I have to believe with this economy and the improvement of “lower end” rods the prices of S and W will have to drift down. Add to that the inventory of very fine rods these company’s have discontinued the past decade. Sure, there will always be some people who need the newest but fewer can afford it than in the past.
Don’t bet on it!
Back 15 years ago there was a “ceiling” price of $500 that no company dared to cross and rod prices were stable for a long time
… then came “the movie” and all all that came with it.
All bets were off
Well… hasn’t S lately offered more moderately priced rods and didn’t W just announce their new, Twin Bridges built GVX at about $500.00?
It seems to me the major builders ‘get it’. I know for sure my funds for buying high-end anything dried up with all of the jobs that got off-shored in search of short term profits.
My buying behavior changed when rod prices crossed that $500 threshold. At that point I moved to buying the heavily discounted discontinued items.
I look forward to owning a Winston B3X and a Loomis NRX . . . . . . . sometimes around 2018 when they’re on sale for 40% off.
In some respects it seems to be a chicken vs egg. You often times see comments from individuals on fly fishing forums - “I won’t buy a rod that doesn’t have an unconditional, lifetime, no questions ask replacement guarantee for breakage.”
You can argue that attitude makes sense since they just dropped a bundle on a rod. Of course, part of the reason why the rod costs a bundle is to allow the manufacturer to offer such a generous policy.
I would. The G loomis NRX is about $800 for a single hander and $1100 for a double hander. I don’t see prices going higher, in fact I see people rebelling against this.
Hi Deepcreek,
I have to be a bit of a killjoy on your question. I bought mid-price outfits like the Orvis Clearwater Outfits and Cabela’s Clear Creek outfits. I like what I got and don’t anticipate any further rod purchases barring theft or breakage. Now if Sage and Loomis slip into the $20 price range that might be another story. 8T 
I wouldn’t bet on it…
Hardy & Greys has a new major technical innovation in fly rods that is suppose to be as drastic and carbon fiber rods was when it came out against fiberglass…still in prototype production and testing but coming soon.
SINTRIX “silica nano matrix.” A full 60% lighter and 60% stronger than the current carbon fiber rods on the market today.
I don’t imagine they will be to affordable by the masses for a long while yet and those who really like staying on top of the heap won’t flinch at snapping them up.
ON THE OTHER HAND…
as the middle class keeps loosing ground…the fly fishing retailers and manufacturers will have to keep pace by offering more mid range and entry level priced product or loose the upcoming generation to the sport. We’ll all loose if we can’t keep the interest growing. Doing battle with computers and computer games and the new generation of potatoes isn’t helping one bit either. Time to start encouraging more outdoor education opportunities into the regular school curriculum??
…and I keep my limit to under $300 for a rod…the closer to $200 the better. You can do wonders building your own or buying used.
We’re two years into “the worse economy in decades” or should I quote, “the worst economy since the Great Depression” and I haven’t seen anything go down at the top end. Heck some folks are taking 40 of their closest friends to Spain for vacations while the rest of us are staying at Motel 6 so the economy isn’t hitting everyone the same way.
In any case the manufacturers will keep pushing the envelope at the top end and at the same time, “keep the light on” for the masses with new middle and low priced outfits.
I fully expect to see $900-$1000 graphite become commonplace in the next 5 years considering I’ve seen the top end go from $500 to $800 since 2004. Whether or not YOU can afford it or will choose to buy it may drive down the number of top end rods sold but the price for supposed top of the line products will continue to climb because there is an assumption by many that price equals quality. You may not agree with that assumption and many times it is far from the truth but if somebody wants to feel they have the best…
…they will gladly overpay for it.
gloomis latest fly rod, the nrx, is $700 - 1170 depending on model
Fly rod prices will never top out. Some fisherman will always want the latest and greatest and will be willing and able to pay top dollar for “State of the Art” equipment. If the rod manufacturers can make money selling low volume, expensive rods, they will continue to make them.
The proliferation of excellent rods at low to mid level prices ($175 to $350) has made it less necessary to spend top dollar to get great performing rods that come with reasonable replacement guarantees. You can buy two or even three good rods for the price of a new Loomis rod.
I will buy used if it seems like a good deal. In the last 4 years or so, I’ve bought Albright, G. Loomis, Loop, St. Croix, Sage, Echo, and a custom-built rod. Other than the Albright, most of the models were the lower-end or mid-range models from those companies. But whether new or used, I’ve managed to not spend more than $190 on a rod.
Ive tried the G Loomis nxr, Sage si3 and the Scott s4s all in 10 wt—all are awesome tools. Clearly better than anything i’ve used before. Each slightly different but i could throw a dart and be happy with any of them.
I guess im one of the reasons they can get that much for a rod----ill have a new one before i go to Cape Lookout this year.
The most expensive rods out there aren’t even graphite.
The real top end rods dollar wise are the hand built cane rods. Many respected custom builders get in excess of $2K for these, and most of them have waiting lists.
I like to see the top end keep going up. That means that the filter down effect is working. The $50-$75 rod blank you could buy twenty years ago wasn’t all that great, but the advances in technology have filtered down, and the $50-$75 blanks out there now are excellent. Heck, many of the $25 price range blanks are now really good.
In many ways, rod technology is following computer/electronics marketing dynamics. While the very top end is incredibly pricey, the lower and middle price ranges have improved immensely in quality while the prices have actually dropped. A rod that would have cost you $400-$500 with the Sage name on it twenty years ago is now availble made with the same technology and materials with out the name brand for under $100 (no it’s not a ‘Sage’- if you are hung up on names you’re doomed to disapointment anyway).
It’s now actually cheaper to get into fly fishing than it’s been in years. You can buy a decent entry level rod/reel/line kit for under $75. The rod in that kit is superior to ANY graphite rod built 30 years ago. Waders are out there for less than $50. Wading boots for $30. The price of flies has dropped dramatically with the internet offerings infringing on what used to be a pretty insular market. Float tube prices have dropped, many well under $100 now. Even leaders and tippet prices are dropping in response to global marketplace competition.
You really can’t base your perception on the price of the sport on what Sage and Winston charge for rods. That’s like looking at the price of Ferrari or Lotus and deciding that no one can afford to drive.
Good Luck!
Buddy
Hi, I am in the fly fishing industry. A shop owner I know tells me he does not sell any rods over $300. Just a year or two ago he picked up Sage, which requires a HEFTY INVESTMENT, and within a year he dropped them.
Buyers simply arent paying what they were 7 years ago. I was impressed that the Hardy Sintrix rods are only about $600, but those are made in South Korea.
Let me just take a deep breath and say…God I hope so. Though I must confess I do like the “trickle down” effect of being able to pick up company X’s 300 - 400 dollar stick from 5 years ago as company Y’s $100 stick.
In the 1960’s a top of the line Fenwick glass sold for about $45. I couldn’t afford one then. The thought of a $100 rod seemed impossible (to me at least). I was making about $100 per week at the time. Gasoline was a quarter a gal., a loaf of bread was 15 cents and beer was a dollar a 6 pack. Have rod prices “topped out”… hell no.
I still can’t believe you are blaming the cost of fly rods on a movie that came out 18 years ago.
gloomis latest fly rod, the nrx, is $700 - 1170 depending on mode
and all the NRX spey rods are over $1,000. Thank you Loomis for building a rod that only 1% of the population can afford. lol. I think the prices will continue to go up, for all the “latest and greatest” but I think we’ll see more and better mid-priced offerings.