We have got our hands on one of the new Loop Cross S1 rods and have given it a cast ourselves. We also wanted readers of ESF to try it out for some honest feedback too.
These days a comment often heard is that it’s tough to buy a bad rod. This means that if you are forking out big money you have to think long and hard as to whether you pay up and look big or opt for something from the mid-price range that is going to do the job just as well. Or is it?
You see, I think it must be tough for the rod manufacturers. They have to bring product to market that makes us anglers think that this new rod is going to be the second coming. The one that is going to fire the line to the horizon, be light in the hand and draw admiring glances from fellow anglers on the water. OK the last one isn’t important and is something I don’t care about. As anglers though, we’re looking for something that is a great rod, has taken the development of graphite rod building on another step and is a bit more than just gimmicky buzz words written by people who don’t even know what a fly rod is or does.
This is where the Loop Cross S1 comes in. My ears had been pricked up by all this talk of nano technology that is part of the building of new generations of rods. My initial thoughts were probably just another gimmick but the talk I’d heard from all quarters had been really positive. Loop have used the same technology from 3M who have been behind the other rods in the nano revolution but have taken this a bit farther still.
The thinking behind it all is the resin. What 3M have done is develop resins that contain nano sized silica particles that because they are so small can flow between the filaments of carbon fibre. This in turn allows their rod builders to make stronger, lighter more flexible rods. Loop are using 3M’s Powerlux composite that contains a lot more nano particles than previous rods built using these techniques.
Getting the rod out of the smart gunmetal tube it was nice to see a matt grey finish that I think Loop call Smoke. The cork was of excellent quality and the tip and butt of the handle have a cork mix edge to them. It looked pretty good. The reel seat might not be to everybody’s taste but I like it. It has a 3 aluminium pins around it giving a contemporary look. I guess this is to help keep weight down even more. They have used REC Recoil stripping guides and REC snake guides in black that set off the blank really nicely.
The rod is an 8 ½ ft 3 wt. I don’t need to do anything technical about actions etc as Loop tell you the action and stiffness of the rod ( I think they call this tempo) The rod I have is a MC / MF meaning it is a mid curve or mid actioned, medium fast tempo. It really makes sense and is easy to understand too.
I’m a big believer in that if rod makers who have their own fly lines they test their rods with their own lines on them. After stringing up Loops Evotec 85 line on the rod I’d say that is what they have done. I like it a lot. The rod is really, really smooth and recovers really quickly. Just simple pick and lay down casts were a pleasure and there is backbone a plenty when I wound things up to see what it could do. It does feel really light, no, seriously light in the hand but to cast it doesn’t feel like a twig. This must be the nano stuff they have been telling us about that give the rod what feels like plenty of backbone.
I was dying to fish the rod but the weather had got in the way but when the river was clear I was busy catching up with my real job, guiding. Timing couldn’t have been better though as my next two days were with regular clients Mark and then Gavin.
Mark was up first and he has written down his thoughts for us to read.
It was the very first time I was being asked to review a fly rod. My first thought at being asked was 'oh god, will I hate it?' I’m not very good at disguising what I think, my face will give it away even though my mouth may say something different.
My primary 'weapon of choice' (and benchmark for the test) for the last 6 years has been an 8 foot 4 weight SLT which as far as I was concerned, couldn’t be bettered. In fact I have been terrified that if ever the unimaginable happened – shush! - what would replace it?
Now the rod I was to be trying out was the new Loop Cross S1 8 foot 6 for a 3 weight. I was no stranger to Loop rods as my very first fly rod was a Loop back in the late nineties but how would it compare to such a glorious rod as my blessed SLT?
Well my first impressions when it got it in my hand were that it was very light and the grip was well suited to my hand. Cosmetically it was very modern looking which, being a fan of a more traditional look, didn't sit right with me. Don't get me wrong, it had a very nice matt grey finish with glossy whippings but the very modern lightweight reel seat and the coiled stripping ring weren’t to my taste.
Taking it down to the river, I first had a cast over the grassy bank. The line, a Loop Evotec 85, cast beautifully. I was very surprised the rod felt more like a 4 weight than a 3 and was incredibly easy to cast, effortless in fact. It has a medium fast action with a mid curve according to the manufacturer. But that's all well and good I thought but I don't buy rods for casting. I wanted to know what it was like as a fishing rod?
Having attached a fly it was time to see what this rod was really all about. Straight away I had a big grin on my face, this rod absolutely blew me away! Casting as on the bank was effortless, the power of this 3 weight has to be experienced to be believed, I had to stop myself from putting out a longer and longer line, after all I was supposed to be fishing not casting. It was very forgiving of my casting and no matter how much line I put out loop stability and control was excellent and having got into a couple of small brownies it was a joy to play and land them too.
Having spent most of a day fishing with the Loop can I say I have found a worthy successor to my trusty old friend? – Yes, as long as I keep my eyes closed!
I took Gavin out the next day and fished both nymphs and dries over some different water. Unlike Mark he really liked the look of the rod, the lightness and the way it cast. I also asked if he would be prepared to part company with £500 for a trout rod. His answer was a very firm yes.
This does take us to the tough part - the price. Would you, or do you want to, part with over £500 for a fishing rod?
I look at this a few ways. I have some rods that I have paid good money for and regard them as keepers. I use them and will always use them and they’ll always stay in the rod rack while others have come and gone. Also if I am going to keep it I know it will be fished a lot of over a number of years and that’s how I rationalise these things. If I am paying up and I fish 100 days a year and keep the rod 5 years (if not longer) then cost per use becomes a little more palatable.
So this is the Loop Cross S1
It is a damn fine rod and this review isn’t written by someone who has been sent a rod to try out and review, write something nice and send it back. It is by someone who has sold a rod so that they could buy the Cross S1, fish with it and know it goes into the rod rack marked “keeper”.
For more details on Loop Products please visit their Website