I've bought a number of new rods over the years, and there was a point in time some years back when I bought at least one new rod every year to add to a growing collection. A number of these rods were inferior quality, in my opinion, or they didn't cast well, were ill suited for how I intended to use them, and were largely wastes of money. There were Sage, Loomis, T&T and other rods among the lot.

I still buy a new rod from time to time, the same as with most things I buy, but I've learned from experience that newer does not always mean better.

In fact, specifically related to these new Sage rods, a friend of mine has fished extensively with 3 different series of new Sage rods (demo rods) the past 2 weeks, before concluding that 2 of the 3 were less satisfactory in a number of respects for his fishing purposes than an older series Sage rod he already owned. He also let me fish with these rods, and I agreed with him. He really liked the 3 rod though, and bought it (new) a couple days ago.

In my opinion, it's far more important to buy a rod that you like and one that performs well for you, including where and how you'll be using it, than whether it is new or used or whether it's high cost or inexpensive.

One other important consideration in buying new versus used these days is the warranty. Another good friend of mine, who hadn't bought any rod in a number of years, finally bought a new Orvis rod 2 months ago. He just got his second replacement from Orvis this last week, after breaking this rod twice. You better believe he's glad the rod he purchased was a new one, with a warranty!

John