Hi Eugene. What I've noticed in George/Mosselbay is that most of the tackle shop owners are either sponsored by a specific brand or supported by one. So most of them will only try and sell one brand to you because they get something out of it probably. It's Assassin and Penn most of the times, and they rarely stock any good rods from other brands. And their prices are pretty rediculous as well.
But getting back to the rod, I've had a good feel of the 11ft 1-3oz one (also looking at buying one) and it just feels like a better quality product when comparing it to some of the other rods in that price range. The 12ft XH that you're looking at felt quite a bit heavier than the 1-3oz H version, so I don't know what you are going to use the rod for, but if you're not going to cast lures all day long it is a great rod.