After having cast this rod, it's excellent. I view the rod as medium-fast action. The rod is very accurate for both short and long distances in part because it doesn't require a higher line speed to achieve distance. In my tests, I could hit the target that I was casting to very easily with minimal effort. If no one told you this was a $400 rod, you'd swear it was a $1,000 rod based on how it cast. My 5wt is a Douglas SKY G, which is an outstanding rod. Compared to an Orvis Recon-II that I cast a couple of weeks ago, this is a better casting rod. The Orvis was heavy, dead feeling, and not overly accurate. For the price of the Orvis, you could get the Purist, a Lamson Liquid reel, and a top-end Rio or SA line.
This is the best technical description of a rod I've seen in a long time and explains why certain things are done during rod design. I have a good deal of experience with a variety of different rods from inexpensive to expensive and knew what I was looking for in a new 4wt. The soft tip and more robust butt should help when encountering a larger than expected trout in a small stream. I actually ordered one after viewing this video. I've seen the Velocity, their ultra-fast action rod, and it looked like an excellent value for $400.
