When I drifted feathers, I used a Sage DS, an Orvis Green Mountain, a St. Croix Avid and a Redington for Chrome. I thought these were expensive. I no longer fly fish but do look at equipment and I shudder when I see the prices. The world is changing too quickly for me.

 

I've been using a 12wt Helios II for the past 8 years. It's night and day difference from my TFO esox 12wt. The blank has been solid and has outlasted 2 sets of guides but I'm terrible with keeping my lines clean so I only get a couple of years out of guides on musky rods. Casts like a dream without killing your arm but has enough backbone for the boatside stuff. They did away with the bluewater corks on the 12wts a few years back unfortunately..

 

You must absolutely love that Helios. Crazy good rods. I'm being tempted to get a decent 6 wt outfit. The modern rods are crazy food and almost intuitive.

 

Something to think about when purchasing an expensive rod is customer service. I've broken 2 rods in the last 6 years.

I had an Orvis TDL(?) For almost 20 years. It broke and Orvis gave me a new Recon 904. Lifetime guarantee but they no longer made the TDL.

I bought 2 Sages in 2021, a 9 ft , 7wt Payload and a 9 ft 5wt Sonic. The Sonic broke on my second trip. I had to jump through hoops to get them to fix it and they charged me 50$ plus shipping. The thing is Sage was sold in 2021 I believe. They are now part of the company that owns Reddington, I believe.

I don't know about Hardy, Loomis or Winston but if you like a Helios, Orvis is top notch for customer service.

 

I had 2 issues with a couple Orvis products and they stood behind their products for me. I also had an issue with Lamson and they also stood by their product.
I have to test Simms and Winston now. We shall see.

Rickerd

 

I used to buy Sage rods until they decided to up the price for rod repair of “legacy” rods to $175 per incident. When I paid $900+ a few years ago for that rod, it was $85. I now avoid doing business with any Far Bank brand if possible. That said, IMHO, the best bang for your buck is the Orvis Recon. Yes, the Helios is the top shelf Orvis rod, but the vast majority of fly fishers would be hard pressed to tell the difference between it and the Recon except for perhaps a few grams of weight. I have two, a 5# and a 10#. Once I wear out my Xi3 #8 and/or my Salt #8, I’ll likely give consideration to adding another Recon.

 

You are right about the Recon. I love my 4 wt Recon. They sent it to me as a replacement for my broken TDL I can roll cast right or left. It's not me it's the rod. I bought a 6 wt after that but I haven't used it enough to give you a recommend. Orvis is the best for rod repair and return. I will purchase Orvis from now on because of the customer service.
Like I said above Sage was just sold off. Sometimes new owners of proven businesses like to milk the reputation for maximum cash flow.

 

You are spot on 18inchBrown. As far as other brands go, I’ve quite liked the Thomas & Thomas and the GLoomis rods that I’ve used. The caveat is that I’m generally using 8# and 10# rods for salt water. I’d love to try a high end Hardy in a 4# or 5# on a nice trout stream, preferably in the west of Ireland, not far from the family farm. 😀

 

What's crazy is the most expensive rod I ever bought was a Steffen Brothers rod of which I paid $625 about 5 years ago. 8' 3/4wt. Mark Steffen rolled his own blanks and built the rod rod himself. The rod sock was even a velvety red and he sewed it himself. The rod came with no guarantee. My first real fly rod was an orvis rocky mountain I bought while in college. It had a 25 year guarantee. You're paying for your screw ups. Not the rod itself. To charge $175 on top of a grand seems insane.