short story---

 i wanted a lower priced rod so i went to the local Gander mountain and came across the Berkley AMP series rods and it felt good but i think i jumped on it mostly b/c of the look (not a smart move to pick for looks). so i grabbed up a 6'6" M action... well got to use it the other day and its defiantly not what im looking for. its already got "paint or epoxy or something of that sort" coming off around the top of the reel seat, plus the way you tighten up the reel is by screwing up the handle, and i couldnt get it tight enough with out it sounding as if it was going to break and on every hook set it was coming loose, now how am i supposed to fish with the fear that on every hook set my reel could end up in the water.(now im not trying to dogg the rod b/c it could just be the one i had) but with that said im returning the rod ASAP and wanting to pick up something different and was thinking about the Lightning rod series, any thoughts, experiences or reviews of the rod will be greatly appreciated or make another suggestion for a rod that Gander Mountain carrys (looking for an "all around" bass pole)