every day, sometimes twice a day while in NC and it performed great. I caught roughly 40 fish and the rod was fine. I really love the reel, though a 6000 was overkill for what I was fishing for. The reel was smooth, with no quirks. There was plenty of drag and bail action was great. I didn't catch anything that would overly challenge the rod, but for surf casting and catching Mullet, Spot and Mackerel it was perfect. Also, the price I paid for the combo was roughly the price of the reel by itself, so i'm not that worried if I have to replace the rod at some point. UPDATE: I bought a smaller 300 combo for freshwater and so far so good. The reel is fantastic and no major problems with the rod. That set was more expensive, but it wasn't much more than the reel itself, so again, if the rod breaks down the line, replacing it isn't the end of the world. UPDATE 2: Caught a bunch of good-sized blue gills and a largemouth that weighed a few lbs today. No issue at all with the freshwater rod. Reel was smooth on the retrieve using crankbaits. UPDATE 3: I’m up to close to 100 fish on the 6000 and so far no issues with the rod. I caught several good sized sand sharks in Cape May and a large Skate at Sandy Hook and brought both in with no trouble. I still wouldn’t say I’ve overly challenged the rod but it is definitely holding up to constant use.