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Battle of the Budget Rods Wednesday, 07 October 2009 14:12 Written by Philip Light

Battle of the Budget Rods!

Here's our first installment of "Battle of the Budget Gear Series".  We're kicking off with a budget fly rod review.

With the Economy in the slackwater and for beginners, we wanted to compare a few low cost rods for beginners or to add to your fly rod arsenal.   This is the first part in a series of articles that explore the world of Budget Fly Fishing Gear.  We hope to do: Rods, Reels, Waders, Wading Boots, Fly Line and Vests.  If you have any suggestions for gear you'd like reviewed, drop us a line using the "contact us" menu on the left.

For our budget fly rod comparison, we're going to look at 4 different rods from 4 different manufacturers, Orvis, Redington, St. Croix and Cabela's.  For Orvis, we'll be looking at the $98.00 Streamline series of rods.  From Redington, their $80.00 Crosswater rods.  St. Croix will be the $100 Triumph Rods, and from Cabela's, we'll use their $100 Traditional II rods for comparison.  We chose rods that were in the $100 price range for a 9'-0" 5wt, 2 piece rod.  We'll be looking at several aspects of the rods, such as, materials used, country of origin, build quality, rod action, warranty, weight and cost.  Since all of the rods generally fall in the medium action range, the rod action segment will be based on the rod's "feeling" while casting, to determine whether one rod has more tip flex than the other for example. 

For our comparison, we'll be scoring each rod on a 1-5 scale, with 1 being negative and 5 being positive.  Each category above will get a score, and the total at the end will decide the best rod by our standards (higher total scores are better).

We'll start with the Orvis Streamline rod and some specs on the rod.  The Orvis rod is actually a 9'-0" 6wt 2 piece rod with a mid flex action.  Orvis's flex index is a little different than other manufacturers, but in general, a mid flex is a general rod suited for a range of situations.

Orvis Streamline Specifications

 The Streamline rods are a graphite rod blank, grade cork handle, chrome guides and an anodized aluminum reel seat.  They aren't the sexiest rod on the list, but they'll certainly get the job done.  The build quality is what you'd expect from Orvis in the $100 rod range.  They're a good rod, but definitely a $100 rod, but then we're not comparing it to the Helios either!  The rods are manufactured overseas which is to be expected in this price range.  To Orvis's credit, their rods that are manufactured overseas are held to the same strict quality control specifications as their high end rods manufactured in Vermont.

The rod action is a balanced feel and Mid Flex is an accurate account of this rod's flex.  It's a general use fly rod and perfectly suited on a trout stream or pond.  If anything, the rod is a little stiff for a mid action rod, but again, in the $100 range, you can't be too picky about the action.

As for Warrenty on the Orvis Streamline, it comes with a 30 day money back guarantee, as well as Orvis's quality guarantee against defects in materials and workmanship.

Our scorecard for the Orvis Streamline rods is as follows.

You can purchase the Orvis Streamline through the link below to help support flyfishreviews.com

Redington Crosswater Specifications

The Crosswater rods are a 35 million modulus graphite rod blank with a AA grade cork handle, real wood reel seat and anodized aluminum hardware as stated above.  They have silicone carbide stripping guides and anodized aluminum guides above.  The unit we tested was a blue graphite and actually a very attractive rod overall.  The build quality is excellent in our opinion, and compared to the Orvis Streamline, we think the Crosswater is a little better.  The rods are manufactured overseas, but to exacting standards that are held up by Team Red (Redington's Prostaff team). 

The rod is listed as a medium fast action, which we'd agree with, and think Orvis should take note of.  This rod is a good all around 5wt rod and is more on the fast side of medium, with a strong backbone.

For warranty, the Crosswater comes with a 1 year warranty on material and workmanship defects.  Damage caused by use of the rod is not covered under this warranty.

Here's our fly rod review for the Redington Crosswater Rod

You can purchase a Redington Crosswater through the link below to help support flyfishreviews.com

 Next up is the St. Croix Triumph fly rod review.  St. Croix is known for budget rods, and they're readily available in many sporting goods stores.  So how does St. Croix's rod hold up against the others?  Read below to find out.  I used the St. Croix 9'-0" 5wt on the Bighorn River in Montana and it held up well to some big browns and rainbows.

