I agree with Kevin in that balance is the important factor and not weight. I had a rod I really liked and then all of a sudden there was something about it that made my fishing uncomfortable. What I discovered is that I had changed reels on it and it was not balanced in the hand and made fishing it terrible. The components used to build a rod will also affect the weight and balance of any rod (my opinion).

With all reel manufacturing companies making their reels lighter and lighter, I wonder if eventually, they will no longer balance a rod.

My opinion is that balance is very important to any fly fishing rod combo instead of rod weight.