Hi,

Just wondering if anyone has built or used the NFC Fly blank [EPITOME C6O2 (CarbonAir)]

For 699/blank I am really debating buying one.

Thanks,
Ben

I just ordered an 8 weight but got it at a steep discount. They run sales periodically so the more you buy the more you save. It hasn't come in yet-i usually wait 6-8 weeks. I'm curious to see how it compares to the Gamma Beta that I really love.
Brian

Brian Townsend Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I just ordered an 8 weight but got it at a steep
> discount. They run sales periodically so the more
> you buy the more you save. It hasn't come in yet-i
> usually wait 6-8 weeks. I'm curious to see how it
> compares to the Gamma Beta that I really love.
> Brian

The recent sale they had was a discount but still a steep price compared to other blanks... But at least I can hope you get your and take the time to come back to give your impression ! (Can't wait)

I have been very curious about a review of the Carbon Air as well. Also the Batson new X10.

I have purchased several of these but have not had time to build them yet. They feel great. I can tell you that the carbon air conventional blanks I've built...are special. I'll post some reactions once I get them built.

Built a 9 wt. NFC salt fly rod. Like the blank, use it to throw the biggest fresh water poppers I can make and no issues with back bone. In fact too much rod for Lake Ontario run salmon. Great rod, BEAST!!

Choose who you deal with wisely. I personally won’t have anything to do with NFC. I was considering them for a jig rod, but changed my mind. There are too many vendors of the same quality that actually act like they want my money.

Daryl Ferguson Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Choose who you deal with wisely. I personally
> won’t have anything to do with NFC. I was
> considering them for a jig rod, but changed my
> mind. There are too many vendors of the same
> quality that actually act like they want my money.


If we are strictly talking about fly blank, there aren't many "innovation" on fly blanks these days. I am not sure what your issue is with NFC but for many other brand of "premium" blanks they are all coming from Korea and there aren't 50 factories of high quality blanks out there hence why it all feels like the "same quality"

Fly Fishing isn't what it used to be in the 90s. The money is elsewhere so I think we can kind of welcome NFC's new stuff and wait for the feedback of the braves who have been willing to spare the extra cash to get the fancy blanks. Having said that, a Sage or even a diamondback blank isn't any cheaper than an Epitome (on sale)
At the end of the day the NFC FAF blanks are actually really good for the price in comparison to all the other stuff out there. I have no ties to NFC, I'll switch to whatever is good but not at 400-600$ a blank.

Daryl,

I’ve looked at ALL of our order history (since our company has been selling blanks) as well as any emails for help/support/warranty.

We have never done business with you.

You made a similar comment on Facebook, but also stated that the reason why you have never made a purchase is because of the reviews you have read.

You are now saying that there are “too many vendors of the same quality that actually act like they want my money”

Which one is it?

Aleks

Daryl Ferguson Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Choose who you deal with wisely. I personally
> won’t have anything to do with NFC. I was
> considering them for a jig rod, but changed my
> mind. There are too many vendors of the same
> quality that actually act like they want my money.

Aleks Maslov Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Daryl,
>
> I’ve looked at ALL of our order history (since
> our company has been selling blanks) as well as
> any emails for help/support/warranty.
>
> We have never done business with you.
>
> You made a similar comment on Facebook, but also
> stated that the reason why you have never made a
> purchase is because of the reviews you have read.
>
> You are now saying that there are “too many
> vendors of the same quality that actually act like
> they want my money”
>
> Which one is it?
>
> Aleks
>
> Daryl Ferguson Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Choose who you deal with wisely. I personally
> > won’t have anything to do with NFC. I was
> > considering them for a jig rod, but changed my
> > mind. There are too many vendors of the same
> > quality that actually act like they want my
> money.

Correct, I was considering one of your blanks, but changed my mind because NFC’s reputation leaves a lot to be desired. No one needs to take my word for it. They can do their own search, which is exactly what I recommended they do. You can do it too, but be warned, it will take up a full page and it’s all the same: long delays / wait time and @#$%& poor customer service. As I replied to you on FB, if it were one or two bad reviews, I wouldn’t pay much attention, but when they go on and on? That tells me there’s something to them. If NFC is your company, I would think all of those negative reviews would be quite concerning. Yet, here you are, instead, trying to discredit me when all I did was advise potential customers to do the same as I did, which is to do their due diligence.

