Review on Redingtons Wayfarer and AL reels

[riptide]

I just picked up a pair of travel rods / reels and spent some time on the lawn to see how they performed. The rods were Redington Wayfarers both 5 piece, 8 wt. and 10 wt. with Redington AL reels 7/8 and 9/10 respectively. The reels were spooled with a Rio 8 wt WF bonefish taper and the larger with a 350gr Rio Striper line. First off let me say that for the money Redington is putting out some nice gear. I know there are issues with them and the dealing with Orvis, but the quality of their product does not appear to have suffered at all. The rods were $195 each and come in a cloth covered hard case. The hardware looks great with polished aluminum reels seats and great looking cork. The sections fit together tight and during a ½ hour of casting never needed to be snugged down or adjusted. The reels were $125 each and again look awesome. Machined aluminum with a super wide large arbor spool and a nice gold finish. The drag seems smooth and has a good range of adjustment. The reels can be changed from right to left hand retrieve in a few seconds. The backing capacity on both reels was over 200 yards of 20# Dacron with full fly lines. As for the performance casting, first let me say I have not held a rod in a few months but both rods felt good right away. They are a little slower action than I like and am used to. They are advertised as medium-fast, I would go more along the lines of medium. The 8 wt. felt light in my hand and was easily able to throw 70 to 80 feet with a minimum of false casting. The 10 wt took me a little longer to get used to. The 350gr line may have been a touch heavy for the rod and me. Not that the rod can handle it, on the contrary it would lift 40 feet right off the grass with ease, but a 325 or 300 gr would have made the rod feel faster and more suited to my casting style. After a few miss fires I slowed my stroke down and began to really lay out some line. With just one false cast the 10 wt would throw nearly the entire line. I found the key to this rod was to slow down and let it load, when I got my timing on with the rod it is a real canon. I will try it with a 300gr I have just to see how it performs compared to the 350gr. Overall the combos are excellent. In lieu of the current airline security issues I figured it was time for some real travel gear. Right now the Redington stuff can be found cheap due to the changing of hands with Orvis. I had some high-end trout equipment that I used to barter with in exchange for the travel gear. I got everything at the Lower Forty in Worcester. They have a ton of the reels but they were going fast. I got one of the last 7/8 wts they had. They were super regarding the trade for my trout stuff. I felt like I got a great deal and they should make a few bucks on my trade in stuff. Bottom line, if you’re thinking about a multi-piece rod or a large arbor reel now is the time to move. For $325 you can get a high quality rod and reel that will fit in any plane and most carry on bags.

Good Luck,

Capt. Terry Nugent
Riptide Charters