hardy zephrus 8' 6 4wt

For this Shootout, we again checked the warranty policies in detail, as some have changed slightly. However, the 8-foot Aetos turned in much higher scores in several categories, including performance at 25 feet, swing weight and light tippet protection. Its also nice to look down at your rod and appreciate the craftsmanship as well as its performance. Loomis designed these IMX Pro rods to be tough and very durable, and pro guides love them because they are so hard for clients to break. We felt the 86 Helios 3F was the best rod to test since the 3D is available only in a 9-foot model. A dark green graphite insert is used that complements the color of the blank. The epoxy coatings were a bit too heavy though, not nearly as nice as what we see on the Hardy rods. Where some rods separate themselves from others is in their ability to handle above-average wind. To improve on the previous Zenith, which won our original 4-weight Shootout, Howard gave the Zephrus a slightly stronger butt and mid section as well as a softer tip. When you pick up this rod, youll first notice how light it is in swing weight. How did the 99 4 and 5 weights feel throwing dries? Some good alignment dots and lines are used. Yellowstone Angler in their 2016 5wt Shootout name the Zephrus 8'6" 4wt as their current favourite 4wt rod. The locking ring is easy to grip, but Id prefer a double ring seat as this one looks like it will loosen up more easily than most. A black anodized uplocking skeleton seat is used with one ring and sliding band. These stiffer 4-weight rods require lines that are slightly heavier than a standard AFTMA 4-weight line. Click on any of the charts above to see more charts. The reel seat is an unusual, triangular shaped silver anodized seat with no spacer. The guides start with one SiC stripping guide followed with very large diameter hard chrome snake guides. It was a little better than the Avantt here, but not as good as the H3F. If you feel your rod has broken because of a defect, you pay to send the rod to their warranty dept. Very little feel or accuracy. The feel Im getting is not that good either. Here it feels as good as the Scott rods and the Helios 3F.Performance at 60 feet: 9.0 points out of 10. G. Loomis IMX PRO 86 #4 $495.00. R.L. The action seems about right and Im getting nice loops. The epoxy coatings were excellent. The Helios 3F is a relatively new rod from Orvis and it impressed us with its ability to perform well at all distances. It would be so much better with a WF-5-F. Nice tight loops and good control. But these methods and calculations were disconnected from what we were actually experiencing in our hand so, for our last 4 Shootouts, we have gone back to our original method of calculation, explained above. A few casts later Id slowed my stroke down and found the rod loading and unloading line with a firm, predictable cadence. This rod has a medium fast action with tons of power in the butt and mid-section, which allowed it to perform pretty well at the longest distance. Certainly the Hardy Zephrus is a bargain as our choice for as the number one 4-weight rod. This rod has a slower action than the fast action NRX LP, as well as a stiffer tip. The quality of the cork in the handles varies enormously among fly rods. I love the light swing weight. It also has one of the heaviest swing weights in our Shootout. Leaders are a critical element in making accurate presentations and fooling spooky trout. Surprisingly, this is often true. In all, one of the best guide set ups weve seen. Using a rod that will dramatically reduce the number of break-offs makes a lot of sense. The cork handle is a half wells design with a stack of thin corks as on the Helios 3F. I liked the use of alignment dots. 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. If you look at the best performing rods in general, they have stiffer butt and midsections and softer tips. The guides start with a hook keeper, and then one huge stripping guide that looks way too big, followed with thin wire hard chrome snake guides. But that was about all I liked, other than the very light overall weight that earned it a perfect score. I found the Zephrus to be a really versatile, do-it-all 4-weight! Overall the craftsmanship was ok but not nearly as good as the best mid-priced rods like the DXF or the Recon. Rods that have good power in the butt and mid-section help me set the hook quickly and allow me to throw a combination of flies and indicator along with a little weight. This rod has good power in the butt and mid sections and a softer tip, much like the action on some of our top rated rods. Rods are repaired or sections replaced. We have fished all over the world in both fresh and saltwater for a variety of fish, and well be glad to answer all of your questions, to help you choose the perfect rod or outfit. Hardy Zephrus Double Handed DH Sintrix AWS Fly Rod 13'6'' #8/9 4 Piece +Warranty. The epoxy coatings over the wraps are very good but a little heavy in spots, as around the feet of the guides. If you look at the deflection chart, youll see that the Zehprus has one of the stiffest butt and midsections, yet then it progresses to a nice soft tip. Still very doable excellent in fact! Good, just not great. I love the feel of this rod it is nice and light in hand, and the action is fast and seems about right. The Radian placed 2ndin our last 5-weight Shootout and I was surprised to see that it was this far down the list in a 4-weight. In fishing to wary trout, I often set my false casts up short and to the side of the fish, and then shoot a little line in on that last cast. This is a very pleasant rod to cast, with a medium fast action. The reel seat is a double uplocking skeleton seat in anodized gold, with a pretty wood burl insert using green and brown highlights to complement the blank. Orvis HELIOS 3F 86 #4 $849.00. Both of these lines utilize a slightly longer rear taper that allows superior mending ability as well as enhancing the ability to make medium to longer casts. Our answer is a definite yes. The quality of the standard size cork rings was terrific. About as good as the Imperial, but the Recon and Shadow were noticeably better. Every high-end rod (which I classify as $650+) handles average wind just fine. Its not really there when youre castingthe Zephrus Ultralite has a decidedly medium action, very similar to the old Winston GVXbut the second you hook a