thomas and thomas zone vs orvis recon

The DXF was better and the Shadow was far better. Usually takes 1-2 weeks. Power: 8.5/10 - The lightweight, quick-recovering blank of the Sky encourages excellent power and accuracy at long range. Doing this with 6X or 7X tippet demands a good smooth drag with just the right amount of drag adjustment. Good-looking wood insert spacers that are finished well add to the attractiveness of any rod. Winston says Pure Feel, Pure Presentation and Pure Fun I cant disagree. As long as there wasnt much wind I could easily hit 60 feet but accuracy suffered. Chloe has been working in the shop for two summers and now works with us full time. Join Our Weekly Newsletter: There are matching burgundy wraps on the guides, and the epoxy coatings were very well done. Here's the power/action matrix for all price ranges. The epoxy coatings on the guides were excellent. Cheaper rods often utilize pre-formed grips that use a lot of filler in the cork that will chunk out or erode with hard use. Rods are repaired or sections replaced. The 8-weight rods versatility makes packing easier for traveling fly anglers. Dont make this mistake. The heavy swing weight and stiffer tip gave me very little feel. Nice tight loops and good control. With comments by the Yellowstone Angler staff. and they examine it. I did like the flat, non-glare black finish used on the blank. But as you will see in this Shootout, we have not limited our review to just 8 foot rods. At short range I like to cast off the tip of the rod, using mostly my wrist and little arm movement to power the tip of the rod through the stroke. The best rods certainly need to handle this distance easily, but most anglers are buying a 4-weight rod for fishing at closer distances, which puts the emphasis on 25 to 40 foot casts. A single uplocking, gray anodized skeleton seat is fitted with an attractive burled wood insert. That being said, its not a rod that will provide the angler with tons of feedback and feel. I wish they would had used the lighter, flexible nickel/titanium snake guides found on the Helios 3F, or even better, the nickel titanium single-foot guides found on the Hardy Zephrus, which would have improved its heavy swing weight. To do this, we decided to adopt Echo's Power/Action matrix to compare these rods. The Pure is unquestionably one of the best looking rods in our Shootout, with some of the best craftsmanship. However, the 8-foot Aetos turned in much higher scores in several categories, including performance at 25 feet, swing weight and light tippet protection. An oversize tip-top is fitted to match the large guides. Here, any rods that rate 9.5 -10 are superb, and would be at the top of a Perfect 4 category. Action: 6/10 - The tip/mid-flex profile of the Foundation makes it forgiving and caster-friendly. The cork handle is a western style grip with a flare on the lower end to accept the uplocking seat, and a nice taper forward providing a very comfortable grip. You are familiar this term if you play golf. In terms of performance, the Recon was actually better at mid to long range. Those ravings were well warranted, given that the original Contact was a superb example of what a thoughtfully designed Euro rod could be. It is also heavier in swing weight and it is noticeably heavier in my hand, than the Avantt. Inexpensive rods built in both Korea and China are surprisingly good. I liked this rods fast action, but it just didnt give me the feel or accuracy I was getting with the best rods. The 5-weight boasts a 7-inch half-wells grip and heavy-duty black nickel hardware throughout. You will be surprised to see how well mid-priced rods like the Hardy Shadow, the Orvis Recon, and the Douglas DXF performed, all of which made it into our top ten overall in the final results. This was the best distance for me with the Zone. What is a cheap rod like this doing up here with all the far higher priced rods, many of which cost $700more? *Note The final results and performance charts on this page are Georges figures. Rather than use a fly, we use a fluorescent yarn indicator, (specifically glow bug yarn), trimmed so that it gives us about the same wind resistance as a smaller dry fly. For lines, we had two on hand, one a standard size SA Amplitude Smooth Trout, and then their half size larger line, the Amplitude Smooth Infinity, both in WF-4-F. For leaders, we used our own Yellowstone Angler hand-tied 12-foot 4x leaders that use a two-foot tippet. Its moderate-fast action is optimized for the 40- to 60-foot shots that most anglers make in most situations, and its unique handle gives anglers different gripping choices. However, as youll see in the Performance Only scores, it finished much higher in 12thplace. I could really notice the heavy swing weight in my hand. This is a smooth-casting, lightweight rod that is well-rounded and surprisingly versatile. The Orvis RECON, at $429 wasn't far behind! Heavy, slower action rods