Maybe it's the way I cast, maybe I tried too big of flies for the rod but on my third trip trying this fly rod it broke. At first I thought maybe I didn't have the sections properly connected. After inspecting it more I noticed tons of fractures around the blank. The rod was going to snap eventually no matter what. The rod has a 1yr warranty but honestly I'm not going to bother. For $25 I basically got two trips out of the thing. This is the second Featherlight I've had and I liked the action of the 5-6wt far more than the 3wt but after what happened recently I can't recommend it. I'm probably the first blog that has given this rod a bad review. I have to be honest. For $40-$50 more you can find the Redington Pursuit rods. They by far out perform the Featherlight and have a lifetime warranty.
The buff is a great idea in theory but its flaws prevent many anglers from using it. The first and probably worst part about the buff is ventilation. The buff doesn't necessarily get too hot but it doesn't have enough ventilation to allow your breath to pass through the material. Heat rises and the first exit point is where the buff meets your glasses. If you don't have fogless lenses this will cause your glasses to fog up every time you take a breath. This doesn't seem too bad at first until you combine foggy lenses with trying to wade. Your sight is not only your biggest advantage when fishing but also a huge factor to safe wading. The other problem and it might have been just for me is the material was very irritating if I had any kind of stubble. Moving my head from side to side caused such infuriating irritation I had to take the buff off. I don't know too many people who make sure they are clean shaven before going fishing. These two things for me make the buff almost unwearable. I still give it a try every now and then but once my lenses fog up the thing comes off. I wish I could use it more because I like the idea behind it and the sun protection. Maybe future version of buffs will solve a lot of these issues. Until then I'll continue to slather on the sunscreen.
Sorry to hear you've had bad experiences with Featherlights. You get what you pay for I guess, but we've had good experiences with ours. I actually have one that's over 15 years old and it's still kicking... after lots of fish and tons of abuse... and I think the new ones are better than that older one.
ReplyDeleteI've never tried a buff, because I expected I would find it to be annoying in some of the ways you describe. I hate things that are constrictive or make it hard to breathe. fogging up glasses would be super annoying. Thank you for confirming my suspicions about the practicality of buffs. I'll be the first to admit, I think they're really trendy and a lot of dudes are wearing them to look ... "hey take a picture of me with my face covered in this brown trout printed bandana thing so I can look like a fly fishing bandit."
*to look COOL..
DeleteI could have just gotten a flukey rod but I doubt it. Buffs are pretty trendy. I actually was hoping to find a solution from having to put on suntan lotion.
DeleteKevin, I don't mind an honest user's review actually. It was your experience and your review that we are reading here. I have fished with Eagle Claw Featherlights and have had satisfactory experiences on my part. I own one of the newer models now, so we will see after some use on the pond this year. Not a buff kind of guy at all. Trendy, I think is a correct way of putting it. While I certainly understand the concept, I think I am on the Sun Screen side of the equation.
ReplyDeleteKevin
ReplyDeleteYou can't go wrong with the Pursuit, excellent fly rod for the money.
I agree Bill. I currently own 2 of them. A 5 and 9wt. They both perform well.
DeleteAs someone with a solid freckle patch on both shoulders, I need to be super careful with the sun exposure, and I have been using the buff mostly as a way to cover up the place where I always fail to apply sunscreen-the area around my shirt collar. I think it sucks in the "bandito" mode. As just kind of a neck gaiter, it's fine. I wouldn't call it "cool", in terms of temperature, but if I get too hot I can just poor eno water on myself.
ReplyDeleteTo bad about your experience with the Featherlight. I haven't tried the newer version but still fish occasionally fish a 1964 model that I love. I don't think you could break it if you tried.
ReplyDeleteI've had my Featherlight for 9 years (and I bought it used so I have no idea how old it really is) and I have had no problems. It is the first rod I grab every time.
ReplyDeleteI will be honest I am one of the trendy Buff guys. I know its trendy and I accept that but I do prefer it to sunscreen, to be honest its a confidence thing. I am paranoid about scent on my flies so I prefer to not use sunscreen or bug spray when I fish. I even take grass/dirt in my hands before I fish just to help get a more "earthy" scent on them. Is is necessary, probably not, but fishing and confidence go hand and hand. To each their own I suppose, Either way I appreciate the review.
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