Chosing a (popper and stickbait) rod

Searching for a nice rod has always been one of my favorite parts of preparation. Actually chosing (i.e. deciding for one) is not that easy though. There are multiple selection criteria and you never get it all in one package (unless you take the price out of the equation). My decision depends on: technical parameters, quality of the components, feeling, design, reputation, price. The technical parameters (lure weight, rod length, max drag, PE class, transport length) must be suited for the task and they are the most important criterion. But since I never fished for GT before (not even any other tropical species) I can only rely on other people's experience in this case. In order to do that I browsed internet forums (such as Big Game Board, GT Popping or 360 Tuna) and read through recommendations of fishing guides (such as Andres Expeditions (German) or Green Fishing (French)). From all those different sources I tried to collect information about the typical lure weight, the required line strength (that reflects in the PE number of a rod) and the typical rod length. Here is the result:

Manufacturer	Model	Lure Weight	PE Class	Rod Length	Transport Length	Rod Weight (gr)	Max Drag at 45° (kg)	Price
Carpenter	Monster Hunter 80H	250	8-10	8.0	167	430	13	75,000 YEN
Carpenter	Coral Viper 79/40	200	6-8	7.9	168.5	385	12	75,000 YEN
Carpenter	The Blue Lagoon 80/40	240	8	8.0	170	400	13	75,000 YEN
FCL Labo	UCB81 Extreme	180	8-10	8.1	177	380		800 AUS
Fisherman	GT-GAME-T	220	8	7.6	151	-	-	101,600 YEN
Hammerhead	Faube 77M+	180	10	7.7	167	385	11	-
HOTS	GIPANG 79XH	230	6-10	7.9	-	-	-	51,975 YEN
Patriot Design	World Combat GTZ Black Mafia 76	230	8-12	7.6	-	515	17	95,000 YEN
Race Point (by Saltywater Tackle)	Race Point 250	180	10	7.5	-	395	16	700 USD
Ripple Fisher	Fanta Stick GT79 reversal	120-180	10	7.9	-	390	-	887 USD, 895 EUR
Ripple Fisher	Final Spirit GT79H	170-220	12	7.9	-	395	-	887 USD, 63,000 YEN
Ripple Fisher	Ultimo 79MH UG Swim	160	8	7.9	-	357	-	63,000 YEN
Shimano	Kaibutsu Surface Monster	250	-	7.8	147	-	-	350 EUR
Smith	WRC-Komodo Dragon	300	12	7.6	162	430	10	82,950 YEN
Smith	WRC-Tokara60	250	12	7.6	-	420	13	610 EUR, 74,550 YEN
Temple Reef	Reefer 711-10	170	10	7.11	174	410	14	690 USD
Xzoga	Taka Pi 7708	450 (officially), ~150 (in practice)	8	7.7	-	410	20	414 USD, 419 EUR
Zenaq	Fokeeto 80-10	230	7-10	8.0	175	-	423	-

Notice / Update: in the meantime I have removed and added some rods. The ones removed were either rarely recommended in expert forums or no GT rods. I've added some rods like Racepoint or Temple Reef but for those I couldn't find a lot of reviews / feedback in the internet.

The next thing I did was analyzing all that data and deriving average numbers. Why? Well, I do not trust one single person's opinion (since there is a lot of hidden advertisement). But when you aggregate all those people's opinions than you get a quite reliable look at the essence. And here it is:

The average popping rod is 8 ft long (244cm) and it is optimized for lures weighing up to 190 grams and PE class 8 (which means 100lb braided line). It should be able to support a drag force of at least 10 kg (22lb). It consists of two parts: the handle and the main rod, where the main rod part is longer, around 175cm in average.

What I couldn't find out from reading through internet pages is the feeling of the rod. This is the biggest drawback of my research and here in Germany there aren't a lot of shops where I could touch those rods. That's too bad, since the feeling is a very subjective quality, I believe.
Speaking of design: well, interestingly, the cheaper rods look fancier (in my opinion) where the more expensive ones almost look alike, very simple. But this is understatement, guys. Apparently, it's the feeling that sets them apart. And honestly, I haven't fished for GT yet but from freshwater fishing I can confirm that this is the most important aspect. So I trust the experts here.
Speaking of reputation and price: the more expensive, the more praise. Interestingly, I noticed that there is a difference between the information that you find in global forums and country-specific forums. Apparently, some manufacturers focus their marketing on single markets (e.g. OTI (on USA), Xzoga (on Germany), Tenryu (on France)) which raises my suspection but you may think of that what you will. One thing is safe to say though: Fisherman, Carpenter, Smith and Ripple Fisher are the most praised brands, and the most expensive ones. Carpenter and Ripple Fisher introduced quite a lot of innovations over the last years, where Fisherman and Smith rely on models that were mostly introduced some 10 years ago (but still get praise).
Now, let's talk money finally: all these rods aren't cheap exactly. (Notice: the prices that you find in the table above are subject to changes.) Usually, I start with a medium-prized rod. Only here, there is none. Another approach is to look at availability. Many Japanese rods aren't available outside of Japan or their price is considerably higher in US or EU internet shops. I compared Japanese prices to US or EU prices using X-Rates and I identified only one EU shop that resells Japanese rods at a reasonable price. I'd advice you to do the same before chosing a rod. The best thing you can do for sure is to buy rods in Japan (if you happen to go there or have a friend travelling there).

There is a very useful guide (by Brandon Khoo) to buying popping rods on GTPopping.com. Read it!

Have fun deciding for yourself.
Tight lines.