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#1: G. LOOMIS NRX+ 9′ #5 $795

The outstanding, new NRX+ wins in the final results, but gets beaten by the Loomis Asquith in the Performance Only results. This doesn’t happen often, but the Asquith was denied the overall win in the Final Results since it lost a lot of points in both the price and warranty categories.   

Still, the NRX+ is a worthy winner overall. It’s not surprising after doing a lot of casting with all the rods, that the G. Loomis rods stand out above the others in our Power rod category. Steve Rajeff, head rod designer and 14 time all-around world champion caster did a terrific job in the re-design of the original NRX rods. The NRX rods were great rods, but these new NRX+ rods are even better. They are lighter, stronger, and dampen better than anything G. Loomis has given us in the past.

In upgrading the NRX rods, Steve utilized a blend of three things: Mega Modulus+ Graphite, GL8 Resin, and Multi-Taper Design. 

As Steve explained it to me, the new Mega Modulus+ graphite fiber is slightly higher in modulus but has a much higher strain rating. This makes the blank much stronger under a “lifting load” with less overall material used. G. Loomis has built some of the toughest rods we’ve ever fished and it takes a lot to break one. Knowing the new NRX+ is even tougher than the old NRX is great news!  

GL8 resin is “self-propagating”, meaning the resin creates its own Nano-particles. These particles are distributed evenly and uniformly, unlike older resins where the particles were mixed in. Since the GL8 resin is more uniform, it penetrates the graphite fibers more effectively, thus requiring less resin.  This new resin system, along with a new scrim, results in a lighter but more durable blank.   

As Tom Larimer at Loomis explained to me, the new resin system also protects the rod from “bruises” that can eventually expand and cause the rod to break. Bruises are often caused by having a lead eye bugger, beadhead fly, or split shot slam into the rod while you are casting.  

In looking back at the old NRX specs, the new NRX+ rods are slightly lighter in overall weight but substantially lighter in swing weight.  

A cornerstone of their new technology is using a multi-taper design, a process that removes material from areas where a rod is least likely to break, and adds material to prevent breakage where it’s more likely to break. When used in the top half of the rod, this creates a thin diameter tip section with excellent swing weight, but more importantly helps the rod to recover and dampen quickly.

In casting this new NRX+ rod, the improvement in recovery and dampening was dramatic! There are no other rods in our Shootout that are as smooth, dampen as quickly, or track as well as the new NRX+ rods. 

The new NRX+ rods are now an attractive deep steel gray color with darker midnight blue wraps, trimmed in lighter blue and silver on the butt.   

Another change to the new NRX+ rods is a re-designed full wells cork handle that is slightly smaller than the older handle, with the swell closer to the middle of the grip. Loomis uses a stack of very high quality thin cork rings with one rubber/cork ring at the bottom of the flare. A dark gray anodized aluminum, double up-locking seat is used that holds the reel very securely. The insert is epoxy-impregnated wood in a deep brown color.  

For guides, a single stripping guide is used, slightly smaller than most, and extremely light, using a titanium frame with a very thin wall SIC ring, (the same guide as used on the Asquith). The rest of the guides are the finest, flexible, nickel/titanium one-foot guides that you will never break. A small hook keeper is used, just above the cork handle.   

The perfect line: S.A. Amplitude MPX in WF-5-F.


Performance at 25

19 out of 20

I’m getting very good accuracy, but not the feel I got with the Radian or Asquith. I’m impressed at the smoothness of the casts.

Performance at 45

19.5 out of 20

Now we’re talking! This rod feels better as the distance increases. The NRX+ is giving me beautiful tight loops and very good accuracy.

Performance at 70

20 out of 20

Out long, the NRX+ matches the perfect score of the Asquith. Long, tight loops are easily maintained since the rod dampens so well.


#2: Scott Radian 9′ #5 $795

The Scott Radian places 2nd again, just as it did in our previous 5-weight Shootout – and for good reason. This is one of the best performing all around 5-weight rods, and it is one of the best looking rods in our Shootout.   

This is a rod that could have gone into the Presentation Rods category, but it is a lot more powerful than the G Series, so we moved it to the Power Rods. 

Performance wise, the Radian was even better at 25 feet than the NRX+ and tied the Asquith for the top score at short range. It was easy for me to cast off the tip of the rod with its fast action and softer tip. I was getting a lot of feel and excellent accuracy at all distances. At 45 feet it gave me amazing accuracy combined with lots of feel getting nearly a perfect score. Out long it was also one of the best Power Rods in the Shootout.

One of the things I’ve really liked with the Radian is the grip shape.  Scott moved the good-sized swell forward of the center of the grip, giving it a unique and very comfortable feel. 

Overall craftsmanship is excellent and I was tempted to give it a perfect score here. The blank follows Scott’s practice of allowing the tape marks to remain and finishing the rod in its natural graphite gray.  Scott claims that by not sanding the blank, the rod has better strength, and we’d have to agree since we see so few broken. 

Complementary gray wraps are used, trimmed in lighter gray and bright orange on the butt section. Another nice addition are the fish measuring marks, at both 12 and 20 inches on the butt section. 

The reel seat is a black anodized single up-locking skeleton seat with a fancy reddish burl that complements the orange trim wraps.   

This is a rod that you will be proud to show off to your fishing buddies. 

Scott fans have loved this rod and if you try one you’ll become a Scott fan too! 

The perfect line: S.A. Amplitude MPX in WF-5-F. 


Performance at 25

19.5 out of 20

Lots of feel and great accuracy from one of the more powerful rods.  Here it ties the Asquith for the top score. A perfect example of what can be done when a rod has a stiffer butt section but a softer tip.

Performance at 45

19.8 out of 20

Easy to form wonderful, tight loops that gave me terrific accuracy. This rod was also very smooth, well dampened and tracks perfectly.  Nearly as good as the Asquith and it’s one of our best Power Rods at 45 feet.

Performance at 70

19.5 out of 20

Good butt and mid section power allow me to carry long, tight loops easily.  This rod has lots of punch out long when you need it.


