It was probably Gil that wrote that article. He mostly uses raven and rcr rods if I'm not mistaken. The rcr company went under this past year, so you can't get those anymore.
It would probably be beneficial to look for rods in the Ontario region or the eastern U.S.. They really like the noodle rods over there, which is what's ideal for long range casting off the beach. The only really nice one I've picked up around here was an okuma at cabelas, believe it was 13 ft and a 4-8 rating.
I've always found a 9 foot rod adequate and a 10'6" rod is more than enough. You want to have a rod that maxes out at 3/8 lure size, as you're mostly tossing smaller gear on the beach. Too high of a lure rating will mean harder casting with the small spoons. You can still use larger buzz bombs, etc on the light rods, just don't really step into it or you run the risk of overloading it and snapping your rod.
Don't get the 13ft claris... Complete garbage. They snap at the top section constantly. I broke 2 right out of warranty on their first 10 casts of the day using it as a pin rod. The 4th one I got is still sitting in my basement, broken. Got tired of warranty process over and over.