I was in the market for a new musky rod last spring (2022). I hadn’t bought a musky setup in 25 years. The last was a Loomis GL2. I went to every shop within hour drive of my house. I looked at dozens of rods – in my hand. I was at the Musky Shop and handled every rod they had. Their Shield Rod felt like a club – heavy – clumsy – “bulky” to me. So did the Shimano SkiXX, it was maybe worse. Which surprised me. Elliot Rods were nicer. I never fished with any of these rods though.
Ended up with 2 St. Croixs. A Premier and a Legend Tournament. Put a Shimano Tranx 400 on each. Very happy, well except the line is very loud through the guides. But that’s a line issue, not rod.