I hope you don’t need me to tell you who your competitors are and, as far as who I choose to do business with, that’s really none of your business. Your time would be better spent trying to clean up your outfit’s inefficiencies that lead to those “long delays”. As far as customer service, that’s usually a culture thing that starts at the top so I would think that would be an easy fix should you desire to fix it.

Bottom line, if someone asks for opinions, here, or anywhere else, I will answer the same as I did here and on FB, which is to advise them to do a thorough research. Others can give their opinion and the person soliciting the opinions can make their own decision. Simple as that.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/18/2023 01:03AM by Daryl Ferguson.

David,

With all due respect, you "opinion" was to attempt sway folks away from NFC.

The thread was about a specific NFC blank, and not only have you no experience with the blank, you have no experience with NFC.

I have removed myself intentionally from deleting NFC posts like yours, and I don't believe that a forum is a place for airing of grievances, However, I do believe that if you are going to have a grievance, it shouldn't be hearsay.

Aleks

Daryl Ferguson Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Aleks Maslov Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Daryl,
> >
> > I’ve looked at ALL of our order history
> (since
> > our company has been selling blanks) as well as
> > any emails for help/support/warranty.
> >
> > We have never done business with you.
> >
> > You made a similar comment on Facebook, but
> also
> > stated that the reason why you have never made
> a
> > purchase is because of the reviews you have
> read.
> >
> > You are now saying that there are “too many
> > vendors of the same quality that actually act
> like
> > they want my money”
> >
> > Which one is it?
> >
> > Aleks
> >
> > Daryl Ferguson Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > Choose who you deal with wisely. I personally
> > > won’t have anything to do with NFC. I was
> > > considering them for a jig rod, but changed
> my
> > > mind. There are too many vendors of the same
> > > quality that actually act like they want my
> > money.
>
> Correct, I was considering one of your blanks, but
> changed my mind because NFC’s reputation leaves
> a lot to be desired. No one needs to take my word
> for it. They can do their own search, which is
> exactly what I recommended they do. You can do it
> too, but be warned, it will take up a full page
> and it’s all the same: long delays / wait time
> and @#$%& poor customer service. As I replied to
> you on FB, if it were one or two bad reviews, I
> wouldn’t pay much attention, but when they go on
> and on? That tells me there’s something to them.
> If NFC is your company, I would think all of those
> negative reviews would be quite concerning. Yet,
> here you are, instead, trying to discredit me
> when all I did was advise potential customers to
> do the same as I did, which is to do their due
> diligence.
>
> I hope you don’t need me to tell you who your
> competitors are and, as far as who I choose to do
> business with, that’s really none of your
> business. Your time would be better spent trying
> to clean up your outfit’s inefficiencies that
> lead to those “long delays”. As far as
> customer service, that’s usually a culture thing
> that starts at the top so I would think that would
> be an easy fix should you desire to fix it.
>
> Bottom line, if someone asks for opinions, here,
> or anywhere else, I will answer the same as I did
> here and on FB, which is to advise them to do a
> thorough research. Others can give their opinion
> and the person soliciting the opinions can make
> their own decision. Simple as that.

Well the thing is you're roasting NFC but never really bought or attempted to buy from them solely based on feedback?
I am totally willing to wait 6 weeks or more for a blank that's really worth it. I've waited 9 month for a blank from Maxia (the worse customer service I've seen in this industry). At the end of the day, feel free to throw a ref or two of blanks that are really worth it in your opinion and I'll see if it's in my preferred spec.

For what it's worth, here is my experience with NFC:

I think I must have bought about 40 or 50 blanks and a few handles. Overall I don't expect NFC to roll the red carpet every time I place an order and quite frankly the responsiveness to email and order has drastically improved since Kelsey joined NFC.

The logistic bit is still lacking follow-up emails on shipment status, the one thing I have mentioned to NFC after my first order was the "must add 5$ delivery signature requirement".
The last two order I had were actually way faster than I anticipated.

Other than that yeah I bet Alesk is getting hundreds of emails that constantly require attention and that's the part some customers may feel left out. I am actually one of them but since I am mostly interested in fly fishing, I had hope while A-J was still around but now I don't think fly fishing is the focus and all I can do is understand and acknowledge that NFC has to generate revenue if they want to stay in business. NFC can't make everyone happy, but lets hope they can take constructive feedback :)

Cheers!