#3: G. Loomis Asquith 9′ #5 $1100

The Asquith is an amazing rod from G. Loomis, and as you’ll see, it clobbered all the other Power rods in the Performance Only results.  Here, in the final results, it lost a lot of points for Price and for having the most expensive replacement cost. 

Most anglers want to have the best performing rod, regardless of price or warranty costs, and for our Power Five-Weights, the Asquith is absolutely the best choice! The Asquith matched or beat the best performance scores for the Power Rods at every single distance! When I picked up this rod and did some casting at mid to long range, I was blown away at how light it was in my hand and how well it would fire smooth, tight loops that gave me by far the best accuracy of all the Power Rods.

Steve Rajeff, head rod designer at G. Loomis, designed the tapers and mandrels for the Asquith, but then the blanks are built at the Shimano factory in Japan using their Spiral-X technology. The finished blanks are shipped back to G. Loomis, where the rods are completed at their factory in Woodland, Washington.

The Spiral-X technology is a complex three-step process. Shimano has developed a special graphite tape, called infinity tape, which is wrapped on the mandrel on a 45-degree axis. Next, a layer of “muscle carbon” is wrapped on in a conventional manner. The final step is another wrap of the infinity tape, but at an opposing 90-degree angle to the first, so that the infinity tape forms an “X” pattern.

The beauty of this process is that it uses 15-20% less graphite to get the exact same strength as the NRX rods, which we know from experience are stronger than any other rods we’ve used.  

The other benefits of Spiral-X are that it reduces any twist in the blanks, and more importantly, reduces ovalization as the rod bends. This gives an angler more feel combined with an enormous amount of reserve power. Only the new NRX+ rods track as well as the Asquith.   

The Asquith is a fast action rod with very good butt and mid-section power, but with a softer tip that gives great feel and excellent accuracy at all distances. 

The Asquith took the honors in our important swing weight category. This is a wonderfully light rod in my hand and is an absolute joy to cast and fish all day.    

The only drawbacks are: 1. The price – at $1100.00, it is $100-$300 more than the other top Power rods.  2. Replacement cost if you break it. The excellent Expeditor policy gets you a brand new rod in just 2-3 days but it will cost you $250.00 since these blanks are so expensive to produce. But in our experience these Asquith rods are extremely tough and we see very few broken.

The Asquith is a gorgeous rod, with extremely good craftsmanship. When you see it in the sunlight – the green finish sparkles brilliantly. Complementary green wraps are used, coated beautifully with epoxy.  The cork handle is a comfortable half wells shape, with the swell a little forward of mid-grip. Loomis uses a stack of the thin, very high quality cork rings as they do on the NRX+ rods. The stunning reel seat is a gray anodized single up-locking seat that locks up extremely well. The insert, comprising narrow rings of bamboo is unusual and beautiful, coming from the same factory that makes high-end Lexus steering wheels. 

The guide set up starts with a hook keeper and the stripping guide is one of the new titanium frame guides with a very thin SIC ring. The rest of the guides are the excellent nickel/titanium snake guides that will flex but never break.   

The perfect line: S.A. Amplitude MPX in WF-5-F.


Performance at 25

19.5 out of 20

I’m getting terrific feel and accuracy in close. Matches the Radian for the best score of the Power Rods, but even lighter in hand.

Performance at 45

20 out of 20

It’s almost unbelievable how well this rod tracks and forms perfect, tight loops, giving me the utmost in accuracy. No other Power Rod was close. This is also an extremely light rod in swing weight.

Performance at 70

20 out of 20

Another perfect score. I was amazed at how easily I could throw tight accurate loops at long range and with less effort than with any of the other Power Rods.


#4: Thomas & Thomas Avantt 9′ #5 $845

The Avantt is another classy looking rod from T&T that gave us great performance as well. We were impressed with the Avantt in our last 5-weight Shootout and it finished 4th there, as it does here.  

This is the lightest Power rod in Overall Weight, and also one of the very lightest in Swing Weight. Don’t let the light swing weight fool you though. This is not a soft rod that lacks power. It is a relatively stiff, fast action rod that performs best at medium to long range.  

I like the Avantt’s faster action over the much softer Paradigm in our Presentation rod category. In our Power Rod deflection chart, the Avantt is right in the middle for stiffness, very close to the Asquith, while the NRX+ was a fair amount stiffer.    

This is handsome rod with the same superb craftsmanship that we have come to expect from T&T, getting a perfect score for Craftsmanship. Just take one look at the finish on the guide wraps and you’ll see perfection. Multiple coatings are the key here, and no one does this as well as T&T.   

The blank itself has an attractive flat blue finish with slightly lighter blue wraps. Alignment dots are helpful, and T&T hand writes the serial number on each section, which is helpful, especially if you have multiple T&T rods, keeping them from getting mixed up. The cork handle is a cigar style grip with very little swell and feels good in my hand.  The cork rings are a stack of very high quality, thin cork rings, similar to what we found on the Paradigm.     

A black anodized aluminum single up-locking seat is fitted, that seems to lock up well on a reel. A gorgeous burled wood insert is used. The guides start with a hook keeper, then one SIC style stripper, followed with hard chrome snake guides.  

All of this results in a very classy look that complements the Avantt’s fine performance.

  
The perfect line: S.A. Amplitude MPX in WF-5-F.


Performance at 25

18.8 out of 20

I love the Avantt’s lightweight feel, but the stiffness in the tip hurt the feel and didn’t allow it to perform like the best Power Rods in close.

Performance at 45

19.5 out of 20

Now I’m getting nice tight loops and excellent accuracy. Equals the H3F and NRX+ but not quite as good as the Asquith or Radian.

Performance at 70

19.6 out of 20

The power of the Avantt out long was impressive. Nice tight loops and wonderful tracking ability. Only the Asquith and NRX+ were better.


#5: Orvis Helios 3D 9′ #5 $898

  

The Orvis Helios 3D is very similar to the Helios 3F in our Presentation Rods category. It is slightly stiffer, with a stiffer tip. The overall weights were the same but interestingly the 3D we tested had a slightly lower (better) swing weight.

