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In our budget fly rod comparison article we reviewed the Crosswater rod from Redington, and while the Crosswater was ultimately beat out by St. Croix's Triumph rods, the Crosswater continues to impress us. We did rank the Crosswater #2 in our article, and if it weren't for St. Croix's warranty service, the Crosswater would've won. In fact, in virtually all other categories (weight, materials, build origin and cost), we ranked the Crosswater the highest. The quality in the Crosswater rods is amazing for a rod that costs $80!
The Crosswater rod is a great rod for beginners and experts alike. It performs well under real world situations and has proven to be a rugged and durable rod. Crosswater rods have great features for their class, and while they can't be compared to more expensive rods in some regards, they certainly are a very fishable rod. Considering you'd need to break and buy 7 or 8 of these rods to equal the cost of one of the big name brand rods, we think they're a great rod to use heavily.
Crosswater rods, compared to the three other brands we tested, came in lighter in weight than their rivals. In the 9'-0" 6wt we tested, it weighed in at just 3.4 ounces. Even compared to Orvis's new ZG Helios rod at 2 3/8 ounces, that's a nice light rod. Personally, I don't feel the 1 ounce difference in rod weight, so it's a fairly moot point in terms of arguing one rod's merit over anothers. What matters is flex, where it flexes, how much it flexes where and the other usual suspects in terms of warranty, build quality and to some degree, pedigree.
Starting at the butt of the rod and working our way up, the Crosswater rods are made with anodized aluminum reel seat hardware that is anodized in a bright nickle finish. It's a very nice reel seat assembly for an $80 fly rod, and looks like it could be on a $300 rod. The rods feature a double uplocking ring reel seat on a wood shaft that looks to be cherry. Interestingly, the gap to recieve reels seems to be a bit smaller than it should be. I modified the keeper slightly to fit a G.Loomis Venture 5 reel on the crosswater rod we tested. The cork handle is what you would expect in the budget rod category, and while it's not the best we've seen, it's certainly not the worst, and nothing a little sandpaper can't fix.
Note that there are 2 butt options available (fighting butt and regular) and Crosswater rods come in both 4 piece and 2 piece flavors. The rod we tested is a 9'-0" 6wt 2 piece model with a regular butt.
The cork handle ends and the shaft of the rod starts with a fixed loop fly keeper (pictured above) and Redington's logo above that followed by the Crosswater logo and rod specs. The rod blank itself is a 34 million modulus dark blue/green blank wrapped with black thread and perfectly apoxied in place guides. The stripping guide has a silicone carbide ring insert on a anodized aluminum frame. The guides up to the top are all anodized aluminum and bound beautifully.
In terms of performance, the rod has held up perfectly through repeated abuse on the stream and is about to be challenged on some heavier game. I'll report back after our trip to report on how the rod faired against, hopefully, some 4 or 10 pound steelhead. The action on the rod is a mid fast rod, and I would say more on the fast side of mid, which is just the way I like it. We choose to under line the rod running 5wt line on a 6wt rod, something we just prefer to do because of the feel it gives. Hauling a lot of line on the rod does get tiring after a full day, but the same can happen with even the most expensive rods under some conditions
The warranty could be a little better, but in the $100 category, you can't expect too much. As mentioned above, St. Croix beat out the Crosswater in our comparison due to the warranty that St. Croix offers. While the St. Croix warranty isn't included in the initial purchase price of the rod, simply the fact that they'll replace a $100 rod for $50 is impressive. That's for another review though.
All things considered, Redington's Crosswater rods are definitely worth the money, and are highly recommended by flyfishreviews.com. If you're a beginner and looking for a good mid fast fly rod to start out with, consider your options, but don't be afraid to make a Redington Crosswater your first rod. You wont be disappointed. As we mentioned in a different article, if you're considering buying a rod for a specific trip, or for a game fish you don't usually pursue, and need a rod that won't be your primary rod, consider buying a Crosswater in the length/weight you need. For $80 - $110, you can't go wrong for a rod to fill a hole in your collection.
You can purchase a new Crosswater Fly Rod from the link below to support flyfishreviews.com
