Fellows ... sorry I have been tardy on responding to this thread for quite some time. I still have the Scott 703/3 and the 825/4 on demo and review. I've had a chance to fish the 825/4 while in Colorado and enjoyed the rod though I agree with Lugan123's points that this may very well be a "Dry Fly Only" type rod since it does not like weighted nymphs or indicators at all. The 825/4 casts smoothly and was very enjoyable for casting dry flies and soft hackles.

I'll be carrying both F2's to Montana in ten days and should have more of a report then on both models that I have on demo.


As far as the hardware I'd say that it looks much better in person and that maybe all of us that are used to custom fly rod builds from makers that also make their own hardware kind of have us spoiled. We're used to something that is just a little bit different. The Scott hardware is very nice and looks great with the cork seat of the fly rod.


I think that Tom will agree with this statement that the most popular rod rack at IFTD may very have been the Scott F2 rack at the Scott Fly Rod Company booth. Every time I walked by someone was picking up, wiggling, and casting them on the nearby pond.

Cameron,
Can you verify that the F2 7' 3 wt model is actually 7'0" and not 6'9" like the F model?

Don't mean to be a spoilsport, but for the life of me, I just can't see how anyone can justify $600 for a fiberglass fly rod. Half that much, yes, but six hundred bucks? I just can't see it.

Here is a nice podcast on fly rod pricing ... Interview is with the President of Scott Rods.

http://www.itinerantangle ... m/podcasts/podcast62.mp3

I would also offer that fewer glass rods are probably being sold relative to graphite rods so your example of $50 for glass and $200 for graphite may not be out of whack or over-priced due to the lower volume of glass rods being made.

So are you then buying a $150 glass rod for $600 due to the poor economics of their manufacturing? Just a thought ...

This is most certainly true ... the difference in price for the raw materials is negligible. The major costs are having Americans roll the blanks and build the rods, plus having high quality components. Its a psychological leap for sure but I will gratefully pay for handcrafted glass rods.

Its a blessing that Scott is producing them at all ... glass is a very small market for the major rod companies.

Some guys happily pay $600 for a high end, modern glass fly rod. Some guys would rather fish a classic Fenwick or Phillipson. Some guys only want rods they build themselves. Some guys search for hidden gems at bargain prices. Of course, some guys won't touch plastic at all and only fish cane. Everyone has their own preference and comfort level. That's fly fishing.

If bang for the buck were the only criteria, we would all fish exclusively with Eagle Claw FeatherLites.

As near as I can tell, the various production, marketing, and distribution costs are same for glass and graphite. The cost difference between the glass pre-preg and graphite tape is probably $10 tops. The R&D costs for glass are spread out over fewer rods than graphite. In many respects, the glass rods should be the most expensive offerings in the catalog.

Tom

The best way to get a quality glass rod for the least money is to build it yourself. If you might be interested in the TL Johnson Synergy fiberglass rods, you can get a brand new first generation blank for $50. Check out pioneeranglers.com. I ordered a 7.5 foot, 4 weight blank from them.

Cameron ... Perhaps not the right choice of words ("poor economics"). ... maybe should have said "lower return on investment"? I don't have any particular position here. I was just trying to forward the discussion some. I guess what I was trying to ask, are $600 glass rods and $600 graphite rods the same in regards to their raw materials, R&D and manufacturing or is the high end glass rod in comparison overpriced? I think the question has been somewhat answered above. For full disclosure, if I had $600 for a rod, I'd be hunting down one of those Kabuto's real quick.

The Scott Warranty is another cost not yet discussed. I was intrigued and called and asked Scott, and the warranty does cover rods broken accidentally (including car door accidents). But does not cover rods damaged due to neglect (put away wet, for example, Scott said).
I don't know how you'd get a value for that warranty. One way might be to find out what the cost for a new tip would be and multiply that by the typical number of times a deft fisherman might break the tip over the course of a lifetime's ownership. Another way might be to find out what someone would pay for a new rod minus the warranty. I've seen high end Winston rods (which have a similar non-transferable warranty) typically sell for at least $200 less in as new condition. I'd guess the value of the warranty is right around that $200 figure.
When I think about the "market" value of the warranty the Scott price looks more competitive with a Steffen. That said without knowing how much Steffen would charge to make you a new tip, or how likely any given buyer is to break a rod in the first place.

While the catalog price on high end graphite is $600 plus and the priciest glass rods are approaching that quickly, who pays retail for graphite rods? Those $700 rods are easily found for half that if you patient and know where to look. I have not seen fiberglass of the same caliber being sold at such steep discounts. This might be a good thing for owners of high end glass, as it seems that they hold their value much longer, but if you want a $600 glass rod, you are going to be spending that amount. As for warranties, I think they are meaningless in terms of making a decision of whether or not to buy a rod. Take my example above. You buy a $700 rod thinking that the warranty is worth the cost. You snap the tip you still pay the typical $50 to $75 "handling fee" and you get a new tip section. Buy that same rod on eBay or a forum classifieds for $300 "second hand" in mint condition, snap the tip and the repair cost might be a tad more, but certainly it is not going to cost the extra $400 that the "original" owner paid for having that "lifetime" warranty. In other words, you have to snap a pile of tips to make the investment worth it.