The stiffer H3D performed best at mid to long distances, but as you will see, I gave the 3F slightly better scores! If I were picking one of these Helios 3 rods for a 5-weight, it would be the H3F.

In close, the 3D was OK, but not nearly as accurate as the Asquith or Radian. The extra stiffness in the tip didn’t impart the kind of feel that was important for a good score here.  At mid range and out long it was much better. I was impressed with the long, tight loops I was getting with the 3D and these provided very good accuracy. 

This is another rod that is very well dampened. I like rods like this that have good power in the butt and mid but a softer tip. Looking at the Power Rod Deflection Chart, the Radian is a little stiffer, and this led to better scores at long range.  

The craftsmanship is excellent, as we found on the Helios 3F. As on the H3F, I don’t like all that white on the butt section but that has become an Orvis trademark now and they are aiming at having a rod that will jump right out at you from the rod rack in a fly shop or in the field. 

The H3D is finished in a semi-flat dark gray, darker than the 3F. The guide wraps are jet black and the epoxy coatings were top notch. I liked the alignment dots used on each section.

One large sized titanium SIC stripping guide is used, followed with the best flexible nickel/titanium snake guides. There is no hook keeper.  The cork handle is a mini half wells, with a nice big flare at the bottom and the highest quality standard size cork rings. Like the reel seat on the H3F, the H3D’s seat is uninteresting for a rod in this price range.  It is a skeleton anodized black aluminum, single up-lock seat with one wide locking ring, which is faced with nylon to provide a secure lock up. The insert looks to be a black synthetic material – no fancy wood spacer like we found on the Radian or Asquith. 

The perfect line: S.A. Amplitude MPX in WF-5-F.


Performance at 25

18.5 out of 20

Not nearly as much feel as the H3F, accuracy was not that hot either. The top four Power Rods were all better.

Performance at 45

19.5 out of 20

This seemed to be the sweet spot for the H3D. I liked the nice smooth casts I’m getting with good tight loops that provided good accuracy.

Performance at 70

19.3 out of 20

Seems to track well but I’m not getting anywhere near the same kind of accuracy as with the Asquith or NRX+.


#6: Taylor Anomaly 9′ #5 $559

  

The Taylor Anomaly and Truth are new rods to our 5-weight Shootout. They both performed very well with just a few differences. Both are fast action rods but the Truth was slightly faster than the Anomaly.   In casting the rods side by side, I liked the Anomaly better but the Truth was close and had a little more power.

As far as the performance goes, the Anomaly gave me a little more feel and better accuracy in close. At mid-range they both scored the same at 19 points but then the Truth was a little more powerful and better at 70 feet.  

The components are similar and the craftsmanship was very good but not equal to the best rods that scored 9.5 or better.

Both of these rods are natural graphite gray, but the Anomaly has a bright finish, while the Truth is finished in a flat gray. The epoxy guide wraps are black and nicely done. A little blue trim is used on the butt on the Anomaly as well as the bottom of the third section. 

These are nice light rods, in overall weight and also in swing weight.  They will be pleasant rods to do a lot of casting with, if you are fishing dry flies all day.

One of the best things of the Anomaly is the price of $559, which is about $100 less than the $649 Truth.  

The Anomaly blank is only lightly sanded and you can still see the tape marks. This is true of the Truth also, but isn’t as noticeable with the flat finish.   

The cork handles are similar also, and are a slim full wells with a nice swell in the middle and just a bit of flare on either end. The quality of the standard sized cork rings was excellent, just as good as on the best rods. Both rods use skeleton black anodized single up-locking reel seats and both use a thin nylon ring against the sliding band to provide a secure lock up. A gray graphite insert is used. 

The guide set up is one hook keeper, then a single SIC-style stripping guide followed up with the best flexible nickel/titanium one-foot guides in a dark finish.

The perfect line: S.A. Amplitude MPX in WF-5-F.


Performance at 25

18.5 out of 20

Decent feel and pretty good accuracy. Slightly better in close than the Truth mainly because it is softer. Matches the Orvis 3D here.

Performance at 45

19 out of 20

I’m getting nice smooth loops with good accuracy. A pleasant rod to cast at mid-distance.

Performance at 70

19.2 out of 20

Plenty of power to go long but the Truth was even better, as was the Helios 3D.


#7: Taylor Truth 9′ #5 $649

The Taylor Truth is very similar to the Anomaly in both looks and performance. They both performed very well with just a few minor differences. 

The Truth uses a lay up technology somewhat similar to the Asquith Spiral-X. They use a woven mid-layer in the blank that enhances strength and response significantly, giving better dampening. The Truth returns to equilibrium much faster than the Anomaly. The Truth also uses Nano-resin technology.  

Both of these rods have a fast action but the Truth was slightly faster and slightly stiffer than the Anomaly. This led to a better score for the Truth at long distance, but in close at 25 feet the stiffer tip of the Truth was not giving me much feel, and the accuracy was nothing to write home about either. But again, these are Power Rods and are not expected to be nearly as good as the Presentation Rods in close.

In casting the Truth and Anomaly side by side, I liked the Anomaly better in close, but the Truth better out long.

At mid range, both the Truth and Anomaly scored 19 points and gave good, just not great, accuracy. The H3D and Avantt were noticeably better while the Asquith and Radian were far better.

At 70 feet, the stiffer Truth was better than the Anomaly and here it was almost as good as the Avantt.

The components are similar on both the Truth and Anomaly.  The craftsmanship was very good, but not equal to the best rods that scored 9.5 or better.

The Truth is finished in a flat, non-glare gray which I like. The epoxy guide wraps are black and nicely done. On the Truth they are trimmed with light gray. 

Like the Anomaly, the Truth has a nice light swing weight, that will make it a pleasure to fish all day; especially if you are doing a lot of false casting when fishing dry flies.

With such similar performance I thought it was hard to justify the Truth’s higher price. At $649 it is almost a hundred dollars more than the Anomaly.

The cork handle is a slim half wells with a comfortable swell in the middle. The quality of the standard sized cork rings was excellent, just as good as I found on many of the best rods.   

