#21 (tie) Redington CRUX 9 foot #8 $399.95
George’s Notes:
We have two Redington rods in this Shootout, with the CRUX being perhaps the best one, but at $200.00 more than the VICE. Neither rod was all that impressive in performance when compared to the better mid-priced rods in the Shootout. $400 puts the Crux in that mid-price category, but when comparing it heads up to the Orvis Recon, the difference was like night and day! The Recon is far lighter and has a much faster action, which allowed it to cast dramatically better at all distances. The Crux has more of a medium action, with a stiffer tip, and it’s HEAVY! It is one of the heaviest rods we tested in swing weight. The slower action combined with all that weight made for a dismal performance.
Despite the lackluster performance, the Crux is a handsome rod, with good craftsmanship. The thing that grabs you is the unusual handle design and the use of angled composite cork along with the standard cork rings. The idea is to increase durability, where your thumb rests. This is a full wells design with a smaller swell than most. The quality of cork is excellent. The rod itself has a pleasing metallic olive matte finish, with dark brown wraps and olive trim on the butt section. The quality of the epoxy coatings over the wraps is good. They use a black anodized double uplocking seat but the knurling on the rings is too fine, making them very hard to grip. At least the bottom ring has a nylon face that allows it to lock up well once you do get it tight. On the front side of the reel seat is an anodized olive hood that gives the line size combined with built in hook keepers on both sides. A short fighting butt is used with a composite cork on the end, matching what is found on the handle. Rod guides are two SiC stripping guides followed with hard chrome snake guides with an oversized tiptop. This rod is manufactured in Korea.
Performance at 35 feet: 18.5 points out of 20
The heavy swing weight and stiffness in the tip hurt a lot in close. Both the Recon and Aetos were much better.
Performance at 60 feet: 18.5 points out of 20
Decent balance and loop control, but the Recon and BVK were dramatically better.
Performance at 80 feet: 18 points out of 20
All that swing weight is becoming tiring, and I’m working hard to hit the 80-foot mark.
Performance at 100 feet: 17 points out of 20
Not enough power to get it done. The Vice was much better at the longest distances.
23. Redington CRUX 9’#8 4pc $399.95
James’ Notes:
We have seen better rods from Redington before, (the CPX comes to mind), despite Redington’s claim of the CRUX being the best rod they’ve ever made. While it is better than the VICE, I’m not sure if it is $200 better. Given their cost, I’d choose the VICE instead and put the extra $200 towards a nicer saltwater reel and line.
Redington’s introduction of their Angled Key Grip (a denser pre-compressed cork material near the top of the cork) may increase durability but I doubt it will reduce much hand fatigue from wielding this heavy wand all day. Compared to the X, the CRUX feels much stiffer with little life to it.
1st impressions: Interesting “Sci-fi” font on rod and reel seat. Unique cork at the top, different looking lock rings on reel seat.
Performance at 35 feet: 17 points out of 20
Lighter than the VICE but nearly as stiff. Not too much fun casting this rod in close as it had very little feel.
Performance at 60 feet: 17 points out of 20
Again it feels and performs a lot like the VICE – not so good. The CRUX is powerful and can be punched or you can take it easy with it. I just wish it were not so heavy.
Performance at 80 feet: 17.5 points out of 20
Powerful indeed, but you pay the price in a heavy swing weight. Getting it the distance is no problem, but I’m not getting the same fun feedback or accuracy that other rods gave me.
Performance at 100 feet: 17.5 points out of 20
Doable, but the edge goes to the VICE for sure.
#23. (tie) Redington Crux $399.95
Logan’s Notes:
At around $400, the Redington Crux is a good mid-priced rod for anyone who is a fan of faster action rods. The action of the Crux lent itself to longer distances. It handled heavier lines and flies like a champ. I did really like the overall look of the Crux. It has a unique cork shape that felt really comfortable.
Performance at 35 feet: 17 out of 20
The Crux was not my favorite rod at 35 feet. The stiffness hurt here as it lacked any feel at the in-close distances.
Performance at 60 feet: 17 out of 20
I thought I’d start to really like the Crux at 60 feet, but it wasn’t very accurate for me at this distance. It had plenty of reserve power but it didn’t seem to track as well as other rods.
Performance at 80 feet: 18 out of 20
Longer distances were the Crux’s strong suit. I think this would be a fine rod for bigger flies, throwing them longer distances.
22. (tie) Redington Crux 54/60 $399.95
JG’s Notes:
The Crux is a new rod from Redington. It’s a fast action rod with a good price, but for the money I think it’s a bit heavy and inaccurate. I thought that for a similar price the Douglas DXF had much better performance. The Crux does look good though. I thought it stood out just the right amount. The biggest problem I have with this rod is the Redington marketing hype that I feel is really misleading. Overindulgence in a product’s description is something we often see, and the Crux is a good example. The grip for example is no different than any other full wells grip ever made in terms of comfort – it just has some faux cork at the front of the grip.
Redington also says, “Increased connectivity between the tip, middle, and lower sections for an all-around superior feel.”
This is a mystery to me since the rod features the same slip over ferrule design featured on almost every rod produced today. The action seems fine to me but this rod is just heavy in hand compared to a rod like the Recon for only $150 more.
Performance at 35 feet: 18
Accuracy was good enough at 35 ft. but the heavy swing weight gave me a really heavy and unresponsive feeling.
Performance at 60 feet: 18
The Crux has the power to reach out to 60 ft. and beyond, but the accuracy was poor, which I attribute to the heavy in hand feel and overly stiff blank.
Performance at 80 feet: 18
I was able to get the distance out of the Crux to hit 80 ft., but with little accuracy and wrist wrenching weight.
Performance at 100 feet:
Another rod I just couldn’t get 100 ft. from.