I am also looking into getting a new rod and have been heavily considering both the St. Croix Legend Tournament Slingblade and a custom rod made by Thorne Bros with the G. Loomis Steel 25 blank. I cannot decide which one to go with as they will essentially cost the exact same. I also don't know what the power/specs are on the Steel blank. Is it similar to the Slingblade? What about the quality of the G. Loomis rods now that Shimano owns them? Just want to make sure I make the right decision considering it's a chunk of change to plunk down on either one. Thanks!