I bought a couple of Edge Rods (https://edgerods.com/) last year and have finally fished with both. Thought I’d provide my thoughts here. Both are Archetype models; a 1267 Spey and a 907 single hander. The Archetype series is their basic fly series with cork grips. Edge sells two higher end fly rod lines, the Gamma Alpha and Gamma Beta, which are roughly double the cost and look pretty nice. But those come with woven graphite grips, which is not my preference. I have not held or tried a rod from either of those lines.
Edge is a relatively new company that uses blanks from North Fork Composites. Edge sells only direct to consumer, and I feel that their primary target market is gear fishing, like bass, walleye, etc. Fly rods seem to be an afterthought. The B2C model means that their rods are sold at a significant discount vs. a rod sold through a fly shop. Of course, unless you live near Woodland WA or have a friend that owns the rod you are considering, you can’t test cast them. I chose to order them sight unseen since the prices were so good and I really didn’t feel like driving down to Woodland. They are intended to be workhorses, not finesse rods. Just needed decent tools for salmon, steelhead and bull trout.
Lead time – The Spey rod was ordered November 20th and delivered April 2, about 4.5 months later. I got the rod, but not the rod sock or tube. The rod sock came a few months later, but I still don’t have the tube.
The single-hander was ordered December 12 and delivered in July. Again, no rod tube, but had the rod sock. They keep promising the tubes, but nothing so far after around 9 months.
To be fair, the web site said that it could take a couple of months for delivery, but the actual times were significantly longer. Also, when I checked on things, the customer service person was very nice, but couldn’t do a lot to speed things along.
Workmanship – Both rods are matte black, unsanded, with robin’s egg blue wraps. I like the unsanded blanks. Not a huge fan of the blue wraps, but not a big deal.
The wraps on the Spey were a bit rough (see pic). This was typical of the wraps throughout the rod. They are serviceable (I’m not going to lose a guide) but not particularly craftsman-like. The wraps on the single hander were much better. Maybe they are getting a better handle on QC as the operation matures.
You can buy the LMX blanks from North Fork Composites for about $100, so if you build rods, you might want to consider doing it yourself. I may go that direction next time.
Cork is decent and grips are comfortable. Here's a pic of the grip on the Spey rod.
Performance – I like casting both rods very much. The Spey is a serious gun. I’m not a great Spey caster, but it’s got a fast action that allows me to throw 80 feet with ease. In fact, I generally found myself having to dial back the power when steelhead fishing on the Seymour River in BC. I’ve had some pretty good Spey casters try it, and the general opinion is that it’s a comfortable rod and fun to cast. After a bit of experimentation, I landed on a 550 gr Skagit Max head, which is larger than I had expected. Unfortunately, It’s very similar to the line I throw with my Sage 14’ brownie, which is rated as a 9-wt, and my Sage 1268 greenie. So, I haven’t gained much versatility vs. the rest of my quiver and you should consider this if you are looking for a lighter wt Spey rod.
The single hander is also nice to cast. Light in hand and balances well with an older Lamson Litespeed 4 reel. I’ve cast it with 7wt type III sinking and floating lines, and it’s very comfortable and smooth. Action on the faster end, but not stiff at all. Seems fairly true to line wt., maybe preferring a slightly heavy line.
Bottom line: Performance is much better than I would expect from another rod at a similar cost, and it’s made in the PNW. Seriously long lead times and still waiting on the rod tubes, so not great on prompt delivery. Workmanship serviceable, but not great. If they get the wraps a bit tighter from now on, they’ll be making progress. Cost of each was about $225 on sale, so on balance, I got about what I expected from the cosmetics. Unless you are highly fixated on cosmetics, these are fine rods. Very comfortable to cast and enjoyable to fish. I expect to give them quite a bit of use.
I’d be interested to hear from other folks who have purchased fly rods from Edge.
Edge is a relatively new company that uses blanks from North Fork Composites. Edge sells only direct to consumer, and I feel that their primary target market is gear fishing, like bass, walleye, etc. Fly rods seem to be an afterthought. The B2C model means that their rods are sold at a significant discount vs. a rod sold through a fly shop. Of course, unless you live near Woodland WA or have a friend that owns the rod you are considering, you can’t test cast them. I chose to order them sight unseen since the prices were so good and I really didn’t feel like driving down to Woodland. They are intended to be workhorses, not finesse rods. Just needed decent tools for salmon, steelhead and bull trout.
Lead time – The Spey rod was ordered November 20th and delivered April 2, about 4.5 months later. I got the rod, but not the rod sock or tube. The rod sock came a few months later, but I still don’t have the tube.
The single-hander was ordered December 12 and delivered in July. Again, no rod tube, but had the rod sock. They keep promising the tubes, but nothing so far after around 9 months.
To be fair, the web site said that it could take a couple of months for delivery, but the actual times were significantly longer. Also, when I checked on things, the customer service person was very nice, but couldn’t do a lot to speed things along.
Workmanship – Both rods are matte black, unsanded, with robin’s egg blue wraps. I like the unsanded blanks. Not a huge fan of the blue wraps, but not a big deal.
The wraps on the Spey were a bit rough (see pic). This was typical of the wraps throughout the rod. They are serviceable (I’m not going to lose a guide) but not particularly craftsman-like. The wraps on the single hander were much better. Maybe they are getting a better handle on QC as the operation matures.
You can buy the LMX blanks from North Fork Composites for about $100, so if you build rods, you might want to consider doing it yourself. I may go that direction next time.
Cork is decent and grips are comfortable. Here's a pic of the grip on the Spey rod.
Performance – I like casting both rods very much. The Spey is a serious gun. I’m not a great Spey caster, but it’s got a fast action that allows me to throw 80 feet with ease. In fact, I generally found myself having to dial back the power when steelhead fishing on the Seymour River in BC. I’ve had some pretty good Spey casters try it, and the general opinion is that it’s a comfortable rod and fun to cast. After a bit of experimentation, I landed on a 550 gr Skagit Max head, which is larger than I had expected. Unfortunately, It’s very similar to the line I throw with my Sage 14’ brownie, which is rated as a 9-wt, and my Sage 1268 greenie. So, I haven’t gained much versatility vs. the rest of my quiver and you should consider this if you are looking for a lighter wt Spey rod.
The single hander is also nice to cast. Light in hand and balances well with an older Lamson Litespeed 4 reel. I’ve cast it with 7wt type III sinking and floating lines, and it’s very comfortable and smooth. Action on the faster end, but not stiff at all. Seems fairly true to line wt., maybe preferring a slightly heavy line.
Bottom line: Performance is much better than I would expect from another rod at a similar cost, and it’s made in the PNW. Seriously long lead times and still waiting on the rod tubes, so not great on prompt delivery. Workmanship serviceable, but not great. If they get the wraps a bit tighter from now on, they’ll be making progress. Cost of each was about $225 on sale, so on balance, I got about what I expected from the cosmetics. Unless you are highly fixated on cosmetics, these are fine rods. Very comfortable to cast and enjoyable to fish. I expect to give them quite a bit of use.
I’d be interested to hear from other folks who have purchased fly rods from Edge.