fish youll feel it. The Zephrus Ultralite just doesnt live up to that level of wind-beating performance. The blank is graphite gray and follows Scotts practice of sanding the blank only lightly and allowing the tape marks to remain. ROD HANDLE MATERIAL: CORK. The guides start out with a hook keeper, then one SiC stripper followed with hard chrome snake guides that are nice and light on the tip sections. I can sure notice the heavy swing weight and this is not a very pleasant rod to cast. The blank itself is unsanded natural graphite gray, much like the Scott rods, leaving the tape marks visible. But in looking closely at the Hardy Zephrus, Ultralite, and the Douglas SKY, they are also definitely near the top end of the craftsmanship ladder. The quality of cork was excellent. Armstrong Spring Creek on the OHair Ranch. The 8 foot Pure had a much heavier swing weight, and would not be as much fun to false cast all day as this 8 footer. In the performance distance categories it was better at 60 feet than at the closer distances, but the overall weight and swing weight made it a workout to cast. Reel seats should lock up easily and hold firmly, without having any tendency to come loose. Like the K2, no hook keeper is used, which I miss on a 4-weight. As I have grown older, I derive a lot of pleasure from stalking and catching rising fish, where the keys to success are casting accuracy and making delicate presentations. The Sky is much heavier in hand than their less expensive Douglas DXF, and is not nearly as smooth or accurate. #27. The fancy burl wood insert just jumps out at you with its striking color lots of red and orange mixed in very attractive. Performance at 40 feet: 20 points out of 20. HardyLifetime warranty to original owner. The craftsmanship is second to none and it earns a perfect score along with the Winston Pure and T&T Avantt. This hurt somewhat in its scores for swing weight and light tippet protection. As I put more line in the air, it tracked beautifully and was just a delightful rod to cast at 40 feet. No other rod maker does this better. To sum it all up as quickly as possible, Ill mention just a few things. The locking ring was harder for me to grip than most. The 8 foot Pure had a much stiffer butt and mid-section and a soft tip that is much softer than what we found on the Nimbus. *Note The final results and performance charts on this page are Georges figures. There are lots of ways to break a fish off on light tippet, but the rods that score high in this category are going to give you a far better chance of landing a big fish. We set the casting line so that we generally had the wind at our back if possible, or at least off our left shoulder (all of us are right handed). And if there was any wind, I couldnt make good enough back cast loops to hit the distance. The best rods in this category are almost always the lightest in swing weight, especially if you are doing a lot of false casting when fishing dry flies. item 8 Hardy Zephrus Double Handed DH Sintrix AWS Fly Rod 13'6' #7/8 4 Pieces +Warranty Hardy Zephrus Double Handed DH Sintrix AWS Fly . These Shootouts take a lot of time and effort. The single uplocking seat is gray anodized aluminum, and doesnt use a spacer, but does have some trick looking cutouts on each side. Howard Croston, Hardys rod design genius in England, has given us another outstanding rod that performs extremely well at all distances. The tips on the faster rods bend more. One of the things I like the most is that they have a large drag knob and a very wide range of drag adjustment. This can be a huge help if you have multiple rods and the sections get mixed up. Wraps are a darker red, (almost black), trimmed in brighter red on the butt. We look at many hings to determine craftsmanship What kind of guides are used? Rods are repaired or sections replaced. The ability of this rod to track precisely combined with its ability to form beautiful tight loops allowed it to perform almost as well as the best rods at long range. I dont know how Orvis pulls this off, but we like the results. I think that this can be attributed to the slower action of this rod compared to the Zephrus. Pushing off from the dock on a boat called the Capelin, Sandy Milners small team of scientists heads north, navigating through patchy fog past a behemoth cruise For years, I used to leave my waders clipped to an I-bolt in the bed of my pickup (so they wouldnt fly away). Swing weight is on the heavier side and this hurt the performance to some degree. I love the light swing weight. Id gladly pay another few dollars to have one. The nice soft tip allows me to cast off the tip of the rod with a flick of my wrist. The insert is a gorgeous piece of bamboo, sourced from the same company that uses it for Lexus steering wheels. The double size uplocking ring was easy to grip and tighten. Overall, the craftsmanship was decent for a rod that is manufactured in Asia, but not nearly as good as what we see in the Recon and H3F that are built in Vermont. We actually cast two #4 line Pure rods- the 8 footer you see here and its 86 brother. Incredibly accurate and capable of delivering the fly exactly where it needs to go, even when dealing with a moderate breeze. The guide wraps are a slightly darker gray, trimmed in orange on the butt. Nice and light in hand with very good feel and accuracy in close. Douglas uses a dark green anodized double ring uplocking seat, with an attractive brown wood burl insert. This was the best distance for me with the Zone. A sliding band and one easy to grip locking ring are used. $25 handling fee. The X is an attractive rod with the same fine craftsmanship that we have come to expect from Sage. The best rings use thin nylon spacers between them to assure a positive lock up. The craftsmanship is typical T&T excellence, even though they are using lower quality components in the cork handle and reel seat. Ive helped many manufacturers like G. Loomis, Sage, Winston, Loop, Douglas, and Scott with their rod design process. The Avantt tied the Pure for the only perfect scores in Craftsmanship. And once youve picked out the perfect rod, stay and enjoy a few days on the water with one of our top guides. But there are a lot of good reasons. However, as youll see in the Performance Only scores, it finished much higher in 12thplace. 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.

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