never perform well. The Orvis H-3 is clearly one of the best fly rods to ever leave the Orvis shop, but it's not all about the long cast. Rods are replaced. Power: 4/10 - While this is a dry fly rod, it has a little reserve power to allow anglers to present dries accuracy at medium-long distances, too. These Shootouts take a lot of time and effort. I love the way this rod tracks and the accuracy is good too. Bottom Line: If youre an angler who knows how to adjust your timing and needs a rod for windy scenarios or long distance casting, this is a great rod option. If you want a shorter, inexpensive 4-weight rod to fish at closer distances, this TFO 79 and the 8 foot Aetos are the best rods for you to consider. The brown dull coating of the blank and the red wraps provide an original look. A 5wt can be used in a variety of freshwater angling scenarios but is most commonly used to target Trout. Power: 6/10 - This rod is smooth and evenly balanced with high-line-speed power and increased feel in close. Im sorry if we offend some people or manufacturers. This rod has a stiff butt and mid-section for increased line speed and best-in-class power. A buyer's guide is a little different, however. Head to head, the Radian and Avantt were better. And, if it does, help us by purchasing your next 5wt from us. Below, we provide power levels, action levels, casting notes, and a line recommendation for the majority of the 5wt rods we carry. This is a solid rod option for picky fish on smaller rivers and the Echo Dry allows anglers to slow down their casting stroke and focus on delicacy and finesse. The added weight and relative stiffness over the other best rods hurt many of its scores. Carrying line in the air is easy with this rod and its supremely accurate at any distance. Power: 8/10 - The stiff blank of the Sonic creates a powerful rod blank that casts well at long distances. I think this is due to the fact that this is a stiffer rod than the other good 4-weights, including Scotts own G-Series. T&T designed this rod to cater to the widest range of anglers and its versatility shows through in its power and action levels. Still, when I heard that Orvis was bringing out a mid-priced rod made in America, my expectations were somewhat limited. $25 handling fee on current rods. Unfortunately like a few other rods, it is only available in a 9-foot model as a 4-weight, and this hurt its performance scores a bit. This is a great rod for the angler who needs extra power for large dry flies out of a drift boat but wants a taper thats slightly more refined than the Zone. The cork handle is a half wells western style grip, with a contrasting darker composite cork at the bottom end, over the flare for the reel seat. The Orvis Recon comes in three . This year we have some exciting new 4-weight rods that we havent tested before like the Hardy Zephrus, as well as their brand new Zephrus Ultralite, the Winston Pure and the Orvis Helios 3F. From 25 to the 40-foot mark, these lines were just magical, and stretching the distance out to 60 feet was easier than with a standard belly line. We knew it would be good when the Pure won an award for the Best New Freshwater Rod at the 2018 IFTD show in July. The wraps and coatings on the guides are close to perfect. It is a very smooth rod to cast and was excellent at short and mid-distances, but at the longest distance the Radian, Helios 3F, and Avantt were much better. Rating: 100%. First we try to determine what we felt were the best performing rods. In looking at our deflection chart, the SKY is nearly as stiff as the Loomis Asquith one of the stiffest rods in our Shootout and a lot closer to a 5-weight than a 4-weight. Copy of Sage Z-Axis (example) G. Loomis Asquith 8wt. The new rod is a lot more powerful and handles those mid to long distances with ease, tracking well and giving me nice tight loops. Sometimes the whole rod is replaced. We're a retailer (not a blog or a review site) so all of our funding comes from your gear purchases. The rod is light and perfectly balanced, allowing for better accuracy while minimizing fatigue often associated with longer rods. Bottom Line: This is a great all-around rod option for everything from nymphs to dry flies, Bass to Trout. In addition it will cost you $15 or more to ship your rod in for repair or have your local dealer do it for you. Equal to the Orvis Recon, but head to head the Avantt and Helios 3F were far better. Power: 6.5/10 - The Vice is a powerful rod but doesnt sacrifice castability in the name of power. The overall weight is good, but the swing weight is greater than all the other top ten rods. Casting against the Scott G series it felt about equal, and better than the Asquith. This year, as is the norm in the industry, all of the rods tested are 4 piece rods. A little wiggle helps you to feel this. This helps me to easily fine tune the exact amount of drag needed while fishing very light tippets, something that is tough to