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[RalphH]

This video by a pair of average anglers compare 3 rods, from inexpensive to close to a grand for accuracy and distance.

Spoiler alert! The result was maybe no where close to what some might think

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmHztaRgivk

[RalphH]

here's another one for 6 weight rods comparing 6 rods.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJ37z-1kYlk&t=4s

[Knnn]

Thanks Ralph.

Interesting video by regular Joe anglers who do not have a vested interest in the outcome.

Although I love my Sage rod, because the intangible feel, I also own three dragon fly rods which are bang for the buck the best 5-6 wt fly rods I have ever fished with.

[redside1]

No real surprises in the video.
Too few anglers set a budget on what they want to pay then go to a shop and "blind" cast all the rods available within their budget.
The best rod for them to purchase would be the one they cast the easiest, smoothest for the application they want the rod for.
For mot guys it's all about being at the campfire at the end of the day saying "i fish with brand XXX or brand YYY, look how experienced I must be".

I once was looking for a 10' 8wt rod for steelhead fly fishing and toured a bunch of places and tried a pile of rods.
the "best" rod for me at that time turned out to a G.Loomis IMX but it was then followed by the cheapest rod I looked at, a chinese made , no name brand. Some of the other big name rods i could not cast worth a crap.

Nowadays it seems like a lot of people just go on line , ask the question of what to buy on some sort of social media platform and go get that rod because others said to do so.

Smart guys head to their local shops and test cast a range of rods and get what works best for them.

[RalphH]

So much of it is an individual choice so I don't pay much attention when people say Brand S or W is the best. The best for you maybe. There is a lot of self flattery in many consumer purchases. I think most of the rods I have I bought either used or on some sort of blow out deal. I was never disappointed in any of them. I bought one top of the line rod new at MSRP back in 1985 I think. I still have it and it's a very good rod for what it was designed.

Sage is still a very good rod but they don't dominate the market as the best as they once did. Some rods were specialist rods. Winston Rods, at least when Tom Morgan ran the company, were known for being accurate casting rods & probably the best graphite rods ever made with that objecgtive. Great for dry fly fishing etc but not for blasting a line across the river.

[RalphH]

...and the cost of the graphite cloth per unit for the various graphite grades is?

In most cases the raw material costs is only a small proportion of the end unit product cost. The $40 Maxcatch rods are claimed to made with IM7 which has a modulus of 42 million, about 2 grades above the plain jane graphite. I have no idea what number Hexcel is up to these days and what is commonly used in TOL graphite rods.

FWIW IM6 IM7 etc  are trade designations of Hexcel Corporation which is one of the major Global manufacturers of graphite and other structural products.

[GordJ]

I interested in the definition of sensitivity. Is it the soft rod that bends easily to show activity on the line or is it the stiff rod that conveys that activity through the feel of the rod?

[cutthroat22]

Fishing rods are comparable to hockey sticks to me.  Lots of real expensive materials out there but the old wood stick can shoot the puck just as hard for about 1/20th the price of a fancy stick.

[HKSR]

Personally I'm one of those guys that did splurge on an expensive setup (Sage One with Abel Super 7/8 custom anodized for $2500), but I use it for bonefish in tropical destinations most of the time (windy conditions where I need good accuracy in saltwater).  I also have a Dragonfly setup for about $150 that I love as well. 

Here is my advice... the rod you buy is only as good as the person casting.  Take the money and spend it on casting lessons.  Nothing you buy can replace the quality of a good casting technique.