Orvis Helios

[Ray]

I have been given an 800$ gift card to purchase an Orvis Helios. Has anyone tried one? To be honest i am having a hard time justifying the expense.

Any thoughts?

[mike]

I did cast one on the ponds at orvis in Manchester, it is a sweet rod, but the price, well ?

[jskowron]

Ray-

It was a gift. the money has already been spent. Buy the rod without guilt. Spending your own money on an $800 rod is, IMHO, ridiculous and unjustified. But this was a gift. Fish it with pleasure and no reservations!

Jeff

[rodkilla]

Ray,

I have two (the 905 mid and the 906 tip saltwater). IMHO they are the best fishing rods in their respective lengths and line weights, which I have ever had the good fortune to own. First of all, they're both amazingly light. For the sake of comparison, I also have a Winston WT 903-3, and the 905-4 Helios feels lighter in hand. The 906-4 only weighs 2 3/4 ounces. Both cast and track very smoothly, and most importantly (to me anyway) they're soft enough to protect relatively light tippets ... especially the 5#. Of course, I haven't gone down to 7x or 8x yet.

For the most part, I've avoided the hype that surrounds the release of new rods. I enjoy my T+T LPS, my Winston WT, my Orvis Superfines, and some older Orvis bamboo. The two Helios rods I own, however, are as good as the advertising suggests. Naturally, I cannot speak for every rod in the line.

The cost is exorbitant. Are the rods worth the cost? I suppose that question needs to be answered by each individual considering a purchase. I should say that my rods were purchased at a substantial discount, and had that discount not been available I could not have afforded either rod.

I wish you luck in making your decision. There are, however, certainly worse decisions with which you could be faced.

Mike D.
battenkill.tripod.com

[Ray]

Thanks guys. I appreciate your input. To me 800.00 for a fly rod thats not Bamboo or custom made for me is i feel that i'm paying for hype. To be honest i don't really like Orvis and think there products are but over priced. I'm thinking of getting a couple of less expensive rods instead of the Helios. one for my brother and one for me. I think thats a better idea. Plus i would be to afraid of breaking the Helios, although a review i read said it was pretty tough. Thanks again guys.

[Ray]

My brother and i went to Orvis in Manchester Vermont today. It was our first time and it was a lot of fun. That place is pretty cool.

We tried the Helios and it is a GREAT rod. I mean this thing even made me look like i knew what i was doing. I don't know how or what they do to make that thing but it is amazing. It was incredibly light and accurate. It transfered the feel of the line like nothing i have ever tried before.

But i didn't get it. In the end i just couldn't bring myself to spending that much on an off the shelf fly rod. I would have been to nervous that i would break it. And i just didn't see the value in it for the amount of fishing i do each year.

So after trying most of the rods they had in stock i decided on a T3 Mid-Flex for myself and i surprised my brother with a T3 Flex Tip. Both are also incredible rods. Light and accurate and a pleasure to cast.

It was so much fun being able to share the gift that was given to me with my brother rather than keeping it all for myself. It really made my day.

Also, the staff was the opposite of what i was expecting. They were so cool. They let us try every rod we wanted and didn't hover at all. So every 20 minutes for 3 hours we would go in and each get a different rod bring it out and try it. The sales people were great.

Anyway thats how the story ends. 2 happy guys with a couple of new fly rods and a great afternoon of memories. Life is good ;D

Ray

P.S.-- I also picked up a new BBSIII for my new rod.

[crabbybob]

Hey Ray,

I would have been happy for you if you gotten the Helios and I'm touched that you chose to split the gift card. The new Orvis means a lot to me and there's no way I could ever have bought it on my own. But the time we spent by the casting ponds was also something I'll remember for a long time. It was the right thing to do on the right day and for a while I got to forget to about my problems with Melissa. Thanks.

[millerbrown]

Ray,

You did the right thing! Good for you!! Personally I think that $800 for a production graphite rod is a bit steep. The Helios line scares me a bit because Orvis stated (in earlier announcements) that less graphite is used in the Helios line due to their "resin". Graphite is the "bones" of a rod, resin is the glue. They are incredibily light but will they stand up season after season? Frankly, there is so little engineering difference between the Helios and the Zero Gravity Orvis that the cost isn't justified.

I have always believed that after an hour of casting on a trout river none of us would know the difference between a $600 fly rod and a $200 fly rod especially when the sky is full of mayflies and caddis and the trout are going crazy around us.

Ken

[wintershope]

you guys are right,I fly fish alot and when your on the river and the fishing is good,well who cares. and I have my share of great fly rods and reels. The fly rods today are all so good.You can buy great stuff for a hundred bucks.Just go out and fly fish and have a great time.Fly fishing rods and reels have come a long way .When I was a salesmen at Center sports in North Adams in the 70 ,s the first graphite rod came out. I knew,when I held it in my hand,and saw the deiamiter of the rod that fishing rod history had been made. Heres one for ya all.Whay company made the first graphite rod ever? And what was the name of the rod? hint.....Its still being sold today under the same name ,after all these years.

[wintershope]

who knows what company made the first graphite fly rod? When I was a kid,if you had a spinning rod or fly rod from this company you had money.No doubt they were the best........

[bartman]

Fenwick? The first fly rod I ever bought as a kid was a Fenwick fiberglass and my parents used to drop me off at the Battenkill while they went antique hunting. (trusting parents). I later bought a Fenwick graphite fly rod and that was my first graphite.

I also had a Fenwick graphite spinning rod and after 25 years it finally fell apart. I sent it back to them with a note and they sent me a brand new one, no questions asked.

You're right, pricey stuff isn't necessary to enjoy the sport and have a good time. I caught a lot of fish on the B-kill with that glass rod as a kid back in the 70s.

Bart

[wintershope]

;Dcongats.the fenwick company is right.The glass rods were great and I also spent many a day on the kill with one myself.....