Redington wayfarer rods?

[Crash13]

Just wanting to know if the Wayfarer rod is a fast action or meduim action. Anyone out there have an opinion on the rod or would like to compare it to a TFO. Any advise would be grateful. Thanks, Gary

[flymaker2]

A past Flyfish America Shootout rated the Warefarer rods very highly. I'll bet I know where you are looking at them at the stupid-low price right now. I shop there too. For a pack rod-a great rod.

[Eric Freeman]

Hello Crash:

Wayfarer rods? Depends on the line number. I prefer the older 5 piece rods. The newer 6 piecers seem a bit clubbish if you know what I mean, but that's just my personal opinion.

The rods are generally medium fast. By no way tip-flex, but they're not mid flex either. Very light in the hand. I've got the 7 ft 3 wt and it's sweet.
The longer 3 or 4 wts tend to be more "noodley".

The 5 wts, according to general opinion are also medium fast. If you're looking for a tip-flex, it's not for you. If you're looking for something a bit more delicate, they're perfect.

Last thing, they fit easily in your suitcase so they're really "travel rods".

Hope to have been helpful.

Eric

[LadyFisher]

The rods are just great. We highly recommend them. A couple of years ago Redington asked if I would fish a 4 wt for Pacific salmon to see if it would hold up. (We would usually fish an 8 wt in that situation) I caught a couple of nice Chum in the 18 - 20# range, played and landed without a problem. That was casting the Castwell Chum fly which isn't small either.

[Jed]

Nice rod, similar to the TFO in terms of action. Company stands behind there product too.

I used to own a 5 pc 8 wt. and liked it much.

jed

[richarde206]

The comparison between the two depends to which model TFO you are comparing the Wayfarer.

I personally prefer the action of the newest version of the Wayfarer. I have 5 piece rods, and since owning them have not particularly been a fan of that configuration, or other odd number pieced rods (say, 3 piece). A 4 piece and 6 piece rod can be taken down and stored in a very convenience 2 piece reel-on rod case when you don't need break the mulit-piece rod down to its smallest configuration. True, the 5 piece packs down to a pretty short length, but IMHO that rare time that I needto pack it down to that small length doesn't balance out the (to me) inconvenience of the 5 piece.

When comparing the Wayfarer to TFO rods, the action of the older Wayfarer, depending on the rod weight, in my opinion would probably be most similar to the Series 1 (I think that's what TFO calls their $100 rod) and the Pro. Both of those TFO rods cost much less than the Redington, if you are comparing current Wayfarer models to the TFO's. There are some good deals on the (pre-Sage) older Wayfarer 5 piece rods, but again (though I love my Sage 690-5SP, I wish it were a 4 piece), good deal or not I'm just not a fan of 5 piece rods.

Hate to keep repeating what most folks say in response to posts similar to yours, but you really need to cast the rods (ideally side by side with similar lines and reels so you can compare the balance, too) to see if you have a preference for your casting style and fishing conditions. The Wayfarer and any of the TFO rods would perform very well for you, and you really can't lose.

[eponymous]

Quick note that the Wayfarer rods are being unloaded for great prices on Sierra Trading Post.