A wise man once stated "cheap glass sure gets popular fast on this forum" I thought I'd review my favorite cheap glass, since I have the whole series and have used them a fair bit.
The rods are a brandless translucent red, often sold by Aventik on ebay or Amazon, or a NY dealer, easporting, also on ebay. They easy to Google up because they come in sort of weird lengths, 6'7" 3wt, 7'8" 4wt, and 8'1" 5wt. Price with shipping runs $70-$95.
They are all four piece rods, and make good pack rods. I first bought one because I wanted a 4 wt pack rod and there is no Fenwick Voyageur in that weight.
The rods have nice finish, good cork with a protection ring, burl wood seats and a great action. The only drawback to me is the single foot guides, though they are proud of them, "Us Pac Bay titanium coated".
The big surprise to me is how nicely they cast. They are often described as "medium fast", and I suppose they might be medium for a glass rod, but they are slow if you include graphite. They are definitely slower than my Orvis Superfine glass, but have more butt power than the CGR. I find them to be a rather Fenwick-like taper. The most amazing thing is that they are spot-on for weight. The three is a three, four is a four. Other cheap glass (and some not so cheap) is often one or two lines off. They have enough butt flex and weight to self load up close, something none of my graphite rods do, and some of my fast glass rod struggle with. They have enough butt power to re-direct a cast, something the CGR fails to do well. Sort of a Goldilocks just right flex.
If you look around, blanks are available from Aventik too
I think the best rod of the set is the 7'8" 4wt. I got it for a 4 wt pack rod, and found I used it more and more. I spent three weeks in Patagonia last winter, and wanted rods which worked well, but went in carry on and didn't cost a fortune if lost or stolen. I brought the 4wt red rod and my Fenwick FF 756-4. I split time according to stream, and never found the red rod inferior. It is best with light flies and drys but I used some hopper droppers, and hooked some bigger fish and it did fine.
The three weight is a nice little light rod, but has just enough oomph to shoot line if you need, something my CGR 2wt isn't very good at. It is only 21" packed and cheap and tough enough to throw in a pack without a tube, so it goes along a lot.
The five weight seemed a bit clunky at first, but I used it the other day after spending several days with other 8 footers, and it was fine. It is an inch longer and a four piece, so it has some rod momentum, and you need to find the sweet flex. Once you do, it is a "less is more" cast, and will throw a line a mile with a light stroke. It will throw a tailing loop if you force it, but just for this review, I went out and tried it with a 406 DT 6wt line, and found with a patient, proper cast it was fine. Best with a 5 wt though, and you know, a genuine 5 wt 8 footer is tough to find under $90.
A few days ago I went to a river not knowing what to expect. I brought the 7'8" 4 wt with a compact 11'10" Tenkara rod in my day pack. The river was dead as can be, so I put the redrod in my pack and euro-nymphed with the Tenkara rod, dredging up three fish. Finally an afternoon hatch started so I pulled the red rod back out of the pack and put on a dry-emerger pair, and caught ten fish without ever wrapping the flies on a cast (I can be good tangling two flies with a slow rod). They first took the emerger, then the dry. I then took them off and went with a big dry, making long casts at the rises and sometimes getting them.
I often say, "the best rod is the one you have along". These rod are cheap enough to leave in the truck, compact enough to bring in a pack or as a spare in a pontoon boat, and have caught a ton of fish for me.
The tubes and socks are even marked, so I usually grab the right one!