Ben,

The part of the irony that isn’t lost on me, is that you have the CEO of a company, reply to a post on a forum that his company pays to run and operate thinking that maybe his team missed a message, or there is a genuine request for help (customer service) and the posters main gripe/complaint is …. The lack of Customer service., and that’s why he’s not a customer.

The problem I have with posts above - there isn’t even an attempt to reach out to my team. If the concern is leadtime, how about emailing or calling the factory and asking if a blank of interest is in stock, or on the production roadmap next week or two?

We literally did nothing to this individual, and I am completely baffled as to why he decided to lash out at NFC.

On the fly front / the New Air Carbon fly rods are without any input from AJ, but rather Gary and Khiem. Fly designs are not going away or becoming less prominent - we have a small selection of carbon Air Blanks and the Fly Selection is just as well represented in the product roadmap as conventional.

I’ll take the opportunity to try to answer a question on them here - their action is intended to replicate the “GLX” patterns that Gary launched but with more impact resistance, accuracy and weight savings that the fiber provides. In my personal opinion, they best resemble the “cross current GLX” actions.

Aleks

I’m new to rod building and maybe I don’t know what I’m missing, but I have had good service from NFC.
I ordered 10 blanks from NFC at the end of June with a lead time of 6-8 weeks. I received half of the blanks within two weeks and the rest within about a month. I did not pay for shipping and received the rods in three shipments/tubes. I expected to wait the 6-8weeks and receive everything at once for free shipping.
I emailed NFC customer service with a question about a month ago and received a reply within 24hrs…
Based on my experience, I have received exceptional customer service…

I’m responding here because I like the sound of the new C6O2 blanks and would love to see a lighter version of your 11’ 2 weight Euro rod.
Any chance we could see a C6O2 Euro blank in the upcoming year?

Harry

I’ve been around rod building for a very long time, and can honestly say that I’ve had no problems with NFC’s customer service. They have alway been prompt, friendly and helpful. They may have had some growing pains when they first transitioned to a factory direct sales strategy, but if there were problems they certainly fixed them and moved on. It appears that NFC products are extremely popular on this site, a testament to their quality, affordability, and service.
Norm

Daryl, You said there were other blank manufacturers who are selling like material and quality blanks out there you buy from, who are they? From my looking back on the other companies that sell blanks, the vast majority made offshore, their description of the materials they use are 15 - 20- 30+ years old stuff. Many of their patterns older than that, if we are going to compare apples to apples, where is your apple?

Some people never want to give up on an old gripe or opinion, and some feel in social media entitled to stand on a soap box and with gusto and flair deliver their opinion. I could really not give a crap about one's POV unless they provide fact-based data or insightful thought to support their premise, or have an actual experience with a company and its products.

If you don't like a company, its product, its service, or its people then you do not have to buy their product. Pretty simple So take your business to someone else and you might be best served while doing so to STFU. If one has never done business with a company, one has no basis on which to form a fact-based opinion other than what one believes from select others' past opinions. The new American norm: "I'm @#$%& off and want to tell everyone about it and my opinion on why something @#$%&, even if I know nothing about it!" Good grief.

In business, those who are most discontent with a product or issue are the mostly likely to comment about it in social media. In general, people are more prone to @#$%& than they are to make positive comments. Human nature.

I have read on this forum over the years many opinions on NFC, and in my estimation the many complaints regarding customer service or delivery time seem to be on the rather old side of the gripe ledger, as in years ago, and few in the past year. A complaint about product quality or price-to-performance seems very rare.

I have purchased rods from NFC in the last two years and received prompt email verification of my order and the time frame in which delivery was expected to happen. I think I got the blanks within 14 working days, extremely well packed. Both rods were LMX fly rods and for the price perform quite well. So I have no gripes. Just a couple of really good fly rods.

As to innovation, innovation drives business and builds brands in any consumer product segment. Fly rod innovation has certainly occurred in terms of carbon fiber scrim and particularly resins. The newest and latest innovations cost money to develop and that must be recouped in higher priced goods. So if you want the latest innovation you have to pay for it and, in regard to NFC, that would be in the form of an Epitome ("Carbon Air") fly blank. If you don't want to pay that much for the latest tech blank, you don't have to, as they offer various other price ranges of rods. The marketplace ultimately determines value and price. The American fly fishing demographic skews very high household income, so $1,000 rods and $250 - $600 blanks are affordable for many and indeed are being purchased. The same guy who gripes about a high cost rod or blank goes out and spends $75,000 on an SUV or pickup truck.

