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Post 29 May 2020, 21:51 • #1 
Master Guide
Joined: 07/04/15
Posts: 388
Location: Coppell, TX
I have two questions about the TFO Finess-Trout Glass, 3/4 wt, 7 ft rod
1. The rod is listed as weighing 2 oz. Can this rod be that light?
2. Has anyone had experience with this rod?

A link to the specs on the rod are below. Thanks in advance for your help.

https://tforods.com/finesse-trout-glass-fly-rods/


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Post 29 May 2020, 23:14 • #2 
Administrator
Joined: 01/10/06
Posts: 7811
Location: Holly Springs, NC
Can that rod be that light? It could... ;) I would have to put one on my scale to believe it. More likely it is under 3 oz.

I wouldn't be surprised if the reelseat and insert alone weigh at least an ounce. Cork grips are light, but not weightless, figure 0.4 oz. Even in unidirectional S2 glass I would expect the rod blank to weigh about an ounce. Guides, glue, finish don't weigh a lot, but again they aren't weightless. The numbers add up. Perhaps the cork filler is made with helium filled microbubbles?

I have weighed many rods over the years. Very few matched the numbers printed in the catalog or on the rod. Most were heavier. One of the very, very few that broke 2 oz was the 6'8" St. Croix 7090 XXL. It is the second rod down in the photo. The grip is very slender and the reelseat is two extremely light weight rings. That rod weighs 1.75 oz - with 1970s technology.


Tom



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Post 30 May 2020, 16:05 • #3 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 04/12/07
Posts: 1292
Location: western Massachusetts
Tom is pretty close with that figure (<3 oz.). I have the TFO 7' that I built-up for sale last winter. With a wood spacer cap and ring, a 5.5" cork grip, and light snakes, it weighs 2.7 oz.

You really have to look at the method the maker uses to calculate weight. Many old timers stated they weighed the rod without the reel seat. Still, the rod as I built it feels very light in the hand, and is a smooth caster.


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Post 30 May 2020, 18:50 • #4 
New Member
Joined: 08/05/14
Posts: 11
Location: Sw Colorado
I weighed mine on my wife's kitchen scale and it can in at 2 5/8 oz. I like mine it is a good small creek trout rod.


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Post 30 May 2020, 19:41 • #5 
Administrator
Joined: 01/10/06
Posts: 7811
Location: Holly Springs, NC
jgestar wrote:
the 6'8" St. Croix 7090 XXL... That rod weighs 1.75 oz - with 1970s technology.
Whoops. I lied.

I pulled out the St. Croix and three other 7 foot, 3/4 weights and put them on the scale.
  • Lamiglas BFL 84-3 - a black glass version of the FL703 yellow Lamiglas 7 foot, 3 weight. I built this rod as light weight as I could and still have a locking reelseat (the reelseat weighs 0.35 oz). The built rod weighs 2.23 oz, which is about an ounce more the the bare rod blank.
  • Lamiglas F703 graphite - an early graphite Lamiglas with a skinny carbon blank and a reverse sleeve ferrule. The rod is a 7 foot, 3/4 weight that weighs 1.75 oz.
  • Tenryu Fates - a JDM glass/carbon composite 7 foot, 3 weight with reel rings instead of a locking seat. This rod has the 'biggest' grip and weighs 2.10 oz.
  • The St. Croix 7090 XXL - a 6'8" 4/5 weight with a lightweight metal ferrule, slender grip, and delicate reel rings. This rod only weighs 1.65 oz.

To create a fairy wand takes some serious weight shaving by the rod builder. Fortunately for me, none of these rod grips are too skinny for my fingers.

A heavier weight than marked doesn't mean the TFO isn't a good rod. This is the first glass I've seen from TFO in a decade, so maybe they took their time to build a good one.

Does anyone recognize the reel on the glass rod in the on-stream part of the YouTube clip? At first glance I thought it was a classic Airex.


Tom



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Post 30 May 2020, 22:10 • #6 
Master Guide
Joined: 07/04/15
Posts: 388
Location: Coppell, TX
Thanks for the information being posted, very informative.


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