Quote:
Originally Posted by jeprli
I highly doubt sage or any other rod manufacturer has a mandrel for every single rod they make. More like test fit a few pieces until they find one that fits your rod, if not they can always modify ferrules to make it fit correctly. Same can be done at TFO shop in Calgary.
American made means nothing, more like assembled in US if that is even the case. There are few companies who build from scratch but Sage is definitely not one of them.
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I am not rushing to the defence of Sage rods but they are all designed and manufactured in the USA. They do have some rods that are assembled elsewhere; they call them Redington.
American made does mean something although ignorance is bliss. I truly enjoyed fishing a TFO Signature Series until I got my hands on a ZXL for stream fishing. AND yes I do hook and land more fish with it as it sets a tiny fly down like it has burnt feet and protects light tippet like no other rod I have fished with.
Having said that, it is the designer/design of the taper and the science that went into the blank. I love all of the Generation 5 Sage rods but have little use for the new Konnetic rods. Not saying there is something wrong with them, they are just faster than I like in the ones I have tried and lack feel. I did like the 3 weight ONE but it felt like a fast 4 in my hands.
I was very impressed with the Echo3 in 3 weight as well but again it felt like a 4 to me.
All overseas rods are certainly not equal and as mentioned above the rods coming out of South Korea are arguably the best rods made today. I have a Hardy Zenith that IMO (and many others) is the best 5 weight rod ever assembled. My son fishes the Loop Opti-Stream and it too is out standing.
Anywho, if I was in the market for a 3 weight, I would go Orvis Superfine. This is based entirely on research but I have spent hours reading forums and blogs and it seems like a good fit for me. I would want it exclusively for very small stream cuts and brookies.