Would love to hear more on this myself.

So I have several 1st Gen rods, and I have recently received several of the new blanks. I am yet to compare how they perform. Swift don’t manufacture the Epic blanks - 1st Gen were built by CTS in whereas the new blanks are manufactured in South Korea. And I understand from a newer type of glass (Zentron). So there is bound to be a difference, even if the same tapers are used. Different manufacturing plant, different materials, etc etc. So you could argue that they are different rods altogether (and some are - as they are new models not previously available).

But what I can say is the new blanks look a lot nicer from an aesthetic point of view. The main difference being the snake belly finish as opposed to the previous smooth finish.

So better or worse? Probably neither - just different.

Yep, so having spent some time in South Korea recently I am really impressed in some of the products that come out of there. I don't think there will be any quality issues with Swift's blanks. And in fact, I have heard that one of the big-named US brands (probably more than one) have their blanks rolled there as well. Swift has a pretty rigid QC regime. Not that long ago they had a big "blemish" sale where they sold blanks that they determined the finish wasn't quite up to their standards. I got a couple - and I still can't work out where the blemishes are (note - these were all structurally sound rods, only the finish wasn't up to standard).

And if you buy a studio-built rod, then these are still all assembled in-house and made to order, in Wanaka, New Zealand. I think the only reason they had to go offshore was that CTS is the only manufacturer in New Zealand who rolls in glass. So if they weren't going to use them, then they had no other options.

Are the rods on new blanks (zentron) faster than 1st gen?

Love the reports. Wondering, if the tip is softer or only feels that way because the mid is slightly stiffer, which might explain why it the rod didn't feel as loaded with less line out. I forget, was there a related change in the ferrules or number of sections? Will you get a chance to compare them side by each in both static flex and casting?

Swift must have been forced into a good QC regime. Their customer service is fantastic and if a blank wasn't perfect, they had to eat the shipping cost to and from NZ. I had to send a DH11 blank back because of a finish blem in the butt section, above the cork line

I wish the best for Carl McNeil's enterprise, but his market isn't small custom builders anymore. He's trying to compete in and be profitable in the "larger" fly fishing market.

(late addition: Ibookje's post just came in, and he eloquently said what I feel. The wow factor is gone)

I have a friend who recently finished his build of a new 686, and he and I cast it side-by-side with my previous generation 686 (4-piece, not 3-piece). We went back and forth several times between them.

Our sense is that there are definitely some small differences, but they are subtle. Mainly, the new version feels just slightly lighter and crisper. But I also think the mid-section is maybe ever so slightly stiffer, and perhaps the tip was a little different to compensate. What I noticed at first was that I had a hard time transitioning from my previous generation 686 to the new one. It took a few minutes of tweaking my casting stroke to get the line to lay out well without tailing loops or collapsing on itself. That said, we both felt like they were very similar rods and had the same overall "feel" of the 686 (in its platonic form). I think part of my struggle to adjust was how close they were, so it took me longer to notice the finer differences between them.

My friend is now working on his build of the next-generation 580, so I'll report back when we get a chance to compare those in the same way, hopefully some time soon.

As to the specialness of Epics, I agree that they've lost some sheen for me too. I still really like my Epic rods a lot (476, 580, and 686), but I think there are a couple of things going on: First, the market has really expanded, and there are a lot of very good to great blanks out there now, especially ones that are mimicking Epic's take on glass. But also, now that I have cast and fished other glass, my tastes are expanding and changing. Epic rods are a great bridge between the world of graphite and fiberglass--they still fish and feel like glass while making the transition from graphite easy. Unique rods (such as the longer ones in the ********* Western Glass series) or more traditional glass actions that fish equally well as Epics are becoming more and more interesting to me.