Balzer Diabolo Neo Tele Rod in the test

Tele rods are my first choice for a short stop or as a “rod always in the car”. Since it was time for a new one, I chose a classic series, the Balzer Diabolo Neo Tele. I am writing the test here after a good ten uses, during which there was also a lot of fish. You can read here how exactly my experiences with the rod were in the test and what I have to complain about.

First impression

Fast deployment without having to drag too much.

The rod is of course quick to unpack and set up, the wobble test shows a semi-parabolic action. The workmanship looks good so far and I have nothing to complain about. From a purely visual point of view, the rod is attached to the handle

The advantage of telescopic rods is obvious: easy transport in a backpack is possible.

chic carbon pattern dominates. The pull-out parts are then completely black, which I find almost a bit boring. On the other hand, I find the small hook eye very nice and the very small pack size for a tele rod. The latter of course also makes the rod interesting as a travel rod.

View Balzer Diabolo NEO Tele on Amazon >>

Models

The Balzer Diabolo Neo Tele is also available in different versions. The rod I bought and tested has a casting weight of 20-70g and is 3 m long. With this I cover the bottom and float fishing for pike, pikeperch, carp, eel and tench quite universally. The rod has an IM 7 carbon fiber blank and titanium SIC guides. The rod is also available as a mini spin with a very short pack or transport port size.

Here are the models in the overview table

model	Length (m)	Transportlänge (cm)	Griff	Parts	Throwing weight (g)	Weight (g)
Tele 40 2,10m	2,10	61	cork	5	14885	135
Tele 40 2,40m	2,40	65	cork	5	14885	145
Tele 40 2.70m	2,70	68	cork	6	14885	180
Tele 40 3.00m	3,00	76	cork	6	14885	195
Tele 70 2,40m	2,40	68	cork	5	20-70	150
Tele 70 2.70m	2,70	67	cork	6	20-70	195
Tele 70 3.00m	3,00	76	cork	6	20-70	200
Tele 70 3.30m	3,30	83	cork	6	20-70	220
Tele 100 3.00m	3,00	75	cork	6	40-100	215
Mini Spin 45 2,10m	2,10	48	cork	7	5-45	135
Mini Spin 45 2,40m	2,40	49	cork	7	5-45	155
Mini Spin 45 2,70m	2,70	54	cork	8	5-45	195

Practical test

I now had the rod a good 20 times on the water so I can say a lot about them. The rod has mainly seen tench on fish and has cushioned their rapid escape in close range. The backbone of the rod, however, has so far

The rod was particularly in contact with a large number of tench.

“Only” felt a few stronger eels that I had to pull out of the reeds. The rod managed that well, so the blank is quite robust and builds up pressure.

Here in comparison the old diabolo below and the new Neo above.

At one or the other trailer I let the rod click and stretched it properly. She went through that quite well, unfortunately many Tele rods break very quickly here. The end cap has also been improved because it came off quite easily on the old Neo Tele. The new one is screwable and more robust. A real improvement. So I am satisfied with the performance of the rod in the crucial practical part.

Conclusion

Good telescopic rod for quick use or ideal for occasional anglers. All in all, I am quite satisfied with the rod. Still, I don’t want to give top marks, because the rod didn’t really blow me away. Nevertheless, the rod is very solid, robust and I could not find any real defects. Who one good all-round telescopic rod for the hide is looking for is definitely not wrong with this rod. I find the rod a little too soft for spin fishing and they give too little feedback.