Sage calls this a fast action rod. One cast was enough for me to agree with Sage's assessment. In my opinion, faster than the discontinued DS-2 but not as fast as the XP. I have the FLi-5904. For me, it is a fantastic rod. When casting it, this rod felt more like an extension of my arm than a fly rod, similar to the Sage TCR (but different). To me, it does not feel quite as fast as the Sage TCR and XP yet it has some snap to it. Light in the hand. I could cast very crisp, tight loops at all reasonable fishing distances for this rod and found I could be accurate close in and at long distance. It has enough backbone to false cast a lot of line and cast an entire line if you need to. I really like it and find it to be an excellent all around panfish and trout rod. Your mileage may vary. I haven't cast and/or fished anything at its price point that I felt was intinsically better.