I have looked at the diawa ss700 just haven't ever bought one... My combo of choice is a 6'8" fenwick elite tech river runner (ultra light) w/ a 1000 series shimano sahara... I also have a esp rod that a liked for a bit and I found a 6ft rod from dicks called a tec lite which I like better than the ESP and I have a Sahara on it too... Happy hunting!