There are really not that many quality blank makers in the marketplace right now for rod builders, especially fly rods, which is my focus. And few available fly rod blanks are built in the U.S.A., if that is an issue for someone.

The OP and start of this thread was about has anyone wrapped an Epitome fly blank and do they have feedback on it. That is my interest, as it is a blank I have placed in my "potential purchase" set.. To hi-jack the thread and make it about your opinion on a company's product, service or whatever is rather disingenuous. Instead I suggest start your own malcontent thread and revel in those, if any, who jump on your bandwagon, and you all can enjoy doing so in your faceless, somewhat anonymous social media personas.

What I've seen on forums especially lately is nothing but praise for NFC not criticism .

Anybody that says there are other manufacturers offering the same performance/quality that NFC offers better think again.

I buy blanks from NFC and have been doing it for a while since they started. The first ones came through vendors and then I ordered directly. When I first ordered there were issues that I believe happened due to growth and sales, they were somewhat disorganized and it appeared they were having problems with keeping up due to the high volume of sales. Manufacturing has to keep up and you can never really tell if it is just a seasonal thing or if it even will continue. You have to wait and see before you start hiring new people, getting more materials and machinery and even needed real estate or building expansion. Once you can establish the demand you have to have the infrastructure to handle it without growing too fast. They are in a business to make money so they can pay their employees and all the overhead needed. There are not many rod companies that will sell their blanks to the public and never at wholesale. What NFC has done is practically unheard of and there were some inconveniences at first, that to me and anyone with half a brain could figure out why. You have to complain at some point to help move things along but you also have to understand what a business like NFC is providing its customers (us) something you can not get anywhere else. You want them to stay in business. They are still having a few issues but their customer service has improved and you will get a call back or an email and sometimes your gonna have to wait for a blank to be made. I expect it because there is a high demand for their product. I would pull the trigger on the C-602, look what Sage and other American manufacturers are charging for a blank of equal or less innovation and quality.

Hey David, I’ll “STFU” on my terms, not yours. If that bothers you, ignore what I post. Problem solved. As for your accusations and presumptions, you are way off base.

The ONLY opinion (actually it was advice, not an opinion so my bad on that) I gave regarding NFC to the OP, or to anyone else is to do their due diligence because, whether you (and others) want to acknowledge it or not, they do have a pretty lengthy list of negative reviews outside of this forum. And, they all point to the same issues: long delays and poor customer service. Not once did I question the quality, prices, or any other aspect of their blanks. Additionally, I’ve stated more than once (of course, no one bothers to read this part), it’s not like I only read one, two, three or even a few bad reviews. The search filled up my screen. And, btw, did you happen to read Ben’s post earlier in the thread?

“I am totally willing to wait 6 weeks or more for a blank that's really worth it. I've waited 9 month for a blank from Maxia…”

“The logistic bit is still lacking follow-up emails on shipment status, the one thing I have mentioned to NFC after my first order was the "must add 5$ delivery signature requirement".
The last two order I had were actually way faster than I anticipated.
Other than that yeah I bet Alesk is getting hundreds of emails that constantly require attention and that's the part some customers may feel left out. I am actually one of them but since I am mostly interested in fly fishing,“

Wow, sound familiar? The only difference is he doesn’t mind the wait and the lacking of follow ups, etc… That’s great! Power to him, to you and anyone else that’s okay with it. I’m not. Simple as that. But, I’m a villain for warning others about potential delays and poor customer service? If I were new here and inquiring about NFC, or any other company, I would want to hear everything (good and bad) about the outfit and then I can make a more informed decision.

And, just to be clear to everyone here. I don’t have an axe to grind with NFC, or any other outfit. But, again, if someone inquires here, or anywhere else about NFC, or any other product, manufacturer, or company, I’ll give my opinion, advice or whatever you want to call it based on my experience OR research. If it doesn’t match yours, get over it. Give your experience and / or research and let the inquiring individual make up their own mind. At least they’ll have the benefit of multiple viewpoints to consider.