A question we get asked a lot, and one see on may social media groups and forums, is “Which sections are compatible with my TKS pole?”.
The whole point of TKS (which stands for Top Kit Solution) is that any pole with a TKS badge can accept ANY top kit we’ve ever produced that carries a TKS badge. Whats more, as we’ve progressed the range over the last decade, we’ve utilised shared mandrels so certain poles are interchangeable with each other. This means it’s a simple approach to understanding what spares work with your pole and what options there are for upgrading.
Removing the TKS1001 3G from the equation for a moment - we’ll talk about that shortly - the main range of long poles numbered 101 - 901 and including power and margin models, all have a degree of compatibility based upon the mandrel used. This applies to the current 3G models and the previous generation of 1G and 2G poles. These are all based around three mandrels that we’ve used so current 3G spare will fit older models:
Mandrel 1 - TKS 101/201/301
Mandrel 2 - TKS 401/501/C1/Carp1/M10/M1
Mandrel 3 - TKS 601*/701/801/901/C2/Carp2/M20/M2
For example; you can have an original TKS401, go out and buy a TKS501 3G and and pick up a bargain M1 Margin pole and they’ll all be interchangeable. For many anglers, especially those who buy at the top end of the range, this allows them to have their main pole and a secondary back-up model, possibly a cheaper pole from the same mandrel family, so if they do suffer a break then can quickly swap a section out and keep fishing. It also means that in some cases you can have a dedicated margin pole that can accept butt sections from your main pole should a fish run and you have to follow it out.
Unfortunately, the original range of TKS long poles that were numbered ‘x25’ and their predecessors, the TKS 10/20/30/40/50 range, are not compatible with the newer poles and are long out of production. Some sections are still available as end-of-line items but these won’t be refreshed.
The TKS1001 16m and the accompanying TKS 1001 10.2m power models are both produced on a separate mandrel (Mandrel 4 for ease of understanding), which allows for the insanely narrow section diameter that’s made the 1001 famous. Only the top kits from these poles will interchange across the rest of the TKS pole range.
Likewise, our M600 and any version of our trusty 8.5m Power Margin pole are standalone, meaning they will only accept TKS top kits and are not interchangeable with any other model.
Check out the full list of spares (with codes and RRPs) here, plus what top kits and additional sections are available.
*(The 1G version of the 601 was produced on a separate mandrel and isn’t compatible with other models. This was changed with the 2G and 3G versions. Spares availability for the 601 ‘1G’ is limited)
