The fly-rod market steadily features more fly rods in the one thousand dollars + price range. Presumably the blanks alone on these beauties cost $700 - $800! Is there any reason besides advertising hype to suspect these blanks and rods perform better - cast farther or more accurately - than rods priced two or three times less? I'm thinking of the price tag on Minnie Pearl's hat here.

Phil,
First of all you hit on two on my pet peeves:
1. There is no such thing as something being two to three times "LESS".
Proper way to state that is "one half to one third as much."
2. My latest rant on another fly rod venue:

Mike,

You want to try a "Switch" rod??? What is this world coming to???

I don't trust the PR @#$%& that Sage puts out. "R8 Core Technology"??? What the F.. does that mean.

They spawn new rods faster than jack rabbits.

And, not once do they say what modulus graphite they use.

There is no such thing as improving blanks with "nano" and "boron" and "graphene".

It's all in the taper and wall thickness and modulus.

The best actioned Sage, IMO, was the Method. Very light in the hand and fast. I owened the #10.

Another Sage I liked, in retrospect, and wish I didnt sell it was the XP.

But we all like new toys.

Respectfully,
Herb

Its all about profit and selling and nothing else. Facts, technology, and even source of manufacture are all thrown out the window as slave labor creates much of the holy grail products for us and once imported prices are jacked up artificially inflated through the roof and they expect us to just keep shelling out the dough for it all. You know, pay peanuts to make it in China where they cannot control quality control and once imported into USA it is hyped as best thing since sliced bread and have prices to match with increases of hundreds if not thousands of percent above cost of manufacture. Make a Shimano rod in China for $5 each and once sold in USA with slick sales pitches that same rod is now magically over $300.

This is what they want to keep on keeping on... until the dollar goes bust of course. Which now same Shimano rod is probably $500 while price of manufacture remains relatively the same.

And this is why I got into the used fishing tackle market. It was more down to earth and more realistic. I was lucky if I doubled my investment. I could only dream of markups like retail new is today.

Does anyone else find it strange that rods marketed in the U.S. never reveal their point of origin? Are rod advertisers and marketers ashamed of the origin of their products?

When a fly rod manufacturer introduces a line of rods it will be at peak sales for about a year, if they are lucky. After that, sales will level out and all the people that bought the rod because of all the hype already have it, other brands introduce their new offers and interest wanes. So, the manufacturer introduces a new improved version that of course cost more because you have to have the appearance “paid for improvements”. I am not sure at what point these prices level out, I would guess when people stop buying. Hence Sage 1, then Sage X with Konnetic HD and now the new and improved R8 with R8 Material Technology. I am sure there is something Chinese it, but we will never know without extensive research. I do not like the idea of helping China pay for their military and world dominating outreach.

Lance! I'm with you! Regarding the "less." There is no such thing as 3 times less than. . .

The direct answer to Phil's question is that these really expensive rods produce much more energy and push the line much better than those costing !/3 as much.

Michael
But there's no earthly reason to come out with new models twice a year and say that they are revolutionary.
No argument that higher priced rods cast better and easier though.
Herb

Herb, I was not addressing that issue. I was addressing the issue of "3 times less than" and the ability of these new, revolutionary, rods to produce exceptional energy and push the line.

In the case of Sage, it's all about marketing their products! New models with marketing hype stimulate new sales. There is a market acceptance for purchasing the "latest and greatest, and to the disappoint of many.....it works!

There are many blanks being sold today, that are the equivalent to Sage or other big name rods, for far less $. It is the buyers responsibility to make the purchasing decision, not the seller!

Michael Danek Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Herb, I was not addressing that issue. I was
> addressing the issue of "3 times less than" and
> the ability of these new, revolutionary, rods to
> produce exceptional energy and push the line.


Gotcha
Herb

I just wish these blanks would come with premium boxed packaging.