Sage Xi2 vs Xi3?

[ducksterman]

Anyone have any comparisons or opinions between The Sage Xi2 and Sage Xi3?

[ducksterman]

Bump.........

[tailingloop]

I just had a chance use the 990-4 Xi2 and 990-4 Xi3 side by side. The Xi3 seems have a slightly more parabolic action - that is it seems to bend farther down into the blank than the Xi3. It is still a fast action rod and a rocket launcher yet may be more user friendly for inexperienced casters or those who do not like ultra fast rods. The Xi3 feels significantly lighter to me. The 9wt felt more like I was casting a 7wt. Very impressive and definitely an improvement of the Xi2 which is superb itself. I didn't get a chance to pull on any living thing of significant size, yet the Xi3 feels like it is just as strong as the Xi2. Another winner from Sage. I am tempted to finally upgrade from my 14 year old Sage RPLX 8 and 9wt rods. They are the first $700 rods I have tried that I felt that I might pay full retail for rather than waiting 5 years for them to become available at closeout prices. I just may be able to rationalize the cost if I amortize it over another 14 years and forget that I have 9 other excellent 8 and 9wt rods that are perfectly functional

[ducksterman]

The Xi3 seems have a slightly more parabolic action - that is it seems to bend farther down into the blank than the Xi3. The Xi3 feels significantly lighter to me. The 9wt felt more like I was casting a 7wt.

Just want to be sure that was a typo?

And lighter is definitely good!

[tailingloop]

No typo. By more parabolic, I meant the the rod seems bend more through the mid section when casting, whereas the Xi2 seems to bend more in the tip. I later talked with Sage rep who confirmed this observation. The Xi3 actually seems to have a faster action than the Xi2 in the sense that it seems to unload quicker, generating higher line speeds with a tad less effort than the Xi2. When I first used the Xi3 after a session with the Xi2, I had to check the label on the rod to make sure it wasn't a 7 or 8wt, it felt that much lighter in the hand when casting with a floating line at medium ranges. Less so with sinking lines or close in. It is great a shooting out quick casts, and long casts seemed to require less effort than the Xi3. I have only tried the 9wt.

[joe cool]

I think the typo he meant was you said the xi3 was more parabolic than the xi3. From your last post its clear you meant the have xi2 at the end of that sentence

[tailingloop]

Yep. Now I see that I missed the error twice. Wearing my glasses this morning helps

[Hoochman]

I cast the Xi3 in a lot of line weights when I was making up my mind on a new rod. I liked them better than the Xi3 for sure, way better with line feel at distance and it did seem to cast a little better up close. I did not like it in anything over a 10wt, the 11 and 12 felt dead to me. I did like the Xi3 a lot, but I wound up buying one of the new Scott S4S rods. It just seemed to have more feel and casts better (for me) both in close and at distance (in the 8-9 wt line weight which is what I was shopping for), whereas the Sage really seemed to not load as quickly and took more line to load with a standard saltwater flyline. For me, I really like the Sage TCX better for really, really windy days when I need to PUNCH flies and quick loading isn't a primary concern and my Scott S4S for when I'm taking shots at tailing fish or shallow cruisers and need accuracy and quick loading.

I know a lot of the guys around here are liking both the Sage Xi3 and Scott S4S. Seems they both have winners on their hands. I'd go to a shop and cast both. What I do is get into the ready position like I'm on the front of a skiff with line stripped out and a fly in my hand. Then pick spots in the parking lot of the flyshop and see which rod is the most accurate and fastest to load in that situation (which is pretty much the way I fish). I've always thought that going out into a parking lot and just casting a rod blindly to see how far you can throw the line is useless when trying to decide what rod is best to "FISH" with. I never did have an Xi2 that did well in these types of parking lot tests, but the Xi3 is way better because it does have more feel than the previous model.