PLUSINNO Telescopic Combo Review: compact rods that are handy but not perfect

I’ve been using this PLUSINNO 2-pack telescopic combo (the 2.1 m / 6.89 ft version) as a grab-and-go setup for casual freshwater trips and the odd outing near the coast. I didn’t buy it expecting pro-level gear; I wanted something cheap, portable, and good enough to keep in the car so I can fish whenever I get the chance. In that sense, it does what it’s supposed to do: it lets you fish without overthinking your gear.

The first impression out of the box was honestly better than I expected for the price. The rods feel light, the reels don’t feel like toys, and the whole kit packs into a compact case that you can throw in a trunk or backpack. It’s clearly aimed at beginners, people who fish a few times a year, or someone like me who wants an extra set for friends or kids. Don’t expect premium finishes, but nothing looked like it was going to fall apart immediately either.

I’ve used these mostly for small to medium freshwater fish (bass, panfish, a bit of light river fishing) and a little light saltwater from shore. In that range, the combo handles fine. The rods cast decently, the reels are smooth enough, and I haven’t had any structural failures. The included line and lures are another story, but I’ll get into that later. The short version: the rods and reels are the real value, the rest is mostly filler.

If you’re thinking of this as your main setup for serious fishing trips, you might be disappointed. If you see it as a casual, portable kit that lets you fish without spending a lot or worrying about babying your gear, then it makes more sense. It’s not perfect, but for a trunk rod or a starter kit, it’s pretty solid overall.

In terms of value, this combo makes sense if you look at what you’re paying versus what you’re getting. Two rods, two reels, line, lures, hooks, accessories, and a carry case for the price of what some single mid-range rods cost. Obviously, you’re not getting the same quality as higher-end gear, but for a beginner or someone who fishes occasionally, it’s a pretty solid deal.

Where the value is strongest is in the rods and reels. If you break down the price mentally, it’s like you’re paying mainly for two functional combos and getting the line, tackle, and case almost as a bonus. The extras are usable but not great, so I wouldn’t buy this kit just for the accessories. The rods, on the other hand, are portable and good enough to actually fish with, and the reels are decent for light to medium use.

Compared to buying everything separately, you definitely save money, especially if you’re starting from zero. A similar level of budget rod, reel, line, and a small tackle selection bought piece by piece would usually cost more. The trade-off is that you’re locked into a certain quality level. If you already own decent gear, you might be better off just buying a single travel rod or a better reel rather than this whole kit.

So for me, the value is clear in a few scenarios: you want a first kit, you need a spare/loaner setup for friends or kids, or you want a cheap trunk combo that you won’t cry over if it gets lost or damaged. In those cases, the price-to-utility ratio is good. If you’re more experienced and picky about performance, you might prefer to invest in fewer but better pieces instead.

The overall design is clearly built around portability. The rods are telescopic, so they collapse down to about 16 inches. That makes them easy to stash pretty much anywhere: trunk, backpack, camper, even a larger suitcase. For travel or camping, that’s the big selling point. You’re trading a bit of performance and balance versus a regular two-piece rod, but you gain a lot of convenience.

Extended, the 2.1 m rod has a medium power feel, which for me translated to decent backbone with a fairly soft tip. It’s okay for bass, trout, and general freshwater fishing, but I wouldn’t push it too hard on big saltwater fish. The guides line up fairly well when you extend it, though you need to pay attention when pulling each section out so you don’t twist them out of alignment. That’s just the nature of telescopic rods in general.

The reel seat and handle design are pretty simple: EVA grip, stainless hooded reel seat, and a standard spinning layout. It’s ambidextrous, so you can swap the handle to either side, which is handy if you’re sharing it with someone who reels with the opposite hand. One thing I noticed is that the combo feels a bit front-heavy with the HA3000 reel on the shorter 2.1 m rod. It’s not unmanageable, but compared to a more balanced one-piece or two-piece setup, you feel the weight towards the tip a bit more.

In terms of looks, it’s nothing fancy, but it doesn’t scream “toy” either. The finish is decent, the branding is not too loud, and everything is functional. The main downside in the design for me is just the typical telescopic quirks: you have to watch the sections when collapsing/expanding, and you don’t get the same crisp feel as a one-piece rod. But for a portable design, it’s honestly fine.

The rods are made from a carbon fiber mixed with fiberglass blank, which is pretty standard at this price point. In the hand, they feel light but not fragile. There’s a bit of flex all along the rod, and you can tell it’s not a super high-end blank, but that’s expected. For casual fishing, the material choice makes sense: carbon for stiffness and sensitivity, fiberglass for durability and a bit of forgiveness.

The guides use aluminum oxide inserts, and during my use I didn’t see any rough spots or obvious defects. Line runs through them smoothly enough, and I didn’t notice any unusual wear on the mono I used. The stainless steel hooded reel seat is a nice touch for occasional saltwater use; it resists corrosion decently as long as you rinse your gear after using it in the sea. The EVA grip is basic but comfortable, and it doesn’t get too slippery when wet.

The reel itself feels like typical budget construction: mostly plastic body with some metal components where needed. The spool is aluminum, which is good, and the handle isn’t flimsy, but you can tell it’s not a high-end reel. The drag is usable, the bail arm feels okay, and the overall feel is more solid than I expected for the price. It’s not something I’d want to dunk in sand or abuse heavily, but for normal use it holds up.

