Here's a link to a 5 weight shootout test:
http://www.yellowstoneangler.com
Click on the STAFF ARTICLES link and then click on the 5 weight shootout link for the complete results.
Here's the results of the Albright A-5:
Here’s the big surprise of the test. Well, its no surprise to me since I always knew that this Jim Murphy designed rod was a winner. These rods are built in Korea, which helps to keep the cost down. Jim has used top shelf, high modulus graphite to get the wonderful actions and light tips that make for a great casting tool.
If you look at the performance categories, you’ll see that this rod outperformed (by a wide margin) both the Orvis Zero Gravity and the Thomas and Thomas HE, both $640-$650 rods! That’s huge.
Along with that, the rod is a pleasant Winston green color, with decent hardware, cork and reel seat, and it does come with a cloth bag and hard case. This is also a 5-piece rod, rather than all the other rods in our test, which are 4 piece rods (with the exception of the Tom Morgan 2 pc.) So, on paper it shouldn’t place as highly as it does in many categories since it has more sections, more ferrules etc to add weight and stiffness. Well, you’ll never think this is a five-piece rod when you put it in your hand. It feels like a two-piece!
Accuracy was outstanding, especially at short distance. We were all shaking our heads in amazement.
Performance notes:
25 foot performance - 18 points out of 20
Great accuracy and feel in close. Better even than the Sage Z-Axis at twenty-five feet! Very light in the hand, this rod casts better than most $600 rods at one-third the cost.
45 foot performance - 16 points out of 20
Excellent feel and accuracy. If you were blindfolded you might mistake this rod for the Sage Z-Axis. A nice softer tip combined with a progressive medium fast action makes delicate presentations a snap. This rod loads perfectly with a 5-weight GLX line.
70 foot performance - 16 points out of 20
Nice, but not nearly the pop and smooth long distance power I feel with either the Sage or Loomis. Still, as good or better than most other rods and far better than the TFO rods, Orvis or T&T.
