About Tenkara Adventure Outfitters
Tenkara Adventure Outfitters (TAO) was formed in 2019 when Tom Bayly acquired the Badger Tenkara brand, which Matt Sment and Mike Lutes had founded in 2014 in Madison, Wisconsin. Badger's rods had become a reference point for affordable tenkara in the United States, and when Badger stopped distributing them TAO took the line over, sells it under its own name, and supports former Badger customers. The company's stated philosophy is to use what you need and nothing more, and it sells a full outfit of lines, kebari, nets and accessories alongside the rods. It also stocks Nissin and Oni rods from Japan, which are not part of this listing.
The rod range is five models, all telescopic carbon-fiber rods in a matte olive drab green finish with a 360-degree micro-swivel lillian, sold with a hard storage tube and rod bag. The U.N.C (8'6", 2 oz, 18 in closed) is the small-creek rod, named for the unnamed creeks on a map. The Classic (11'9", 3.2 oz) is the all-rounder. The Bad Axe zooms between 9'10" and 11'5", and the Driftless, added in 2023 and developed by Matt Sment, zooms between 8'6" and 10'4". The Wisco 2 (13'4") is the big-fish rod, with a 7:3 flex and a 14 in straight handle for two-handed fighting. The four shorter rods share a 6:4 medium flex.
Prices run from $119.99 to $139.99, which keeps the line at the value end of the US tenkara market. Rods sell direct from the company's own store.
What Tenkara Adventure Outfitters is known for
The Classic is the all-round recommendation and the U.N.C the small-creek rod; the Bad Axe and Driftless are the two-length zoom rods, and the Wisco 2 is the big-fish rod. The brand is known as the continuation of Badger Tenkara, one of the earliest US tenkara makers, whose rods it sells refined under the TAO name at prices under $140. Every rod uses a 6:4 or 7:3 flex profile, a 360-degree micro-swivel lillian, and ships with a hard tube. In this catalog it sits with Tenkara USA and Tenkara Tanuki among Western tenkara makers.