A LIghter Fly Rod is Better - Are You Sure?
When all other things are equal, lighter fly rods are probably better. The big question becomes whether or not everything else is equal.
When manufacturers reduce the weight of a fly rod, they either use material that is lighter in weight, or they reduce the physical size of the material being used. In the first case, various types of lighter weight materials have been used in an effort to reduce the weight. Some manufacturers have gone to fiberglass handles, lighter guide material, and almost all of the manufacturers have used higher modulus graphite. When it comes to reducing the physical size of the components, manufacturers have cut down on the size of the handle, use cutout sections of the rod seat inserts instead solid material, used smaller guides, and make many other modifications to lower the weight of the rod.
During the last few years, higher and higher modulus graphite has been used to make the rods more sensitive, lighter and more efficient. Generally, the higher the modulus of the fibers, the lighter the blank is for any given stiffness; however, there's a general trade off for this that must be addressed in the manufacturing process. Higher modulus rods take less abuse and are easier to break than the heavier rods. Higher modulus graphite has enabled manufacturers to make lighter rods primarily because they can make the blanks with thinnerwalls. The exact manufacturing process becomes very important. The thinner walls must be made strong to withstand the rigors of normal use. Different resins, additives, and manufacturing processes add strength and greatly affect the overall value of high modulus rods.
The modulus numbers can also be confusing and deceiving. Some manufacturers have taken advantage of this with their marketing. Our "Superb Five" fly rod blanks are made from high modulus graphite but it's the process used to manufacturer the blank that makes them light, strong and more importantly, provides their superb performance.
Another big question is just how much benefit does an angler really get from a fraction of an ounce reduction in weight?
Some manufacturers have grossly overvalued the importance of very slight differences in the weights of fly rods. It sounds like a big difference when a company claims it has reduced the weight of its fly rods by one-forth. What's the overall benefit of a fraction of an ounce in weight reduction? If the rod is light enough, there's very little benefit, if any. If the weight reduction affects the performance or durability of the rod to any appreciable extent, the disadvantages of the light weight are greater than the advantages. Because of this, we do not intend to play the lightweight marketing game that some of the manufacturers are playing. Our fly rods are very light and within a fraction of an ounce of the lightest. Let's look at the overall benefit of a fraction of an ounce in the overall weight of the fly rod.
It's nice to pick the rod up off the showroom floor without a fly reel on it and feel the very light weight of a rod. Unfortunately, that isn't the same feel your are going to get when your on the stream and it's completely rigged, ready to cast to a trout. Let's look at what the real weight tallies out to be.
5 Weight Fly Rod Weight: 3.13 ounces or .196 pounds
5 Weight Fly Reel Weight: 4.13 ounces or .258 pounds
Backing Line Weight:.................................015 pounds
Fly Line Weight: 5 weight fly line.......... .....060 pounds
Leader/Tippet Weight:................................002
Fly Weight:.................................................N/A
Total Weight...............................................521 pounds or 8.34 ounces
These are dry weights. Water can easily add an ounce or two to the overall weight.
The question becomes, if the total weight of everything is only 8.34 ounces, what difference does an eight of an ounce make? An ounce of weight would make very little difference. For all practical purposes, an eight of an ounces doesn't make any difference.
If the minute reduction in weight reduces the strength of the fly rod, is it worth it?
So, if you are buying a new fly rod to cut the weight down an eight of an ounce or even an ounce, you may want to reconsider. Our Perfect Fly "Superb Five" is within a fraction of an ounce as light as any fly rod of its size.