Inexpensive Tenkara?

A good middle of the road is the StoneFly:

http://tenkaraflyfish.webs.com/apps/webstore/products/show/1300337

This rod is $80—plus some tippet and a few flies and you'll be good to go for under $100.

You could also get the Caddis Fly for $50 (same company), but I'd spend the little bit extra to get the carbon.

Good luck!

I'm not familiar with either of those rods, but I did make my entry into Tenkara on the inexpensive side with the same concerns.

I wasn't concerned with carbon and went with the 11' Fountainhead Caddis Fly rod (http://tenkaraflyfish.webs.com/apps/webstore/products/show/1671933) primarily because of price ($50) and because this review of the rod was very helpful: http://www.tenkarabum.com/stone-fly-330.html

I added size 4 TenkaraBum Hi-vis flourocarbon line (http://www.tenkarabum.com/hi-vis-fluorocarbon.html) for $20 (which is not the cheapest out there, but I was able to make 4 lines from it), and 12 flies from the same site (for about $24). The flies came with a free mini flybox.

Quality tippet can be had from most fishing gear stores. I picked up some Maxima ultragreen 3lb/5x for less than $4.

So, I paid just under $100 for my entry into Tenkara (less shipping costs, of course. Don't forget the shipping costs).

This link (http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/showthread.php?47376-Rod-Sources&s=1942dcc213ec91b83a1063e9fbba35a1) offers a number of Tenkara dealers to broaden your search, but there are not that many rods being sold for less than $100.

I hope that helps!

Daiwa Soyokaze, 10’2″, $82.

I can highly recommend this rod for small to medium streams.
It would be perfect for JMT streams as it packs small yet fishes Great!

I received my Daiwa Soyokaze 31SR from Tenkara Bum yesterday. I ordered the rod, (1) #2 10 ft level line and (2) #3 10 ft level lines and (2) Fuji Hook Keepers, with shipping it was just over $100. Chris threw in a free 10 ft #4 level line and free tip puller (use if your tip gets stuck). I ordered on Thurs afternoon and although it was going from one coast to another, it was at my house Monday when I got back from work. Great service.
I tied a rather pathetic black threaded ant (it looked more like a black grub), looked up how to attach the line to the rod, added some tippet and headed to the river. The rod casted great and didn't take long to get a feel for it. I got a couple of strikes and even hooked into and landed a 9" Rainbow. This is my first Tenkara (Tenago) rod so I can't offer any comparisons, but it is compact, light and casts well. I think I am going to have a lot of fun with it.

I really like my Stone Fly 360. Although, I don't have any other rod to compare it to.
In the past, some have had problems with the lillian coming off, but I haven't experienced this.

+ 1 for the Caddis Fly – excellent rod at any price.

I wanted to get a tasted of Tenkara as well and ended up ordering a 330 Cadis and a 360 Stone fly. I am really happy with both rods and would say that if I didn't intend to fish mountain lakes that the Cadis would be my only rod. You could easily be under $100 with a Cadis and a few lines and flies.

"if I didn't intend to fish mountain lakes that the Caddis would be my only rod."

– Caddis is only 0.2oz heavier, but $25 cheaper. Would you take Stone Fly because it is a little lighter or because of some other quality that Caddis lacks?

I like the feel of the Caddis as it has a lighter action and seems to turn the lighter lines over easier with better control than the Stone. On the lake I fish the most, that last fish I caught was close to 4 lbs and I think that would challenge the Caddis a bit much where the Stone handled it quite well.

I'm no expert and really I was just looking for a way to replace my fly setup with something cheap and easy. This has given my two setups that are easy to use weather I am lake fishing or stream fishing.

I made my decision to get both rods after reading the reviews over at tenkarabum.com

Hope this helps.