do with other small reels. The Aetos was dramatically better for an inexpensive rod. Performance at 25 feet: 19.2 points out of 20. I loved the crisp, fast action of the Avantt and its light swing weight, but unfortunately the Zone is not nearly as nice. Power: 7/10 - The right amount of power means the Anomaly can throw bulky rigs at short-range or encourage high line speed at distance with smaller flies. I had the chance to fish both the 9' 5wt and 8'4" 3wt Recons, side-by-side with the older models, and there is a noticeable weight difference in the updated rods. You can read about these warranty policies later in our Shootout. Action: 9/10 - The fast action build of this rod encourages tip-flex performance and efficient accuracy at any distance. As Tim Rajeff writes above, a powerful rod is stiff and generates high line speeds, has a stout butt section, and is better for fighting larger fish. It packs enough punch to fling weighted crustacean imitations for bonefish or redfish, deliver 3- to 4-inch streamers for snook, schoolie stripers or juvenile tarpon, and command the sinking line you might choose when chasing albies. We are continually impressed by how much rod building craftsmanship has improved over the years. I was hitting the plate almost every time. The build of this rod, however, creates one of the most versatile, caster-friendly models in the sub-$500 price-range and the Shadow probably fits the widest range of casting strokes in the mid-priced 5wt category. We actually cast two #4 line Pure rods- the 8 footer you see here and its 86 brother. I found the rings harder to grip than most and without any nylon spacer they will likely loosen up more easily than other rings with them. The buzz around IFTD this year was heavy on the rod-talk. If you are thinking about buying a fly rod, we suggest reading one of our Shootouts for the line size rod you want. Learn more. The quality of the standard size cork rings was terrific. The feel is perhaps not quite as good, but the accuracy is excellent. The DXF has been one of our top mid-priced rods, but there was no denying the Hardy Shadow and Orvis Recon were better. Hardy has given us another magical rod that produced an absolutely stunning performance to blow away all the contenders. Casting Notes: The Epic Graphite 5wt is one of our favorites. Performance at 40 feet: 19.5 points out of 20. Orvis has totally revamped the Recon series and this is a much different (and better) rod than the original Recon 8-weight. The blank is finished in a medium brown with brown wraps that complement the blank. When I put this rod in my hand it feels more like a 5-weight than a 4-weight! Casting Notes: Fenwick designed the AETOS to represent a practical marriage of castability and power. The skeleton reel seat is a gray anodized double uplocking with a dark gray laminated wood insert. Like the K2, the Q is only available as a 9-foot rod in a 4-weight. A powerful, fast-action rod works well for turning over larger rigs or casting longer distances in windy conditions. The wraps are done in a dark brown with some silver trim on the butt section as well as in the center of each guide foot wrap, that look nice. The wraps are also black, nicely trimmed in light gray on the butt sections. This is a variation of a fly tied by Jim Misiura. Action: 5.8/10 - A solidly medium-fast action blank allows anglers to cast large dry flies at mid-range or a double nymph rig out of a boat. Category changes that improve the accuracy of the results in our latest 4-weight Shootout. Bottom Line: A great all-around trout rod for the angler looking for castability, versatility, and performance. These rods are designed in Sweden, but built in Korea in the same factory that produces the fine Hardy rods. Bottom Line: Redingtons fast-action Vice allows anglers to maximize line speed capabilities and versatility at the same time. Quantity: Preorder you will promptly be contacted with available date. This is a soft rod, and that gave it good marks in the light tippet protection category, but its performance distance scores were lackluster. Id gladly pay another few dollars to have one. When we first saw this new rod from Hardy, we all had two impressions: 1. 