new rods

What are some of the major points you look at when going to buy a new stick?

You need to ask yourself what you will mainly be using it for. Baitcasting you need a sturdier stick to throw 8 and bait if you will be mostly fishing the ocean. That thickness would be tiring if you were casting plugs a lot. That's some off the shelf rods have designations like,
medium, medium heavy, heavy, etc.
When you throw plugs only, the first question you should ask yourself looking for a rod is what is the average weight of plugs you will be throwing. If you throw a 4 oz pencil all afternoon on a rod designed to handle 1-2 /1/2 oz, you will either not be getting the benefit of maximum casting range or may end up snapping the rod.

for me its price point first weight next them i look for good guides good reel seat and then i like a nice wrap on the rod when i shop for a rod i go in knowing i mite get more than one rod so i know what i want to fish for

If it is for plugging a graphite rod is my choice w/ good guides for braid,balanced to the reel that will be used,a butt & grip of your preference I like the cork some like the eva foam.For bait I like a glass rod more strength for heaving the heavy weight of sinkers and bait a good distance I don't bait w/ braid so the guides aren't that important I like the thicker foam grips they sit tighter in a pole spike and don't spin around when a fish hits it..For any rod you need to look at the line and lure ratings and base the rod on what you will be doing w/it if you are throwing lighter plugs you can get a med. rated stik,once you get into throwing heavier plugs you will need to step up to a med/hvy rating.The line you use shouldn't exceed the the line rating on the rod these ratings were set by the builders if it is a 20 lb. max rating mono or braid thats it if you go heavier the rod can break especially graphite.All of my buddies disagree but they are buying new rods and saying its a piece of crap its not the rod it's their mentality they use 40-50 lb.braid when the rod is not rated for it thats why the ratings are there.When I started surf fishing I used 15- 20 lb. mono for everything I didn't lose fish or break rods people have to realize this braid is seriously strong stuff it doesn't stretch I'm not dissing it I use it but there are a different set of rules for it. Sorry for the length but I tried to touch the bases buying a rod is not as easy as it used to be.