Got my 9 ft. 5 wt NFC carbon Air (Epitome) fly blank today. Medium flex not fast. I put it on my digital scale and it reads 1.4 ounces and 39 grams. NFC lists the blank on their web page as 1.6 ounces. My scale is not a super expensive one, but coming in at a digital reading of 1.4 ounces is pretty damn good.

Let us know what you think once you get it spun up.

Yes, Todd, thanks for asking, and I plan to do a complete rod review here in terms of how I build it out and how I think the rod performs. I have not seen any true Epitome fly rod reviews, so I will try and lead the way.

First things to notice on the blank:

1) while it is a natural finish, grayish-black in tone, its surface is not fully sanded but is sanded more than the x-Ray blank series, of which I have built two fly rods( LMX-FAF). So less pronounced grooves will make it a little easier to wrap;
2) yes, this blank is light, so the Carbon Air name is at least true to execution;
3) the Epitome fly rod line up is fairly narrow. The 9 ft 5 wt is on the only line weight offered in a Fast or Medium flex option, and I opted for the Medium, as I don't like fly rods that are super Fast action;
4) ferrules differ from the LMX FAF fly rods, but a quick fitting indicates the ferrules to be very well engineered and tight
5) I did assemble the blank and lightly flex it. While we know this is not a very good test of a fly rod, I could tell that the rod is indeed very light and not a super stiff broom stick. Some moderate flex occurred in a few basic wiggle tests.

More to come. Gong on vacation for a week so no building will occur for at least two weeks, if not more. Likely a mid to late October project.