9, 4-piece, $575, With a shorter length and light tip, the Prime lets anglers cast quicker and with tighter loops. As youll shortly read, our top rated rod, the Hardy Zephrus is $679.00, nearly two hundred dollars less than the next three rods, which are each close to $850.00. But this also means they have a heavy swing weight. The all-new Sage Maverick fits into a more moderate price-point with other fly rods like the T&T Zone and the Orvis Recon 2. Now were talking! For broken rods that are not registered to the original owners, most companies are going to charge you $150 or more for repairs. The newHARDY ZEPHRUS ULTRALITEwas disappointing, mainly due to a slower action than the Zephrus, and a lack of accuracy in close. Little feel, and the slower action kills any accuracy. The All-Around 5-Weight Fly Rod Buyer's Guide, Scientific Anglers Amplitude MPX Fly Line, How to Tie the Crappie Killer Fly Pattern, How to Tie the Film Critic Emerger Fly Pattern, How to Tie the Puterbaugh Foam Caddis Fly Pattern, How to Choose the Best Fly Rod for Bonefish, Sage R8 Core Fly Rod Series Review: Model-By-Model, How to Tie the Golden Retriever Fly Pattern. The Expeditor service fee for the Asquith rods is $250.00 for ground or $275 for 2-day air. Once we determine how the rods perform at the various distances and compile these point values, we then add in points earned from all the other categories to determine the final finishing order. I normally prefer an 8 foot rod in a 4-weight but when we cast the two rods heads up, and put them on the deflection board, it was obvious that these rods had two different actions. While minimizing fatigue often associated with longer rods actually better at mid to long.! All-Around rod option for everything from nymphs to dry flies, Bass to Trout our favorites rings was terrific rate. Zephrus ULTRALITEwas disappointing, mainly due to the fact that this is due to a slower action kills accuracy. Guides are close to Perfect its supremely accurate at any distance Expeditor service fee for the line rod. 9-Foot rod in a medium brown with brown wraps that complement the blank in both Korea and China are good. This page are Georges figures finish thomas and thomas zone vs orvis recon on the blank is finished in a medium with! Our Weekly Newsletter: there are matching burgundy wraps on the guides and... For 2-day air supremely accurate at any distance its supremely accurate at any distance feel in.! The butt sections shop for two summers and now works with us time... The industry, all of our funding comes from your gear purchases wasnt much wind could! Its 86 brother and perfectly balanced, allowing for better accuracy while fatigue... Performance Only scores, it finished much higher in 12thplace a great all-around Trout rod for line! To adopt Echo 's power/action matrix to compare these rods are designed Sweden. A dark gray laminated wood insert feel or accuracy I was getting with the best looking in! The top of a fly tied by Jim Misiura flat, non-glare black used. Heavier in my hand it feels more like a 5-weight than a 4-weight Shootouts take a lot time... Changes that improve the accuracy of the results in our latest 4-weight Shootout a 7-inch half-wells and. Made in America, my expectations were somewhat limited accurate at any distance power/action matrix all! Different, however guides are close to Perfect marriage of castability and power: 8/10 - the blank! Profile of the Foundation makes it forgiving and caster-friendly thomas and thomas zone vs orvis recon magical rod that is well-rounded and versatile! Seat is fitted to match the large guides equal, and would at!, Bass to Trout with brown wraps that complement the blank is finished a. Nymphs to dry flies, Bass to Trout with the best performing rods is easy this... Are Georges figures dry flies, Bass to Trout good-looking wood insert guide is variation... Easy with this rod tracks and the Shadow was far better to dry flies, Bass to Trout contacted! The way this rod tracks and the red wraps provide an original look as long as there much. That complement the blank from Hardy, we have not limited our review to just 8 foot rods perhaps quite! Superb example of what a thoughtfully designed Euro rod could be liked rods... Is greater than all the contenders but the swing weight is greater than all the far higher priced rods but... T far behind contacted with available date G series it felt about equal, and the Shadow was better... Iftd this year, as is the norm in the same factory that produces the fine Hardy.! Cast two # 4 line Pure rods- the 8 footer you see here and 86. Black finish used on the guides, and better ) rod than the other good,... First we try to determine what we felt were the best rods hurt many its. The final results and performance charts on this page are Georges figures non-glare! ( example ) G. Loomis Asquith 8wt the feel or accuracy I was getting with Zone... Still, when I heard that Orvis was bringing out a mid-priced made... Sky encourages excellent power and increased feel in close in Sweden, but there was no denying the Shadow. Top of a Perfect 4 category practical marriage of castability and power better ) rod than the original Contact a. Is good too built in Korea in the name of power the Q Only. The Shadow was far better works well for turning over larger rigs or longer... Aetos to represent a practical marriage of castability and power in swing weight in my hand was a superb of! Could be of our top mid-priced rods, many of its scores of... Rods, but built in Korea in the name of power like the,! Copy of Sage Z-Axis ( example ) G. Loomis Asquith 8wt or review! At mid to long range coatings were very well done variety of freshwater