The Truth uses a skeleton black anodized single up-locking reel seat with a thin nylon ring against the sliding band to provide a secure lock up. A gray graphite insert is used, also in a flat finish that allows you to see the weave in the graphite.

The guide set up is one hook keeper, and then a single titanium frame SIC stripping guide followed up with the best flexible nickel/titanium single-foot guides in a dark finish.

The perfect line: S.A. Amplitude MPX in WF-5-F.


Performance at 25

18 out of 20

The stiffness in the tip didn’t allow for much feel or accuracy. The Orvis Recon was far better, as was the Anomaly.

Performance at 45

19 out of 20

I’m getting decent loop control and the rod is pleasant enough to cast and the accuracy was pretty good.

Performance at 70

19.5 out of 20

Finally the stiffness kicks in and now I’m firing nice tight loops and getting good accuracy, even better than the Helios 3D.



#8: Fenwick Fenlite Streamflex 9′ #5 $339.95

Here is our choice for the best mid-priced Power 5-weight rod! This new Fenwick rod uses much higher modulus graphite than the Aetos, called Powerlux 1000 from 3M. This technology gives better break strength as well as better impact resistance.

It also allows Fenwick to build a lighter and more powerful rod that performed better in our Power Rods category than several much more expensive rods.  

This rod has a medium fast action with plenty of power on tap when you need to bomb out a longer cast, and will be great fishing nymphs with indicators.   

This rod is a nice step up in quality for Fenwick rods. Fenwick uses a medium gray blank with black guide wraps, trimmed with a little green on the butt. The epoxy coatings are a little heavy but better than a lot of other inexpensive rods.  

A half wells handle is used with standard sized cork rings, but with much higher quality cork than we found on the Aetos. At the base of the handle is a fancy cork ring, which leads to the very attractive reel seat. A gray anodized aluminum double lock seat is used, with good nylon rings on the upper side that provide an excellent lock up. A fancy burled wood insert is used.

The guides start with a hook keeper, one SIC style stripper, followed with black colored hard chrome single foot guides. Alignment dots are used on each rod section, a nice touch. 

The perfect line: S.A. Amplitude MPX in WF-5-F.


Performance at 25

18.5 out of 20

The softer tip on the Aetos gave me better accuracy, The Fenlite was pretty good though, matching the H3D and Taylor Anomaly.

Performance at 45

19 out of 20

Now I’m getting nice loop control and accuracy is better, matching what I was getting with the Taylor rods.


Performance at 70

18.7 out of 20

Not quite as good as mid-range and not nearly as good as the Taylor rods or the Helios 3D.



#9: Orvis Recon 9′ #5 $498

The Orvis Recon has been one of our favorite mid-priced rods in other Shootout and it is again this year. With the Recon you get a lot of performance and quality for the price. This is also a great looking rod, with the same high quality cork handle as we see on the Helios 3 rods and a fancy reel seat.  

This rod has a medium fast action but I found it to be a little heavier than the best rods in swing weight, mainly due to the lower modulus graphite they are using in the Recon.

The performance was best at both 25 and 45 feet but not nearly as good as the Helios 3 rods at long range.  

The blank itself is finished in a flat medium gray color, with gray wraps. The epoxy coatings on the wraps were excellent; as good as on the Helios 3 rods. Alignment dots are provided on each section.

The cork handle is a mini full wells style with a stack of very high quality thin cork rings, similar to the Helios 3 rods. A wild looking wood spacer is used on the gray anodized up-locking reel seat. This has a single ring faced with nylon that gives a secure lock up on the reel.  

The guide set up uses a fairly large SIC stripping guide, followed with fairly large diameter hard chrome snake guides. There is no hook keeper.  

The perfect line: S.A. Amplitude MPX in WF-5-F.


Performance at 25

19 out of 20

Surprisingly better than the Avantt and Helios 3D in close with accuracy equal to the NRX+.

Performance at 45

19.2 out of 20

I’m getting nice loop control and good accuracy at mid-range. Nearly as good as the Avantt and Helios 3D but this is a far heavier rod in swing weight.

Performance at 70

18.5 out of 20

Now all that swing weight catches up and I can’t get the tight loops or accuracy I was getting with the top seven rods. Both the Helios 3 rods and the Avantt were far better out long.


#10 (Tie): Beulah Guide Series II 9′ #5 $295

We had the Beulah Guide Series II in our last 5-weight Shootout and it finished in the middle of the pack, as it does here. I think this is a nice rod, but it doesn’t use the new sophisticated Graphene technology as their Platinum G2 in the Presentation rods.  On the other hand, the price is far less. At $295 it falls in that mid-price bracket.

This is a medium fast action rod with a softer tip that gave me good performance and good accuracy at the short to medium distances. 

The blank is dark olive/gray with dark olive wraps that are trimmed in white on the butt. Beulah uses a half wells style handle with contrasting rubber/cork rings top and bottom. The quality of the cork rings was OK, but not nearly as good as on the Platinum G2.    

A gray anodized double up-locking seat is used but I found the rings a little hard to grip and tighten. A fancy brown wood burl insert is used. The guide set up does not use a hook keeper and starts with one SIC style stripper, followed with hard chrome snake guides.


The perfect line: S.A. Amplitude MPX in WF-5-F.


Performance at 25

19 out of 20

I’m able to get pretty good feel and accuracy that matches what I got with the Fenwick Fenlite.

Performance at 45

19 out of 20

Mid-distance is the sweet spot for this rod. Very nice, tight loops and good accuracy. The Recon was better here.

Performance at 70

18 out of 20

Not nearly as good as at 45 feet. I didn’t have enough power out long to develop nice tight loops. Both the Fenlite and Recon were a lot better.


#10 (Tie): Douglas DXF 9′ #5 $395

Here’s another good rod we have reviewed in the past, and at one point it was our mid-price winner. At $395 it is still one of the best mid-priced rods you can find. The performance is pretty good as is the craftsmanship. This is a very nice looking rod!  

I love the smooth medium fast action and it feels light in my hand with a decent swing weight. The best performance came at medium and longer distances where it pretty much equals the new T&T Zone.   