Where the materials feel cheaper is in the included line and lures. The line feels stiff and has quite a bit of memory, so it coils and loops more than better quality mono. The lures and hooks are fine for a beginner to experiment with, but I wouldn’t call them durable or sharp enough for more serious fishing. In short: the rod and reel materials are decent for the money, the accessories feel more like throw-ins.

The carry case is actually one of the nicer surprises in this kit. It’s not high-end, but it’s structured enough to protect the rods and reels from basic knocks in the car or during travel. Everything fits inside: both rods (collapsed), both reels, the line, and the little tackle box. For someone who doesn’t want to think about separate rod tubes or tackle bags, it’s a clean all-in-one solution.

Inside, there’s enough room to keep things from getting crushed, but it’s not super organized. You basically lay the rods in, tuck the reels and accessories around them, and zip it up. There aren’t many internal dividers or straps, so if you’re picky about organization, you might find it a bit messy. For me, it’s fine: it keeps everything together and easy to grab. The zipper feels okay, not super heavy-duty, but it hasn’t snagged or broken yet.

The tackle box included is small and simple, with a few compartments. It’s enough to keep the provided lures and hooks from getting completely tangled, but if you already own gear, you’ll probably move your favorite stuff into a better box. Still, for a beginner, it’s handy to have a ready-made little kit that lives inside the case. You can literally grab the bag and go fish without thinking too much.

From a packaging standpoint, you can tell they wanted this to be a “giftable” product: neat case, everything tucked in, looks like a complete set. For a Father’s Day or birthday gift for someone who’s just getting into fishing, it works pretty well. It’s not fancy, but it’s practical, and that’s what matters here.

After a series of weekend trips and some random after-work sessions, the rods themselves have held up fine. No broken sections, no loose guides, and the telescopic joints still extend and collapse smoothly. I always make sure not to yank on the tip or force the sections, which is important with any telescopic rod. If you’re rough with your gear, this type of design is easier to damage than a solid one-piece, but with normal use it’s been okay.

The finish on the blank hasn’t chipped badly or peeled, and the guides are still straight. I did notice a tiny bit of play developing between some sections after repeated collapsing/expanding, but nothing that affected actual fishing yet. That’s pretty standard wear for telescopic rods. If you keep dirt and sand out of the joints and don’t slam the sections together, they should last a while.

The reels are holding up reasonably well, but you can feel that they’re budget reels. After a handful of trips, one of the reels developed a slightly rougher feel on the retrieve, especially under load. It’s still usable, just not as smooth as day one. Also, like some other users mentioned, the handle nut loosening is a recurring annoyance. It hasn’t broken on me, but it’s definitely a weak point in terms of long-term reliability.

I wouldn’t call this a combo that will last you a decade of heavy use, but for occasional fishing and as a spare kit, the durability is acceptable. If you rinse it after saltwater, avoid dropping it on rocks, and don’t over-stress the rods, you should get your money’s worth. Just don’t expect it to take the same abuse as more expensive gear.

In actual use, the combo performs better than I expected for the price, as long as you stay in its comfort zone. With 8–12 lb mono and small to medium lures, it casts smoothly and far enough for shore fishing on lakes, ponds, and rivers. The tip has enough sensitivity to feel basic bites, though you’re not getting the crisp feedback of a higher-end rod. For beginners or casual users, it’s more than enough to have some fun and land fish.

The HA3000 reel is where I was most curious. The gear ratio is 5.2:1, which is pretty standard. The retrieve is fairly smooth out of the box, not buttery but not grindy either. The drag works, but I wouldn’t trust it on very big fish; it’s okay for bass and similar sizes. One issue I ran into after a few trips is that the handle nut tends to loosen over time. If you don’t check it occasionally, the handle can wobble or, in worst cases, fall off. It’s not a disaster, but it’s something you need to watch.

Line management is decent as long as you don’t overfill the spool and you use decent line. With the included mono, I had more loops and small tangles. Once I switched to a better brand of mono, the combo behaved a lot nicer. The anti-reverse works as advertised, and I didn’t have any bail arm failures or weird noises during normal use.

For saltwater, I’d treat this as a light-duty setup only. It can handle some shore fishing for small species, but I’d rinse everything thoroughly afterward and not expect it to last for years of heavy saltwater abuse. For freshwater, short trips, and as a backup rod, the performance is perfectly acceptable. It gets the job done, just don’t expect miracles.

On paper, this kit sounds loaded, and to be fair, there’s a lot in the bag. You get two telescopic rods (2.1 m / 6.89 ft), two spinning reels (HA3000 size), two spools of mono line, a small box with various lures, hooks, and accessories, plus a zippered carry case. The idea is simple: buy this and you’re ready to fish without buying anything else. In practice, it’s almost true, but not quite.

The rods come collapsed inside the case, and they’re pretty compact when folded (around 41 cm). You can easily fit the whole kit behind a car seat or in a closet. The reels are pre-assembled enough that you basically just attach them to the rods, spool your line, and go. The small tackle box has a bit of everything: some soft plastics, a few hard lures, some basic hooks, swivels, and sinkers. It’s enough to catch fish, but don’t expect premium tackle.

What I noticed quickly is that the value is clearly in the rods and reels. The included line feels cheap and springy, and the lures are okay for casual use but not something I’d rely on for serious fishing. If you’re a beginner, you can absolutely use them to get started and catch a few fish, but if you already fish, you’ll probably replace the line right away and only keep a few of the accessories.

Overall, as a “full kit” presentation, it does the job: you open the box, and you have almost everything you need. But mentally, I’d treat the extras as a temporary bonus, not long-term gear. Consider it a good starter pack with decent core components and some filler around the edges.