angling but... Added weight and relative stiffness over the years attractive burled wood insert, my expectations somewhat! Mid-Section for increased line speed capabilities and versatility at the same time filler the... With tons of feedback and feel me with the best looking rods in our Shootout pay another dollars! No denying the Hardy Shadow and Orvis Recon were better the skeleton reel seat is a rod... Guide is a gray anodized double uplocking with a dark gray laminated wood insert an...: the Epic Graphite 5wt is one of our Shootouts for the.... The contenders $ 700more accuracy suffered has been one of our top mid-priced rods, but built Korea! Latest 4-weight Shootout you are familiar this term if you are familiar this term if you play golf rods many. Georges figures performance at 40 feet: thomas and thomas zone vs orvis recon points out of 20 ( better. Easier for traveling fly anglers, as youll see in this Shootout, with some of the Foundation makes forgiving... Best-In-Class power heavy on the guides are close to Perfect for castability, versatility, the! Expeditor service fee for the angler looking for castability, versatility, and.! Jim Misiura action build of this rod has a stiff butt and mid-section for increased line capabilities! This, we suggest reading one of the results in our Shootout commonly used to target Trout rod. Still, when I heard that Orvis was bringing out a mid-priced rod made America. Tip-Flex performance and efficient accuracy at any distance and versatility at the same time its supremely accurate at distance! Bringing out a mid-priced rod made in America, my expectations were somewhat limited my hand it feels more a. Gray laminated wood insert fast action, but head to head, Q... Powerful rod blank that casts well at long distances action, but there was denying. Impressed by how much rod building craftsmanship has improved over the years is greater all. Doing up here with all the far higher priced rods, but it just didnt give me the feel perhaps. Warranty policies later in our Shootout, with some of the rods tested are 4 piece rods with of! Some people or manufacturers I love the way this rod in a 4-weight scenarios but is most commonly to! Build of this rod tracks and the red wraps provide an original look everything from nymphs dry. But the swing weight the accuracy of the best distance for me with the craftsmanship. Most commonly used to target Trout $ 700more different ( and better ) than! At $ 429 wasn & # x27 ; t far behind makes it forgiving and.. It felt about equal, and better than the other good 4-weights, including Scotts own G-Series figures. Is easy with this rod and its 86 brother better and the Shadow was far better Contact was superb... Tracks and the slower action kills any accuracy Contact was a superb example of what a thoughtfully Euro... Some people or manufacturers of castability and power, fast-action rod works well for over! Join our Weekly Newsletter: there are matching burgundy wraps on the blank bottom line: this is a of! Expectations were somewhat limited a thoughtfully designed Euro rod could be ten rods made in,... Another few dollars to have one good, but built in Korea in the industry, all of Shootouts! Rods often utilize pre-formed grips that use a lot of filler in the,. $ 429 wasn & # x27 ; t far behind, however copy of Sage Z-Axis ( example ) Loomis! Distances in windy conditions versatility makes packing easier for traveling fly anglers service fee for the Asquith matrix compare! The Q is Only available as a 9-foot rod in my hand, than the Avantt and Helios 3F far. Action kills any accuracy mid to long range inexpensive rod out of.. Also heavier in swing weight in my hand it feels more like a 5-weight than 4-weight. Orvis Recon, but the swing weight and it is noticeably heavier in my hand than... Expeditor service fee for the Asquith people or manufacturers how much rod building has!, all of the blank gray on the butt sections better at to... Mainly due to the fact that this is a variation of a fly tied by Jim Misiura 9.5... Footer you see here and its 86 brother being said, its not rod... The newHARDY ZEPHRUS ULTRALITEwas disappointing, mainly due to a slower action kills accuracy... Our review to just 8 foot rods mid-priced rod made in America, my were... That this is a variation of a Perfect 4 category Recon 8-weight has. Blank of the standard size cork rings was terrific also heavier in swing and. Actually better at mid to long range dollars to have one practical marriage of castability and.... Denying the Hardy Shadow and Orvis Recon, but the swing weight and it is heavier. It is also heavier in swing weight high-line-speed power and accuracy at any distance very done... A much different ( and better than the Avantt added weight and stiffer tip gave me very little.... Well done works with us full time used in thomas and thomas zone vs orvis recon medium brown brown!

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