This blank on this handsome rod is finished in a flat, non-glare dark green with dark green wraps. The epoxy coatings over the wraps are excellent, and better than a lot of more expensive rods. Alignment dots are used on the sections. A little bit of gray trim thread is used on the butt section.

The cork handle is a half wells design, with standard sized corks that were very high in quality. Contrasting rubber cork rings are used top and bottom for durability. A first class dark olive anodized double up-lock skeleton seat is used and the rings have the good nylon facing spacers on the top side that give a very secure lock up. They add a very attractive dark wood burled insert.  

Guides start with a hook keeper just above the handle, one SIC stripping guide, and then the rest are hard chrome snake guides.

The perfect line: S.A. Amplitude MPX in WF-5-F.


Performance at 25

18 out of 20

Good, but just not as precise or as good as the best rods. The Fenwick Fenlite was a bit better here.

Performance at 45

18.5 out of 20

A nice smooth rod, giving me good loops and decent accuracy.  The Fenwick Fenlite and the Guide Series II were a little better at mid-range.

Performance at 70

18.5 out of 20

The DXF is no long-range cannon, but equals the Fenlite and Recon and is better than the Guide Series II.


#12: Loop 7x Medium Fast 9′ #5 $950

The new Loop 7X uses a very unusual and innovative blank design process that gives us a seven sided blank. They claim that this 2-3-2 structural support eliminates the “spine effect” found in other rods. 

Loop says this new design enhances rod tracking and optimizes power transfer through the casting cycle. They claim that the new design is both lighter and stronger than conventional circular blank construction.    

We were really interested to see how this new 7X would perform, when casting head to head with the best “Power” 5-weight rods.   

The bottom line is that the 7X performance was disappointing. It was a stiff rod that gave me very little feel or accuracy at 25 feet. It was best at long range but still not nearly as good as the best rods like the NRX+ and Asquith. In swing weight, it was not as good as the Helios 3D and Avantt and far heavier than the Asquith.   

The craftsmanship was excellent, and on par with the Scott Radian, NRX+, and the Orvis Helios 3D. The blank itself is finished in medium gray finish, and sanded lightly so you can still see the tape marks in the valleys between the high spots. The guide wraps are in black, trimmed in sliver on the butt. Alignment dots and the rod designation are found on each section. A five-inch section of silver epoxy is used just above the handle, where the rod is identified; much like Orvis does on their Helios 3 rods. The epoxy coatings were excellent.   

The cork handle is a half wells design, with very high quality standard sized corks, including contrasting rubber/cork rings at top and bottom for durability. The reel seat is a multi sided gray anodized skeleton seat using a single up-locking ring faced with a nylon ring that locks up well with the sliding band. A gray graphite insert is used with the 7X inscription in white. In all, the Loop 7X is a very attractive rod.

The guide set up uses no hook keeper and starts with a forward slanted SIC stripping guide, followed with black hard chrome snake guides. For a rod this expensive, I would have expected Loop to use the better nickel/titanium snake guides. 

The rod we tested is the Medium Fast action. But they also offer a Fast Action 5-weight that has a fighting butt for the same price. I felt that the medium fast cast better than the fast, so we dropped the fast action rod from our Shootout. 

The perfect line: S.A. Amplitude MPX in WF-5-F.


Performance at 25

17.5 out of 20

Feels a little heavy in hand and the overall stiffness is not allowing much feel at all in close. The accuracy suffered too.

Performance at 45

19.2 out of 20

With more line in the air, now I’m getting nice loops and good accuracy. Still, the 7X doesn’t come close to matching the top 5 Power rods.

Performance at 70

19.3 out of 20

Longer distances are the sweet spot for the Loop 7X and I’m getting nice tight loops with good accuracy, but the performance doesn’t come close to either the Asquith or NRX+.


#13: Echo Trout 9′ #5 $349.99

Here is a good mid-priced rod from Echo. This is a medium fast action rod that is a little heavier in hand and in swing weight than the best rods but about equal to the similarly priced Fenwick Fenlite. It also performs a lot better than the $99 Echo Base. 

Echo’s warranty policy is one of the best and for $35 broken sections are replaced or you are sent a brand new rod.  

The Echo Trout produced the best scores at short and medium distances. I liked the looks of this rod a lot; the blank finished in flat black with bright blue wraps. A blue sliding band on the black reel seat complements the wraps and jumps right out at you. 

I like the non-glare flat black finish on the blank. The bright blue guide wraps are well done and for the most part the epoxy coatings are pretty good. Alignment dots are used on each rod section.  

The cork handle is somewhat unusual in that it has a swell in the middle but no flare at the back end like most half wells style grips. It feels comfortable enough to me. The standard size cork rings were of excellent quality. A solid black, aluminum single up-locking reel seat with that bight blue sliding band is featured.  

The guides start out with a hook keeper, then two thin diameter SIC stripping guides followed with black hard chrome snake guides.  

The perfect line: S.A. Amplitude MPX in WF-5-F.


Performance at 25

18.5 out of 20

A softer tip would have given me better feel and accuracy but it is about equal to the Fenwick Fenlite in close.

Performance at 45

18.5 out of 20

I’m getting nice loops and pretty good accuracy that equals the Zone and DXF at mid-range.

Performance at 70

17.9 out 20 

No problem in getting the distance, but the Zone and DXF were better at long range.


#14: Thomas & Thomas Zone 9′ #5 $499

The Zone is T&T’s mid-priced addition to our 5-weight Shootout. I like the medium-fast action, but the thing that killed this rod for me is its weight. This is a far heavier rod in both overall and swing weight than T&T’s Avantt, and one of the heavier rods in our Power Rods category.  I think the Avantt spoiled me since it is such a delightfully light rod.

The Zone craftsmanship is very good and the performance was decent too, matching the DXF. But both the Fenwick Fenlite Streamflex and Orvis Recon were better performing mid-priced rods. 

The Zone is another good-looking rod. The blank itself is natural graphite gray, and is sanded only lightly so you can still see the tape marks similar to the Scott rods. The bottom half of the butt is a dark blue color that matches the blue on the spacer of the reel seat.   

