Zach Matthews
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Here’s Ian’s take; he’s forgotten his password.
I’ve lost the password for my IA account, I’ll reset it later.
In the meantime, here ya go:
I find it easiest to describe these rods from a design perspective, which can put some context on fishing applications, rather than throwing some random adjectives at you to try to characterize this rod.
We tend to think of the 8’4” G2 as a 8’6” rod with a few advantages. Taking two inches out of the tip allows us to build a rod that can load deeply but recover quickly, as there is less mass in the tip (which slows down recovery). A 8’4” rod has a pretty impressive fishing range, as its deep loading characteristics allow it to have great feel in close (and protect tippet), while its recovery speed creates surprising line speed to add some range at distance.
Obviously there are some compromises in mending and line control with a 8’4”, which make this rod more appropriate for smaller rivers where long drifts that require complex, long distance mends aren’t the norm. However, shorter rods do have an accuracy advantage.
One of my favorites in the 8’4” series is the 844/4. I really like that rod for technical dry fly fishing (long leaders, light tippets, small flies, spooky fish, etc.) The 844/4 matches really well with a 4 weight SA Trout, but gets really impressive at long range with a 3 weight GPX. If there isn’t going to be a lot of wind and I know I’m going up against tough fish, that’s the rod I take.
When I think of the G2 845/4, I think of Northeast/Catskills fishing. 8’6” rods are really well rooted in the Northeast tradition, and if you’re looking for a five weight that’s focused more on the dry fly side than nymphing, it’s a really great choice.
Hope that helps.
Ian
Guys –
I appreciate the intelligent discourse and the fact that no one has gotten offended, however, this thread just skirts too close to the political for this board.
Hey Chicky –
First of all, please have a look at the names policy on this board.
Now to your question. I have seen the rod breaking facility at Orvis and we did snap a rod. They do a variety of tests, including a lift-break test and a whipping-back-and-forth break test. Most of the latter apparently break when the ferrule unseats, so there’s something to ponder when stringing up.
It would be theoretically possible to make a rod that would not break under any form of normal use; in fact, it’s been done. The old Shakespeare Wonderrod was a fiberglass mid-1950s model that was advertised with a strongman bending it literally into a circle, tip touching butt. The problem with this design, and you can get a lot more info on this by listening to Jerry Siem’s podcast, is that the materials we use to make fly rods (fiberglass, graphite, and boron, as well as resins, in different proportions), get more brittle as they get faster.
David –
That was a Marshall Cutchin pick, I’m afraid, and he’s the one with the review copy. I only recall the product very vaguely, although I believe there’s a picture on the site. Generally speaking, LL Bean products are very high quality for their relative prices, because they do not attempt to support a dealer/fly shop network.
This is how most outdoor gear is priced. You can reverse engineer costs this way, too. Say a product is $100. Retail markup in high end outdoor product sales is usually between 40% and 60%. In fly fishing it’s often about 40%. So, the fly shop paid $60 for that $100 product. (The markup, while high, has obviously barely been enough to keep the shops in business). Now, if the “wholesale” on that product was $60, then that figure reflects the manufacturer’s profit as well. There’s a lot of variation in what profit the manufacturer makes, depending on the complexity of the product and the cost of manufacture, but let’s assume it’s again about 40% (that would be healthy but not exorbitant). Thus, the original equipment manufacturer’s price on that $100 product is about $36 (very loosely).
L.L. Bean uses the same quality controls on bags as everyone else (meaning, like almost everything else, most products are manufactured abroad to tight specs, but designed here in the states.
I use a physical filing cabinet, and can’t imagine having enough tying stuff to need a computer program to track it.
That is certainly an interesting tactic, Dan, and I imagine it has a good chance of being successful, especially in West Virginia.
Zach,
Interesting that you are looking too. I have been checking out the Big Agnes bags, specifically the ones with more room since I like to roll around at night (Lost Ranger, Encampment) but have not pulled the trigger yet. Anyone have any experience with these?
You should also keep an eye on Steep and Cheap http://www.steepandcheap.com/ there are often some great deals on bags.