Loomis NRX Rods

[GreenWeenie]

I had the opportunity to test cast the new Loomis NRX in 4, 5 and 6 weight (all 9 feet). Loomis claims the taper, resins and mfg. process is a revolutionary breakthrough in fly rod design and honestly I was very skeptical and wasn’t sure what to expect (I was thinking it is all marketing BS).

For starters, the rods are extremely lightweight and thin diameter, especially the tips. If you were handed the 6wt rod without being told what weight it is and asked what weight rod do you think it is, you probably would say 4wt. The rods seem to be a true fast action design with flexible tips that progressively get stiffer into the mid and butt section. The rods are finished in a dull black finish with a very non-descript graphite reel spacer and plastic-looking reel seat.

Although this was casting on grass, the rods performed very well at short distances, as well as longer distances. I was never a fan of lightweight rods but these rods, coupled with a Loomis reel, really balanced well and I must say casting felt different than other rods, almost as if the line was somehow invisibly connected to your hand. Simply put, the rod has excellent line feel.

The rod is extremely forgiving for mistimed casts. With all 3 weight rods, casts of 50 feet were effortless and the line just flew with a flick of the wrist. The rod could easily through tight, high speed loops at 50 feet, as well as more delicate and gentle open loops at 30-40 feet. I was quite surprised at the versatility of the rod. With a little effort and timing, 70 foot accurate casts were easily accomplished.

The only remaining unknown is how well does it fight a fish? Based on the overall feel, my guess is pretty good. List price was $720.

 

[jdaddy]

Thanks for the review. I know they are marketing them like crazy and that they hit the shelves last Friday. Loomis has always been amazing in thread technology and it seems they have fully embraced fly rods now.

 

[CPR]

The "revolutionary breakthrough" is actual the design of 3M and is also being used by Hardy. Other blank manufacturers will be on board soon.

The hype is greater than the product. Loomis gets a definite A+ in marketing.

 

[snuffysmith]

JDaddy,
When was Loomis in thread tech. ?? I've only known them for rod tech...Also sounds like some of the tech. 3m had around 25 years ago..

 

[jdaddy]

I have no idea where in the hell I came up with "thread" technology, I meant rod technology. Having been exposed to G Loomis for many, many years in the bass fishing industry their products always set the standard.

If 3M invented the blanks that Loomis is using for this rod 25 years ago, then shame on all the idiots out there for not using the rod blank technology.

Greenweenie, I guess your experience and review of the product is worthless, because apparently it is 25 year old technology that has been idly sitting on a shelf. It is NOT light weight, it does NOT cast well because it is old technology.

 

[CPR]

They also installed the wrong reel seats on the heavier rods.

http://www.midcurrent.com/news/2010/08/gloomis-nrx-reel-seats-delay-l.html

 

[bam]

"thread technology" can be attributed to spending way too much time on internet message boards

 

[GreenWeenie]

I don’t think 3M makes fishing rods so to say the technology has been around for 25 years is completely wrong.

3M makes raw product and while this raw material may have been around for 25 years the ability and know-how to turn it into a high performance, mass producible fishing rod hasn’t and that’s the break through. Graphite and boron in raw form were both around long before either found its way into a fishing rod so I guess you could say those rods were 25 years obsolete when they first came out. And hell, bamboo was around for thousands and thousands of years before a fishing rod was ever made out of it so think of how obsolete the first bamboo rod was when it was first made! And fiberglass, I guess the first Corvette that came out in the 60’s with a fiberglass body was obsolete too because fiberglass had been around for at least 20 years before that.

I personally am not a fan of new technology rods and I am a firm believer in that the only thing obsolete about rods made 25 years ago is the marketing. I am a Winston guy (WT models) and I do not like the Winston boron models. I’m not necessarily a fan of Loomis (I’ve tried the Loomis GLX High Speed StreamDance and honestly don’t like it) and with all the hype about this new rod I wanted to try it with an open mind and this new Loomis has a very different and pleasant feel - I was very surprised I liked it. I’ve tried the Orvis Helios and don’t think it lives up to the hype but this new Loomis rod really is a nice rod. Will I buy one? Probably not but if someone told me I had to replace my Winston rods this is the rod I would go with.

And as far as Loomis goes, Loomis has been a pioneer in rod design and manufacturing. Loomis and other rod makers don’t invent new materials BUT as rod makers and designers, they are constantly trying to figure out how to take existing available materials and turn them into a cost effective high performance fishing rod and that is their technological know-how, which could be called thread technology. Loomis worked closely with Tom Morgan when Morgan owned Winston in the development of the IM6 Winston rods and Loomis actually rolled the blanks for Winston for the IM6’s until around 1995 or so when Winston began rolling their own blanks. One of the major design breakthroughs with the Winston IM6 rods was thinner diameter tips, which gave the graphite rods much more feel and flex than earlier generation graphite rods. When Fenwick first came out with graphite rods in the mid 70’s the rods were somewhat stiff and very brittle and prone to snapping, not exactly good fishing tools. But with manufacturing changes and tweeking resigns and materials rod makers were able to turn these first generation brittle rods into high performance fishing rods and that’s the technological advancement and know-how that rod makers bring to the table.