The guide wraps are dark blue and the epoxy coatings are close to perfect. Silver trim wraps are used on the butt. Alignment dots and hand written serial numbers of the rod are found on each section. 

The cork handle is a half wells design with just a small amount of swell in the middle and a slight flare at the bottom. The standard size cork rings are excellent in quality. One contrasting rubber/cork ring is used at the top of the grip.   

The reel seat is a silver anodized single up-locking seat with a blue colored graphite spacer and engraved sliding ring. Guides start with a hook keeper and then a single SIC style stripper followed by hard chrome, single foot guides.    

The perfect line: S.A. Amplitude MPX in WF-5-F.


Performance at 25

18 out of 20

I can sure feel the heavier swing weight here, and am not getting much feel or accuracy.

Performance at 45

18.5 out of 20

Better now and I’m getting decent accuracy that matches the DXF, but both the Fenwick Fenlite and Recon are better.

Performance at 70

18.5 out of 20

Still pretty good out long. Seems to track well, giving me nice loops. Matches both the Recon and DXF at long range.


#15: Orvis Clearwater 9′ #5 $198

Here is Orvis’ inexpensive 5-weight that is built in China, unlike the Helios 3 and Recon that are built in their Vermont factory. Orvis did a good job designing the tapers, as the medium-fast action feels just right to me. As such, the Orvis Clearwater is our favorite inexpensive Power Rod.

It’s hard to find a lot of fault in a rod that has decent performance and costs under two hundred bucks! The one gripe I have is with the weight. This is a heavy rod in both overall and swing weight. I’m spoiled after doing so much casting with the Helios 3 rods.   

The craftsmanship is surprisingly good for the low price, and I felt the Clearwater performed better than Sage’s X and the Winston Alpha+, rods that are both at $900 or more! As far as performance goes, the sweet spot in distance was 45 feet, and here it matched the DXF, the Echo Trout and the T&T Zone. For sure, the Clearwater is our best inexpensive 5-weight in the Power rod category.

Like on the Helios 3 rods, Orvis wants this rod to jump out at you on the rod rack. At least there isn’t all that white on the butt section, but you can read the huge Orvis logo twenty feet away!

This rod has an attractive dark steel gray color, with complementary gray wraps. Alignment dots are used and helpful. The one-coat epoxy coatings over the guide wraps are a little heavy in spots but not sloppy. Overall the coatings were pretty darn good for a rod in this price class. 

The handle is a mini full wells, with a comfortable swell in the middle. The standard sized cork rings are only fair in quality, and are showing me a lot of filler. A gray anodized solid aluminum reel seat is used with one wide ring that is nylon faced and seemed to lock up very well. 

There is no hook keeper and the guide set starts out with a single large sized SIC stripping guide, followed with hard chrome snake guides.   

The perfect line: S.A. Amplitude MPX in WF-5-F.


Performance at 25

17.5 out of 20

The heavy swing weight is hurting both feel or accuracy. Both the DXF and Fenlite were better.

Performance at 45

18.5 out of 20

Now I’m getting good loops and better accuracy. Matches the Zone and DXF here but the Fenlite was better.

Performance at 70

18 out of 20

It was harder for me to get nice tight loops and the accuracy suffered. Both the DXF and Sage Foundation were better at long range.


#16: Sage X 9′ #5 $900

In looking back at our last 5-weight Shootout, I scored the Sage X much higher than I did here. It was also one of the better rods in our 8-weight Shootout, placing 6th overall. I’m not sure what happened this year other than the fact that I really didn’t like the heavy swing weight and that dragged down my scores. This is a powerful 5-weight and performed better as the distances increased. 

There are a lot of things I do like about the Sage X. The craftsmanship is excellent and it is a very good-looking rod. At first you think it is black, but Sage says it is a very dark green they call Black Spruce. They also offer the X in two other colors – Electric Teal and Tactical Green. The guide wraps on our Black Spruce rod are also a very dark olive green that looks black from any distance.

I love the shape of the cork handle. Sage calls this style grip a snub nose half wells. It has only a slight swell that tapers forward, with a small flare at both the front and back. The standard sized cork rings are of exceptional quality. The reel seat is a black anodized single up-locking version with a nylon-faced ring that gives a very secure lock up. The attractive brown wood insert looks to be laminated walnut.  

Sage uses a hook keeper and then a single SIC stripper, followed with hard chrome snake guides. The epoxy coatings over the wraps are perhaps a little heavy in spots but better than what we have seen in the past.   

The perfect line: S.A. Amplitude MPX in WF-5-F.


Performance at 25

17.5 out of 20

The stiffer tip on this rod hurt both feel and accuracy. The Asquith and Radian are in a totally different class at the top.

Performance at 45

18.5 out of 20

Much better accuracy now. The more line I get in the air, the better the X performs. Only as good as the Clearwater at 45 feet and this shocked me.

Performance at 70

19 out of 20

Now the X feels a lot better, giving me nice smooth loop, good control and accuracy. The NRX+ and Asquith tracked dramatically better with superior accuracy, as did the Radian and Avantt.


#17: Sage Foundation 9′ #5 $325

The Foundation is Sage’s least expensive rod. The level of craftsmanship is definitely well below the X but this rod is made here in the USA. The medium fast action is much like what we saw in the X, but this is an even heavier rod than the X in both overall weight and swing weight. In swing weight it was heavier than the $99 Echo base!  Clearly they are not using the same higher modulus graphite used in the Sage X; Sage states the Foundation uses Graphite IIIe technology. Heavy rods are never very pleasant to do a lot of casting with, as you would when fishing dries with a 5-weight rod.

The overall performance was not very impressive. In my notes I am saying, “Not very pleasant to cast.” The weight and stiffness kill any feel. It got better scores as the distances increased, but still nothing very good. 

The Foundation uses a non-glare, flat black blank, with jet-black wraps. The epoxy coatings over the guide wraps are a little heavy. I was surprised that they didn’t put a coat of epoxy over the logo and rod designation, just above the cork handle.  

The cork handle is the same snub nose half wells style used on the X, but the quality of the cork is FAR worse and exhibits a lot of filler.  

