At 7'10" this thing packs a punch. It's fast and capable of high line speed accurate distance casts and with the 250 grain Streamer Express Intermediate is also does very well in close. This rod is made for our tight Smallmouth Creeks and rivers and will be with me on those adventures this year. At $200 who cares if it gets beat up a little. The blank is a non painted graphite that isn't easily scratched!!.... The wraps are brown thread woven tightly and finished with flexcoat in a nice uniform level wrap with a silver deco band and white alignment dots. I LOVE the white alignment dots!! The stripping guides look like medium grade Pac Bay. The snake guides are black and they look like Tich coated guides, probably Pac Bay too. The aluminun reel seat gets the job done, holds my reels tightly, and has a built in hook keep in it.
Warranty.
I broke a CPX last year (broke it in the rod tray) and had to use Redington warranty service. They sent me a new rod within two to three weeks at a cost of $30 to me. Not bad but Sage did beat them with my Xi3 repair that was sent the same day.
My opinion. FWIW
I've recently started using these lower end rods almost exclusively and I honestly love to fish them. They aren't a Sage or Loomis or Helios, but they aren't $650 either. I'll always have a few top shelf rods but the Redington line is quickly becoming my go to. That's mainly because, a. I fish ALOT, and b. I'm hard on my equipment.
Getting some Chickens ready for some Hybrid action. This should test the 6wt a little beyond it's intended flex rating!
The Reel is Sage's 4200 series. Sage Reels have won my heart and soul. It's all I buy now if/when they are available.... The cork on this rod is darker because I seal all my cork with cork sealer.