 

[afishinado]

3M makes this carbon fiber stuff for the aerospace industry and fly rod mfgs use it to make their blanks. They are but a small part of 3Ms business.

From what I've read, 3M has come up with a new resin (the "glue" that binds the carbon fibers together) which allows the blanks to use less resin and thus less weight (with equal or greater strength and durability). Anyway many of the rod mfgs are beginning to use it on their top of the line rods.. St. Croix does, now Loomis, Sage has a new lighter version of their TXL line (TXL-F) they are introducing. I'm sure by 2011 most rod mfgs will have the latest and greatest new rods to sell.

IMO, rods are MUCH better than they were 25 years ago. I have some older rods of that vintage that are nice, but very clunky when compared to today's rods. No need to have the latest or greatest. If you wait long enough, you can fish the older models at a more reasonable price. Keep an eye out for that.

 

[jayL]

I am a big loomis fan, but I'm not dropping that kind of coin on a rod. Maybe some day.

 

[jdaddy]

The fact that you normally throw a WT, do not like the boron/graphite Winstons, but naturally took to the NRX is a pretty strong statement on behalf of the NRX.

Winston has not released a lot of details on the BIIIx series. Wonder if they adapted the 25 year old technology as well?

 

[CPR]

You can get a top of the line custom built on a Sage Z, Batson RX8+, St.Croix SCV, or Dan Craft FT blank, with ceramics, and top of the line of cork for what one of the new Loomis rods cost,

and still have money left for a reel or a guided trip on a very nice piece of water.


I'll certainly give the rods a try but I think were all going to find out the hype is more than the bite.

 

[CPR]

St.Croix will be using 3M Matrix resin also.

http://www.tackletour.com/reviewicast10rodsstcroix.html

go to page two and check out the new Kelly Galloup designed "Bank Robber" fly rods.

and the St>Croix claims use of the new 3M resin will have only minimal increases on overall prices.

I guess Loomis has to raise their prices so much to cover the marketing campaign.

 

[jayL]

I find your rage against loomis to be amusing. What did they do to you?

 

[afishinado]

jayL wrote:
I find your rage against loomis to be amusing. What did they do to you?

Jay,

CPR is a rod professional builder, and Loomis has recently stopped selling blanks for building.

I too like some of the Loomis rods. I have a GLX Streamdance HLS Metolius that I use all the time. Now that I'm more into rod building, I can say that I likely will never own another Loomis rod since I now prefer to build my own.

It's their business decision not to sell blanks, but also their loss of my business and more importantly, the loss of business from rod building pros like CPR.

Just a note, Loomis builds some fly rods, but they have a huge share of the high-end spin/cast rod market. They have a lot to lose by not offering the blanks for sale, IMO.

 

[CPR]

I don't have an issue with Loomis, I have an issue with Shimano.

http://northforkcomposites.com/blog/2010/07/13/i-guess-im-a-lawyer-again/

The lawsuit was eventually dropped but it cost Gary a lot of time and money.

If you want a true Loomis, purchase one built on a Gary Loomis North Fork Composites blank.

If you want a rod built with the new 3M Matrix resin buy a St.Croix, Lamiglas, or if you have the jack a Hardy.

If you purchase a G.Loomis rod or Loomano as it maybe, you are just grossly overpaying for a name and a marketing campaign, which ironically, it's namesake wants nothing to do with.

 

[afishinado]

CPR,

I know all about Gary Loomis and his breakaway from Shimano/Loomis, but I wasn't aware of the lawsuit. As a amateur rod builder, I have been looking forward seeing the fly rod line-up offered by North Fork Composites. It has been slow in coming, now I know why. Thanks for the info.

 

[sight_nymph_17109]

I had built a GL3 (or some model) years ago. Ended up giving it to a guy just starting in fly fishing. Although Loomis rods are nice, I think they are waaaaay over priced and I'm pretty sure that I'll never purchase one again. Between a nice quality product, great warranty and the ability to upgrade / trade the rod in, St Croix is near the top of the list. Add to that a sticker price that's 1/2 of what the 'big guys' are selling their rods for! If I were going to drop big cash on a rod, Sage, Winston and Scott would all be choices before Loomis.

CPR,
How do you think the St Croix blanks stack up next to Sage, etc? They seem to be well made, super light and quality all the way around. I've got an SCV built for me and love it. Traded the TCX back to the builder and had him send me an Elite and had enough shop credit to get new boots!

 

[jdaddy]

SVC and Elite are same blanks right?

 

[moon1284]

SCV used to be legend elite but I think the new elites are an SCV SCVI blend (with the higher modulus graphite in the butt section to cut down on weight). I also believe these rods use the same 3M technology as the NRXs.