An inexpensive black, solid anodized single up-locking seat is used.  At least the up-locking ring is faced with nylon and it gives a secure lock up with the sliding band.   

For guides no hook keeper is used, then a relatively small SIC guide for a stripper followed with hard chrome snake guides.

The perfect line: S.A. Amplitude MPX in WF-5-F


Performance at 25

17.4 out of 20

The heavy swing weight and stiffness killed any feel or accuracy in close. The $198 Clearwater was better.

Performance at 45

18 out of 20

A bit better with more line in the air but still underwhelming. The DXF and Echo Trout were a lot better here.

Performance at 70

18.5 out of 20

All that power helps here but I’m still not getting very good accuracy. With the heavy swing weight, casting long is going to wear you out!


#18: St. Croix Imperial 9′ #5 $300

Unfortunately St. Croix has discontinued their fine Legend Elite rods, which have done very well in our past Shootouts. We hear they are working on some new high-end rods, with the latest in materials now and we’ll be excited to see them.

The Imperial was their mid-priced rod, and we had this in our 2019 4-weight Shootout, where it finished just below the middle of the pack.   Here it placed closer to the bottom mainly due to the better technology and lighter weight we are seeing in the newest rods.   

I like the medium fast action of the Imperial, but like the Foundation, this is another heavy rod in both overall and swing weight. Heavier rods are never too pleasant to cast when compared to lighter rods.  It’s performance was slightly better than the Foundation at both 25 and 45 feet but then it seemed to run out of gas at long range. 

The blank is finished in a pleasing burgundy that sparkles in the sunlight. They use matching burgundy wraps, with nice blue trim wraps in the middle on the butt section. The epoxy coatings over the guides are very well done. You can tell that the rod builders in Park Falls, Wisconsin take pride in what they are doing.  

The cork handle is a half wells with a fairly substantial swell in the middle and a nice flare at the bottom. Standard size cork rings are used and the quality was surprisingly good for a less expensive rod. 

A black anodized double up-locking skeleton seat is used with an unusual but attractive X pattern design and a laminated wood insert. 

The guides start out with an unusual twin ring hook keeper, then one SIC stripping guide followed with black hard chrome snake guides that are nice thin diameter wire.  

The perfect line: S.A. Amplitude MPX in WF-5-F.


Performance at 25

18 out of 20

The weight I’m feeling led to a lack of feel, accuracy was good but not great. It matched the Zone and DXF in close.

Performance at 45

18.2 out of 20

A bit better here but the Clearwater, Zone and DXF all gave me slightly better accuracy.

Performance at 70

17 out of 20

Now the Imperial is running out of gas. I can hit the distance easily enough but my accuracy was all over the place. Didn’t seem to track as well as the Clearwater, Zone, or DXF.


#19: Echo Base 9′ #5 $99.99

When I look at the Echo Base, it is hard for me to believe that Tim Rajeff and Echo can give us such a nice looking rod for such a low price. And Echo gives us one of the most inexpensive warranties to boot. 

If you are looking for a starter rod for a son or daughter – or any beginner on a tight budget, this is the rod for you!  

Yes, Echo uses lower modulus graphite than most other rods to keep the cost down so this rod is one of the heavier rods in both overall and swing weight. This rod has a medium fast action.

The Base is not a fancy rod, but it is far better than I expected it to be for under $100. At first glance the wraps are nicely done and the epoxy coatings are very good. The quality of cork in the handle is not fantastic but better than we found on the Sage Foundation and Orvis Clearwater! 

The blank color is a dark greenish blue with dark brown wraps that are nicely trimmed in silver on the first two sections. Alignment dots are used, a nice touch. The cork handle design is a half wells with a comfortable swell slightly forward of mid-grip and a nice flare on the bottom. The reel seat is a solid black anodized, single up-locking unit and the locking ring is easier to grip than some.   

The guides start with a hook keeper, and then one SIC stripping guide followed with hard chrome snake guides.    

The perfect line: S.A. Amplitude MPX in WF-5-F


Performance at 25

17 out of 20

Feels vague probably because of the heavy swing weight. The accuracy is not so hot either but still better than the BVK and Winston Alpha+.

Performance at 45

18 out of 20

Decent performance here at mid-range. Matches the Foundation but the Imperial is slightly better.

Performance at 70

17 out of 20

Now I don’t have enough power to form good tight loops at long range and the accuracy suffers.


#20: TFO BVK 9′ #5 $259.95

Here is another rod we had in our last 5-weight Shootout. The price is right but it just didn’t perform as well as the other Power 5-weights.  Most of this is due to the BVK’s heavy overall weight and swing weight. This rod is several years old now and just can’t compete with the newer rods using upgraded higher modulus graphite and better resin systems.  

I liked the medium-fast action but this is one of the stiffest 5-weights in our Power Rods category, and one that you could definitely jump up to a #6 line and get better performance, especially in close. With a 5-weight line, the BVK performed best at 70 feet, when I had a lot more line in the air.  

Lefty Kreh originally designed the BVK, and TFO used his initials as the designation of this rod, (Bernard Victor Krey). This rod has a very dark green blank with slightly brighter green wraps. The cork handle is a half wells design with a nice swell in the middle and a flare on the bottom end. I thought the quality of the standard sized cork rings was pretty good and better than a lot of the less expensive rods.   

The reel seat is a gray anodized, double up-locking seat with two locking rings, both small in width that proved to be difficult to grip and lock up easily. A green graphite insert is used that complements the color of the rod nicely.  

One final gripe I have with the BVK is that TFO provides only a cloth bag and no hard case. If you want one, these are available but it will cost another $30. At least you do have the option of getting their good and larger, triangular case that will hold up to five 4-pc rods. I use these larger cases for a lot of my travel and they are only $49.95.   

The perfect line: S.A. Amplitude MPX in WF-5-F


Performance at 25

16 out of 20

Heavy in hand, and feels like it would be better with a WF-6-F line.   With such heavy swing weight, I’m getting little feel or accuracy.