 St. Croix specifications

The St. Croix Triumph is built on St. Croix's SCII graphite with a mid modulus fiber, a premium cork handle, anodized aluminum hardware, stainless steel snake guides and aluminum oxide stripper guides.  The build quality on these rods is good, and for the price, they're right in line with the other rods in this review.  St. Croix Triumph rods are manufactured outside of the US, but they are made in a co-owned facility in Mexico, unlike the other rods in this review which are made in China.  St. Croix is taking a serious stance on the quality of even it's imported rods.  it's evident in the newer rods from this new facility.

The rod action is medium fast, and it shows in it's action on the stream.  It's got a little stiffer action than a true medium rod, and that provides for some good backbone in fighting bigger fish.

The warranty on St. Croix rods is where this choice really shines.  St. Croix has a uinque warranty setup.  The Triumph comes with a standard 5 year warranty, but is backed by their super star warranty plan.  Essentially, if you break your rod, you ship it to St. Croix with a check for $20.  If it's found to have broken due to materials or workmanship, they'll replace the rod.  If, though, you request their Gold Star service, and include a check for $50, they'll either repair or replace your rod regardless of whether you stepped on it or it broke due to craftsmanship!  That's an amazing warranty for a rod in this price class.

Here's our fly rod review for the St. Croix Triumph rod

You can purchase a St. Croix triumph rod through the link below to help support flyfishreviews.com

 The final review in our fly rod review comparison for budget rods is the Cabelas Traditional II rods.  This is actually the first rod we bought, and the first rod we tested.  This is a straight forward, get the job done kind of rod.  It's not glamorous, but it's efficient and a good rod for the price and does have a rosewood reel seat (we like wood reel seats).  This rod got some time on the water in Montana too.

Cabela's Traditional II Specifications

 This is the first rod with a true Fast action vs. the medium/medium-fast rods in this review.  The materials used are slightly different too in that the rod is built on an olive colored high modulus graphite blank (though the modulus is not specified), has a premium cork handle, anodized aluminum hardware and stainless steel snake guides.  The build quality is right in line with the other rods even though these rods come from overseas.  Cabela's does seem to have some quality control for their imported rods. I never saw Cabela's as a manufacturer, and still don't.  They're on outfitter as far as we're concerned, but they do produce some decent products under their own name.

The rod is definitely a fast action rod, and it's a little too stiff for our liking.  Especially when compared to the other rods in this review.  Overall, this rod earns the bottom rank in our comparison.  Cabela's may sell fine products, but manufacturing isn't their specialty, and it shows when held up against other manufacturers who's core business is building fly rods.

As for warranty, Cabela's offers a one year warranty on parts and defects on all of their name brand products (except their clothing which has a lifetime warranty).

Heres our fly rod review for Cabela's Traditional II rods

You can purchase a Cabelas Traditional II through the link below to help support flyfishreviews.com

And the winner is: St. Croix Triumph rods with a total score of 23!  2nd place goes to Redington's Crosswater series rods, 3rd to Orvis's Streamline and last place goes to Cabela's with their Traditional II rods.  Probably not what you would've expected.  This proves somewhat, that name brand isn't everything.  A lot of people swear by Orvis brand fly rods, and while the Streamline isn't necessarily indicative of the brand, in our budget fly rod review, Orvis falls short.  Having fished with all of these rods, I have to say that beyond the categories listed, St. Croix and Redington are truly deserving of their positions in this review.  I personally fish with a Redington Crosswater and Red Fly 2 rod almost exclusively.  You don't have to spend a lot to get a great rod!

A little more detail on the scores.  We tried to give a score of 3 where either information was unavailable, or where all 4 of the rods were equal.  For example, on build quality, we feel that all 4 rods were equal in terms of craftsmanship.  We scored lower on rods that were built overseas more for the fact that it's typically difficult to tell on the manufacturers site.  St. Croix does an excellent job of outlining where their rods are made.  The news of the Mexico facility is brand new and they haven't updated their site yet.  We scored on price based on how far from the $100 mark the rod is.  While the range isn't really worth noting, there is some differences in cost, and they don't seem to jive with the other factors.

We hope this review is useful for someone searching for a new flyrod on a budget.  Stay tuned for our budge fly reel review article!

If any manufacturers wish to redeem themselves by supplying us with a higher price range rod to review, we will gladly accept and do a review on mid to high end rods/reels.

Feel free to argue these points using the comments link below, or discussing it in our forum.