New Sage X replaces the One

Fredrick

Fredrick

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As some of you already know Sage has discontinued the One and will be replacing it with the new Sage X starting in August . So the hype as always with Sage is that it will be the best Rod of all time or at least untill another Sage rod comes out to replace it .Hopefully one of my local shops gets a demo so I can give it a throw. At a price tag of $895 you should be able to fish it hands free .

http://www.fieldandstream.com/blogs/flytalk/10-things-to-know-about-the-new-sage-x-fly-rod

 
yup I read about that price jump.

simply not worth imho, you can get 3 perfectly awesome Sage XP's (the original ones) for that.

I'm sure better casters than me will disagree, but imho the line and your casting ability (read practice) does as much for distance as micro differences in rod construction.

 
Marginal improvement=maximum cost. We are way, way into declining returns. I think i said that wrong. Something like that... you know what I mean. As I said in another post, they have to churn their series so the 'pros' and the early adapters with $$$ will have them and get the underlings with $$$ to buy them. I'd like to see the sales numbers. Do you figure everyone who wanted and could buy a ONE already did?

I'm really glad I have all the flyrods that I need and them some. I don't have to pay these prices for a really good rod. I already have them.

Do you realize that a fly rod, a graphite stick, costs as much as a very good rifle? And a good bit more than some others? A Winchester Model 70 lists for $939. Street price is much lower.
Madness.

syl
 
Funny how posts on sunscreen and Kayaks stay in the general forum but this got moved into the gear forum.

Here is a video review I just found
https://youtu.be/fSepceaUJHM
 
I'll keep the rods I've always fished, and spend the 900 bucks getting to and fro from montana!!! in fact, I've spent less than that fishing for 2 or 3 weeks in montana!

But go ahead and line up for it, because the fish will know how much you paid and act accordingly!
 
As stated above, if you have a modern graphite fast action rod from the past ten years there isn't much to improve upon. The only thing to consider is that the gear is getting lighter, which may appeal to some people. However, that's a slippery slope, especially with lighter reels.
 
DavidFin wrote: The only thing to consider is that the gear is getting lighter, which may appeal to some people.
Click to expand...

that's a very valid point - Sage's are notorious for breaking. as fly rods get lighter so they get much more fragile it seems.

 
"sage rod are notorious for breaking" ........ unfamiliar with that rumor and have owned sage rods since 83 or 84. Only time they broke was in a car door.

Hopefully they will market the X to the awful casting yet financially well off looking to drop $900 on a rod. "I used to be an awful caster but this Sage X makes my bad mechanics better. This $900 ultra high tech rod allows me to catch more gemmies than ever before."

Kills me when someone drops $600-$800 dollars on a tip flex helios 2 for 4" Brook trout. You could throw a fly line on a $15 spinning rod and be just as effective.
 
Take my money ;-)


 
I'm in the camp of the guy sitting in the bow, Didn't I hear the same hipe for the discontinued rod?
 
If you don't want one, don't buy one - it's that simple. If you make something and don't hype it to drive sales how long do you think you're going to stay in business? Fly rod sales and marketing is no different than golf club sales and marketing. I should be able to hit a golf ball well over 400 yards and land it in a 3' diameter circle in the middle of the fairway by now if all of the promises Taylormade, Titleist and the others made to me had come true.

Personally - I have a beautiful Sage Z-Axis, and St. Croix Legend Ultra that I consider my two "premium" rods. Love them both despite the fact they are probably about 10 years old now? No interest in replacing either one at this point. I like new gear as much as anyone but just don't see the need for the latest and greatest $900 fly rod at this point.
 
Well said McSneek!

I will never understand why some people are so quick to bash something. Especially a rod that they haven't even so much as touched, let alone cast.

Good luck, Tony



 
Sticker shock in fly fishing exists because fly fishing is a collection of idealists, myself definitely included. No likes to think that an activity focused on the natural world can be corrupted by capitalism.
 
DavidFin wrote:
gear is getting lighter, which may appeal to some people. However, that's a slippery slope, especially with lighter reels.
Click to expand...

Yeah!....and that's another thing....
I feel like Grandpa Simpson yelling at that cloud sometimes.

Trout reels have gotten too light for 9 ft rods. And you pay $300 for the privilege for it. Have a heavier reel and cast better. Lightens the tip and smooths you out. And exactly how many trout out of 1000 hooked, have you lost due to insufficient reel design? I'll bet my cheapest LL Bean click drag that it approaches 0.

Expensive trout reels are a previous incarnation of the....i don't know... phenomenon that brings us to $250 coolers to keep a total of 2 6-packs cold.

How gullible are we?

Marketing and shopping has taken the place of actually doing the thing. Buy the boots. Skip the hike.
Ridiculous.
 
The boots are so expensive, you can't afford to take time off work for the hike!!
 
Exactly! There is a sinister psychology to upselling to a consumer's "wants" not "needs."

Back in the 80s I sold Kirby Vacuum cleaners for a day. I quit when they told me their primary success came from low income neighborhoods. That's right LOW income. The "reason" poor folks jumped on Kirby at up to 10x the cost of standard cleaners ($1,200 +/-) is that they want to own the "best" something. They may not be able to afford the best house, car, etc., but at least they can brag about owning the best vacuum!

Oh, the Kirby is built better with a more powerful motor and a better warrantee. You can even try the Kirby side by side with your current vacuum so you can feel/see the difference in performance and construction.

Sound familiar?
 
I LOVE my two sage rods and wouldnt want anything else, Oh forgot to mention its the old graphite 3 Rpl series, 586RPL & 590RPL.. $900 for a new sage? No thanks.
 
Same.

The rod companies hurt themselves and benefited us with lifetime warranties. So, they need to fabricate incremental improvements in rod design and market the hell out of them. I wish them much success since my current rod warranties are backed by that revenue.

I'm a big fan of Sage rods:

8'1" 5WT LL (Awesome small stream rod; purchased on closeout in the mid 80s)

9' 5WT VP (favorite all around trout rod; purchased on the internet for $200)

9' 6WT XP (Streamer and smallmouth rod, slightly over lined; Craigslist for $225.00))

I also like my St. Croix rods (8WT & 10WT; half-price comp buy when I worked in retail).

My Orvis rods are nice, too (9' 5WT TLS; My son uses it for panfish and smallmouth; also on clearance).

Bottom line (pun intended): to each their own. If you get off paying full price, you get pick of the litter. If you are a bargain hunter, you need to be patient and jump on opportunities as they come.
 
Have a Sage One, thought I was getting the holy grail of an all around fly rod. They fooled me! For some reason I can beat the hell out of a Redington rod etc. but I have broken 3 of my 4 Sage's over time with 2 of the 3 being just completely ridiculous that a rod broke the way they did. In my opinion Sage rods are dry fly rods, they are not meant to sling streamers and double nymph rigs. The tips are so responsive that the rods aren't stiff enough IMO and the rigs just over-run the rod. Now I don't own any of their "streamer" rods like a Salt but their rods are very soft in my opinion. Some will def. disagree but my oldest designed Sage is a ZXL def. a dry fly rod but is my fav. of the bunch.
 
Sage X wins both fly rod catergories at IFTD
http://www.affta.org/2016/07/15/iftd-2016-new-product-showcase-winners-announced/
 
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