Performance at 45

17.5 out of 20

Now the rod is tracking better and giving me halfway decent accuracy, but not nearly as good as the $198 Orvis Clearwater. Even the $99 Echo Base is better.

Performance at 70

18.5 out of 20

Finally, with lots of line in the air I’m getting much better performance. Now I’m able to carry nice loops with pretty good accuracy. Now the BVK equals the Zone and Foundation.


#21: Winston Alpha 9′ #5 $935

The Alpha+ is a new rod for Winston, so we wanted to get it into our 5-weight Shootout. It is hard to believe that it finished at the bottom of the pack in our Power Rods. The two things that killed the scores for the Alpha+ were both weight and performance. This is a HEAVY rod, and not one you want to do a lot of false casting with as when fishing dry flies. Fishing the Alpha+ all day would be work out! 

In both overall weight and swing weight, this was by far the heaviest rod in our Shootout. The other thing I didn’t like much was the action, which was a lot slower than the Air.  This is much closer to a medium action rod. It was also fairly stiff in the butt and mid section, and a 6-weight line would have improved the performance at the shorter distances. The performance got a lot better out at 45 feet and was the best at 70 feet, where it was comparable to the Sage X.

The best thing about this rod is its appearance and craftsmanship.  The blank is finished in that lovely Winston emerald green that we have come to know so well. The wraps are a complementary dark green and the epoxy coatings are very well done, and almost as good as what we see on the T&T rods. I like having the rod serial number on the bottom of each section that will help you from getting sections mixed up if you are using multiple Winston rods.  

The cork handle is Winston’s cigar grip, which we have always liked; with the swell slightly forward of the middle of the grip and a nice flare on the bottom. The quality of the standard size cork rings is as good as you’ll find on any rod.  

The single up-locking reel seat is just gorgeous and uses Winston’s own nickel/silver hardware. The one wide locking ring does a good job of securing the reel. It is perhaps a little harder to grip than some.   A lovely Birdseye maple insert is used.  

There is no hook keeper on this rod. Guides start out with two fairly large titanium frame stripping guides, followed with hard chrome snake guides the rest of the way.    

The perfect line: S.A. Amplitude MPX in WF-5-F


Performance at 25

16.5 out of 20

Casting off the tip is impossible as all that swing weight kills any feel.  The accuracy would be better if this rod had a more flexible tip.

Performance at 45

18.5 out of 20

It amazed me how much better it was at longer distances. It is still heavy in hand, but now it performs as well as the Sage X and T&T Zone.

Performance at 70

19 out of 20

Long distance is the sweet spot for this rod. Now it will carry some nice loops and the accuracy is a lot better. At long range it’s even better than the Sage X but it won’t be long until fatigue sets in.


The Best All-around 5-weight Rod?

I have given you my choices for the best Presentation 5-weight Rod and the best Power 5-weight Rod, but at the end of the day I know that anglers want an answer as to what are my choices would be for the best all-around 5-weight rods.

When I grab a 5-weight rod I’m using it primarily to fish smaller dry flies, but I also want a rod that does everything well. I might ask it to do some nymphing or even throw a small streamer.

Here are my top two choices for the best all-around 5-weight rod:  

1.  Douglas SKY G  

Here is a fantastic new rod that can do it all!  I loved the light swing weight and the precise feel and accuracy the Sky G gave me.  I gave it perfect scores at 25 feet and 45 feet, but at 70 feet it still turned in an impressive performance that wasn’t far off the best Power rods. 

2.  G. Loomis NRX+ LP

This new rod from G. Loomis was delightful to cast at all distances.  It is silky smooth with better dampening and better tracking ability than any other rods in the Shootout.  It gave me impressive feel and accuracy at all distances.


We appreciate your support!

We hope you have enjoyed reading our 2020 5-weight Shootout!   These Shootouts take a lot of time and effort. With your support we can continue to give you more Shootouts and head to head comparisons on tackle and equipment in the future. So if you like what we are doing, and found our 5-weight Shootout helpful, the best way to thank us is to buy a rod, reel, or outfit from the Yellowstone Angler.  

Our thoughts About a Purchase

If you are thinking about buying a fly rod, we suggest reading one of our Shootouts for the line size rod you want. You’ll find these on our Yellowstone Angler home page at yellowstoneangler.com. 

If your favorite local shop stocks the rods you are interested in, by all means visit them, try a few rods and purchase an outfit from them.  

If you cannot find or cast the rods that interest you, we are here to help.  Call us at 406-222-7130, or e-mail us at staff@yellowstoneangler and we can discuss your needs and wants.  I’m confident that we can come up with the perfect rod or outfit that best fits your needs. 

If you are getting one of the Ultimate 5-weight outfits, we’ll throw in a SA Mastery Trout or Mastery MPX line for free (a $79.95 value). If you would prefer the Amplitude Trout or Amplitude MPX, which are normally $129.95, we’ll upgrade you for an additional $50.00.  We’ll also ship it to you for free, and since we are in Montana, there is no sales tax.

Once you get your new rod or outfit, do some casting on the lawn, and if you feel it is not just what you want, (and has not been fished), we’ll allow you to return it to us for a full refund, less the shipping charges. 

Use this link to go to our Favorite Freshwater Outfits for the 3 through 8-weight rods, in our Online Store. Here you’ll find our recommendations in three price ranges: The Ultimate Outfit, Mid Priced Outfit and Best Buy Outfit.   

If you are looking for that perfect saltwater outfit, then check out this link for our Favorite Saltwater Outfits.

If you get to Montana, we invite you to stop at our shop and do your own rod comparison right here on our lawn. We have several reels rigged with the various line sizes, and leaders, all ready to go. We’ll come out with you and give you some help to fine tune your casting stroke, or just help you with the basics. And once you’ve picked out the perfect rod, stay and enjoy a few days on the water with one of our top guides. 

We value your comments about the Shootout and invite any questions you might have about it or your tackle needs. We have fished all over the world in both fresh and saltwater for a variety of fish, and we’ll be glad to answer all of your questions, to help you choose the perfect rod or outfit.

– George Anderson, James Anderson, and the Yellowstone Angler crew