Sage R8 Core Fly Rod Review (Has Sage Made A Mistake?) 

been waiting for y'alls review!

Totally hear the complaints about the price ….. however ….. just ordered one for my 40th here in the uk. Tried it on the lawn and WOW I would describe it as butter with backbone …. With the Rio gold this rod is effortless and beyond smooth. Feels way lighter than the x in the 9 foot 5 weight version also it’s much easier to get used to than the odd taper of the x. Every complaint I see in the comments section is always around the price however if you can get over that anger over the £1050 price tag and have a go with the R8 you will see in just a few casts how amazing this rod feels ….. I have owned multiple high end rods , Orvis H3, sage method, sage x, sage igniter, hardy hbx,hardy , hardy zepherus and the hardy ultralite x among others and this rod is really really good….

Have been a loyal Sage fan for years…the change in their warranty had changed that. $225 repair for “discontinued” rods is not acceptable. I will not buy another if this not fixed. Matter of a few years until the X, Salt hd are on that list. Method and One are already there

This is an amazing channel

Beautiful!

I have a Sage Trout LL 8 ft 6 and I love it.

This is the only guy who rambles against the LL. Maybe he should have paired it with the right type of line while reviewing it

Great review. Thx

It's about time that all rod manufacturers design their rods to fit AFTM standard lines.

I own a couple of Sage R8 rods, several Sage X, along with Scott Centric and Winston Pure and Air 2. I feel the R8 is a more all-round rod than X, much more forgiving, and actually quite powerful. More finesse on shorter distances and easier to mend if on a float. Not as powerful as my Centric, but more forgiving. Not as well made as my Winstons. Really nice all-around rod, and will tolerate casting mistakes a little better than say the Scott. After getting used to it, and switching lines around a bit, I think it is better than my X rods.

I will be purchasing a few X’s at the close out prices ! I love when these companies come out with new series.

I’ll be buying the 9 foot 4 weight after much consideration. As for warranty issues I’ll take my chances as I’ve never had any issues with any of my Sage rods.

Would be nice if you could take in Nam products in to Trident. And done some review om those rods and lines

Love my Pulse..

Great review thanks. Out of the 9'6" and 10' 6 weights which do you think would be better for a dedicated stillwater rod?

I want one!

Hi, I’m interesting to buy a T&T Avantt 905. Which is the best rod? Why should i buy the R8?

i use a 6wt Scott Sector with a lamson litespeed f 7 reel, the rod is about 3.8 oz why do we need a rod so light, shorely it would compromise the lifting power of the rod.

Is distance really a concern for a 5 wt trout rod?

5 out of 10 for value. Many rods perform just as well in the 300-500 range in my humble experience. High performance yes but ground breaking absolutely not.

I think Sage are pricing themselves into a limited market of affordability. As others have said, the Scott Centric is around 400 to 500 bucks cheaper and are seriously lovely rods. I have several Sage rods and they are fantastic, but the prices are now becoming prohibitive for the average joe.

Handy to have the rod weight on the up-locking ring if you have a lot of rods 😱not at that price

It sounds like they got a lot of positive feedback from the Sonic/maverick and went with a similar design philosophy.

Sounds like another nice rod but IMHO the GLoomis Asquith 5904 is still King of the 5 weights for pure end-to-end casting performance!

Gloomis NRX has been there years ago

Ben, please point me to the lineup reviews of the Sage R8 rods.

Why is your standard test line the MPX? Extremely WF line. Sould use the SA smooth. RIO is garbage.

The last Sage I bought was One 9' #4. Sold it. Will never buy another Sage again. Except for ESN, which is fantastic. Ah yes, and I am keeping forever my SLT. And the Method.

As this is a very light rod, what reel would you suggest? What reel did you use for the test?

How does the R8 compare to the sage sonic in terms of the action/feel department? Does the R8 still feel like an old school sage?

Is the any real competition for R8 Core to date? I am interested only in trout fishing. And I am not trying to be funny. I am looking for honest answers from people who have a few rods or more. Tight lines everyone!

Thank you for the review. Of course casting is very subjective, but your critic about finishes, casting, etc are insightful. After listening between the lines, I'm very happy I got one of the last 10'6 X's for my stillwater fishing. I've been fishing the same X for a couple years. Doubling up with the 20% closeout was a good choice for me. I prefer a fast action, longer casting rods to maximize the distance flies are in the fish zone. Perhaps in other applications the more forgiving medium action of the R8 will be better, but for all around river rod the Asquith is tops for me.

Possible this is the new generation of graphite composite materials. Even maybe design but price??? Very expensive!!! If I will be looking now for new rod I definitely will take Scott Centric, less money and better performance.

sage has been playing catch up for the last 12 years, their "flagship" rod can't even compete with Winston,scott and g loomis. anyone buying one of these hasn't picked up the competition or is just buying for brand recognition

Will there be some double handed versions soon?

How do you find it compared to the Centric?

Absolutely spot on. The x was garbage.

Guys can you review Taylor Anomaly Z and Truth Z? Curious what your thoughts are.

wow it bends further down the handle and softer. I guess this is very difficult to make a rod like that. And if you put a lighter line on it feels lighter. I guess this is rocket science multiplying by 2...🤣

Do you like this rod more or the Douglas sky g?

What reel are you using?

How would a 4WT handle a Scientific Anglers Infinity? Any suggestion for a better line for lighter indicator Nymphing?

For that price, get a Burkheimer!

How would you rate it against the sky g for performance?

I don't understand why line weights became so messed up with so called lines identified as say, a 5 wt but it a half wt heavier or even a whole line size heavier.

$1,000 a pop? I don't think I'll mothball my Z Axis for this stick.

Be sure to try before you buy…. $1050.00 🤯 the audacity🤬

Buy a Burkheimer.

It has a same price as Audi R8 😂😂😂

Poor suckers that bought a LL😄

Over priced. So many better options.

Rip off

Daiwa Air better

Random!