2019 4 Weight Shoot-Out... And the winner is....

[LetortAngler]

Very helpful info if your in the market for a new 4wt this year. Regardless of the results, I’m still getting the H3

https://www.yellowstoneangler.com/gear-review/2019-4-weight-shootout

 

[PennKev]

LetortAngler wrote:
Very helpful info if your in the market for a new 4wt this year.

Eh, if anything it makes it more difficult to decide IMO. If you crunch the numbers, all the rods in the shootout got a "B" or better in the overall scoring, and MOST got an "A." In fact the average score was 90% of possible points or better.

While I believe that most of the rods tested are indeed good rods, I think some stand out more than the shootout scoring might lead you to believe.

For instance the H3 and the St. Croix imperial are only separated by a few % points and both got over 90% of the total points with scores of 132 and 126. The Imperial series has always been a heck of a rod, especially for the price, but is it really that closely comparable to the H3?

I think in the end. If you go into reading the shootout with your mind on a particular rod, the shootout will confirm that it is a good choice regardless of which rod it is.

 

[poopdeck]

I don't read rod shootouts but pennkev's summary confirms my laymens position that a rod is a rod is a rod and all rods cast.

 

[bigjohn58]

poopdeck wrote:
I don't read rod shootouts but pennkev's summary confirms my laymens position that a rod is a rod is a rod and all rods cast.

I agree with you...there are very very few rods on the market that are poor fly rods these days. Maybe the Walmart specials are poor but if you are spending over $100 you are probably getting something decent.

 

[LetortAngler]

Good point Kev, The article actually articulates your point further. All the rods picked were because they are the best of the the bunch.

Not sure if I would characterize their grading system as A-F, since most, if not all the rods used were from notable rod makers, a likely reason for higher scores since none are actually “bad” per se. I don’t think their intention was to dissuade anyone from buying a certain rod, but rather plain and simply- giving honest and sensible reviews for those who like to do a little research on what they plan on getting.

I am surprised they didn’t add the other H3 9’ 4weight (D) and only tested the (F), yet added a second TFO Finesse to the tests.

 

[PennKev]

LetortAngler wrote:

Not sure if I would characterize their grading system as A-F, since most, if not all the rods used were from notable rod makers, a likely reason for higher scores since none are actually “bad” per se. I don’t think their intention was to dissuade anyone from buying a certain rod, but rather plain and simply- giving honest and sensible reviews for those who like to do a little research on what they plan on getting.

I just translated it into an A-F scale to illustrate the shortcomings of the system. Each attribute was scored on a basis of 20 possible points, yet I did not see a score lower than 16 for any rod in any performance category. The first 15 points are meaningless as all they do is minimize the difference between a score of 16 and 20. Perhaps the rods are all actually that close in performance, but consider this: The St. Croix Imperial scored only 1 point lower than the H3 in EVERY performance category. Orvis's own Cleawater, a $198 rod, had a similar score, falling behind only in the 60ft performance catagory.
I'll never bash an Imperial or Clearwater, they're fine rods for the money, and fine rods over all, but they are not THAT close to an H3, Radian, etc. Granted a current Clearwater may be a heck of a lot closer to an H3 than a 20 year old version of the Clearwater, but still....

1 point out of 20 is only %5. Is an H3 only %5 better than a Clearwater despite being over %400 more expensive? I fully understand that there are other aspects affecting pricing, and I'd never try to say that an H3 is 4 times better than a Clearwater. However, IMO the H3's are stand outs and the shootout does not do them justice. I feel the same way in regard to the Scott Radian.

 

[Swattie87]

This is kind of like an article on a cooking website about a risotto recipe shootout. It’s purely subjective, and hence, scientifically useless. In both cases, I suspect the main motivating factor to completing such a test is simply generating website clicks. Which is fine, as long as we treat it as such...a fun read, but little more.

Different rod attributes mesh well with different casting styles and strokes. The rod I may be able to cast to the farthest is likely different than the one Kev can, or poop can, or bigjohn can, or LA can, etc. And honestly, if I’m buying a 4 weight, I’m probably way more concerned about how easy it is to be accurate at relatively close range, as opposed to how much line it can double haul.

On a more serious note, this is like golf club driver testing. To do it objectively, you’d need a robot capabale of producing identical swings/casts. They have them in golf, not so sure about FFing.

Bottom line...In terms of general rod buying advice...Try as many options as you can in whatever your budget range is, and buy the one YOU like best.

 

[moon1284]

I'm a bit disappointed they didnt test each rod with micro Skagit lines. I read that entire article and I still dont know what 4 weight casts articulated streamers the best.

 

[salvelinusfontinalis]

^lmfao

 

[SurfCowboyXX]

Most glaringly, they didn't report on which worked best for Tenkara if the reel drag gets jammed...

 

[gulfgreyhound]

Even within rods each blank is different. Which is better is subjective and a personal choice. Pick one you like and go for it. GG

 

[wbranch]

I found a brand new Helios 2 9' #4 4 piece on an Ebay auction about 3 years ago and stole it for $480 with the warranty card. I've had many other 9' #4 rods and I like the Helios the best. I think it is a great dry fly rod. Fast enough that one, or at the most two, false casts and the fly is on the water again yet the tip is still limber enough to enjoy the tussle of a 12" trout.